John Coleman wasn’t big on training and he certainly wasn’t a fan of umpires.
But the AFL’s four-time leading goalkicker could certainly pull a crowd, in life and even 40 years after his death.
Cut down by a knee injury after just 98 games, Coleman kicked a remarkable tally of 537 goals, including 12 on debut in the opening round of 1949.
Sculptor Lis Johnson unveiled a statue of Coleman at the MCG on Wednesday.
Old men with walking sticks recalled dual premiership player Coleman’s ability to mark while standing on an opponent’s shoulders and also his time as coach which included flags in 1962 and 1965.
Triple-premiership star Tim Watson, who made his debut with the Bombers as a 15-year-old in 1977 and instantly attracted his own army of adoring fans, was a Richmond supporter as a boy and knew little of the Coleman legend.
“As soon as you became a part of Essendon Football Club, you understood the place he held within the club,” Watson told AAP on Wednesday.
“He’s such a revered figure and a much-loved person by those who played alongside him or those who were coached by him.”
Watson says Coleman’s playing record is extraordinary.
“It’s just unbelievable. In his last season he kicked 42 goals in six games,” Watson said.
“He was 25 years when he was cut down by probably what would have been a simple knee operation these days.”
Watson says Essendon’s 11-point loss to Geelong in the 1951 grand final, following Coleman’s four-match ban for striking Carlton’s Harry Caspar during their round-18 clash, is part of the the club’s folklore.
“That’s all part of the footy legend and the theatre of it,” Watson said.
“Probably the fact that photo was captured too makes it even more dramatic that it was, collapsing coming out of the tribunal.”
Watson says it’s hard to compare great players from different eras. But there’s no arguing with Coleman’s numbers.
“Just to capture the imagination of the football public, not just the Essendon people of the time, but the football public,” Watson said.
“Then to continue on the way he did.
“The John Coleman-type figures dragged so many people through the turnstiles.
“People moved from one end of the ground to the other (to see Coleman play at fullforward).”
Coleman’s daughter Jenny says it’s a big thrill to have a visual reminder of her father’s playing career.
“I still live in Essendon. People will come up and say `I used to go watch your dad play’,” she said.
Essendon’s 1965 premiership fullback Greg Brown said Coleman the player was someone who trained very lightly.
“He would not get a game now,” Brown said.
“He just did a few kicks (at training).
“He just had ability dripping off his finger. It was wonderful to see.”
Anyone who sat on the bench as 19th man with Coleman was left in no doubt about the coach’s views on the men in white.
“John would take on any umpire at any level of the ground and give them a spray as they went past,” Brown said.
“One night it took several of the boys to hold him back from laying into the umpire. He was that upset.
“Nobody hated an umpire more than John Coleman. I think that goes back to his playing days because he was belted from pillar to post with virtually no protection.”
Brown said players across the league adored Coleman.
“Everyone appreciated such a champion,” Brown said.
“I don’t think `Coley’ really had an enemy in the world.”
Johnson, a lifelong Essendon fan, says Coleman exemplifies everything that’s good and pure about Essendon Football Club.
The sculptor said she tried to capture the sight of Coleman springing up out of nowhere and hovering effortlessly above his opponents.
“We couldn’t put him at the actual height that he would have taken that mark because no one would be able to see his face,” Johnson said.
Watson added: “I would’ve loved to have met him because you hear so many great stories about him, what a charismatic figure he was.”