Under the Auld Pump: It's Collingwood forever for Ken McKenzie

The Warrnambool-born McKenzie, now 75, is the son of Don and Florine.

He went to Purnim Primary School and Warrnambool Technical school.

McKenzie goes Under the Auld Pump with TIM AULD.

Ken, your sporting highlight is amazing. I don't think there would be many people who could match your achievement of attending 33 VFL-AFL grand finals. The obvious question I've got to ask is which side do you barrack for?

I'm a passionate Collingwood fan. I've seen Collingwood play in six grand finals and sadly they have been beaten each time.

I've been at home in Warrnambool to watch the Pies win the 1990 and 2010 grand finals.

Can you remember the six losing grand finals that Collingwood has played in?

Yes. I was 19 years old when I was there when Collingwood played Melbourne in 1964.

We lost the game by four points.

It was the game that Collingwood's Ray Gabelich was going down the ground bouncing the ball and he goaled.

Melbourne's Neil Crompton came down from the back-line and goaled.

Ian Graham had the chance to win the game for us in the last couple of minutes but he kicked a point.

I was in the crowd for the 1966 grand final when St Kilda beat us by one point.

The funny thing is I got my ticket through St Kilda's Kevin 'Cowboy' Neale.

Ken, what do you mean that you got the 1966 grand final ticket through Cowboy Neale?

I went to Warrnambool Technical School with Cowboy and played under 17 footy with him for the school side.

We were good mates at school and our friendship continues to this day.

Cowboy organised a lot of the 33 grand final tickets for me over the years - after his footy career he worked at the Saints for years.

What are your memories of the 1966 grand final loss to St Kilda?

Cowboy booted five goals and we lost by one point.

Over the years Cowboy has always reminded me of that grand final win.

I was there in 1970 when Carlton defeated us by 10 points. I had a standing room ticket. It was an incredible afternoon.

You couldn't go to the toilets because there were more than 120,000 fans at the game. For health reasons that would not be allowed today.

The beer cans were bigger than what they are today and fans in the standing room only section were standing on them as they tried to catch a glimpse of the game.

Collingwood was up by 44 points at half-time.

Teddy Hopkins came on for Carlton and ended up booting four goals after half-time for the Blues.

I can still remember it was really tough to get out of the ground after that game because of the huge crowd.

Ken, did you think that you were a bad luck charm for the Pies after those three grand final losses?

That's a good question.

Little was I to know I had to witness another three Collingwood grand final defeats.

Collingwood played North Melbourne in 1977.

The first grand final was a draw and I was not there but I was in the crowd for the replay.

North Melbourne won the replay by 27 points.

I was there in 1979 when Carlton beat us by five points.

That's the grand final when Carlton's Wayne Harmes knocked the ball in from over the boundary line for Ken Sheldon to kick the winning goal and then I was there again in 1981 when Carlton beat us again.

This time they beat us by 20 points.

Ken, how come you started barracking for Collingwood?

My dad Don was a one-eyed Collingwood fan and I suppose it just rubbed off on me.

What would be the one thing that you remember about those 33 grand finals that you've been to during your life time?

I would have to say it was the 1998 grand final and it had nothing to do with the game between North Melbourne and Adelaide.

It was all about Muhammad Ali being at the game.

The crowd just went wild when he was driven around the ground.

The noise from the 94,000 people who were at that game was just incredible.

I had not heard it at any of the other 33 grand finals I had been to.

Ken, what about your sporting career. Earlier, you mentioned that you played footy under 17 footy with Cowboy Neale at the old Warrnambool Technical. Can you remember any other players that played footy in that team?

I can still remember them.

There was Ray Hawthorn, Peter McLaren, Rob Whelan and Ray Main to mention a few.

Cowboy suggested back in 2012 that we have an annual reunion of the old players that played in 1961 and 1962.

We had more than 30 blokes and their partners turn up for the first one.

Sadly, this year there will be no reunion because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A few of the old players have passed away over the last few years and others have health issues but we're hoping to have a big reunion in October 2021.

My footy career went to South Warrnambool under 18s after Warrnambool Tech and then to West End.

The club had no money and used to run some fundraisers.

I can still remember Jack Dyer and Lou Richards coming up to Warrnambool's Temperance Hall and the old Lady Bay to host fundraisers and there was another year Ron Barassi came up to speak.

Ken, away from the footy did you play cricket?

Yes. I played for Purnim and Wesley but I had to give the game away because I got hit in the face by the ball on a couple of occasions when I was batting.

I was diagnosed with an eye complaint called keratosis when I was 14 years old.

It's been in my right eye and is slowly progressing to my left eye. I suffer with blurred vision.

I've had a few operations on my right eye including two cornea transplants.

Sadly, the eye problems had an impact on my sporting career but they have not stopped me from barracking for Collingwood.