No.29 is footy’s fountain of youth

Kevin Bartlett played 403 matches in No.29 including the 1980 Grand Final, when he won the Norm Smith Medal. Source: News Limited

SOMEONE at Richmond clearly thought the shy and skinny young rover showed a bit of potential.

Because they decided to hand him the No.29, the jumper worn by another long-serving Tigers rover, a club great who had served as captain, won multiple best-and-fairests and had a real knack for snagging a goal.

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That Tigers great was Ron Branton, and the promising young kid was Kevin Bartlett.

"A lot of times in those days they seemed to hand numbers down to players of similar ilk or positions,'' Bartlett recalled this week. "Ron Branton was a rover and maybe they thought it was a good one to hand on to me.

"After Ron, who was a three-time best-and-fairest winner, captain and runner-up in the Brownlow Medal, the number had gone to another young player called Rod Evans (a 178cm wingman who played 11 games for the Tigers in 1963-64), but he must have been given the boot by the time I came on to the senior list in 1965 and that number was available.

"It was the only number I ever wore as a member of the senior list at Richmond,'' Bartlett said.

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It never entered his head to switch later in his career to a lower number. "I just thought that was my number and that was the end of it''.

As a teenager, Bartlett lived with his family in a rented house in Lennox St, just a few hundred metres from the Punt Rd Oval, where the young Kevin dreamt of pulling on the red, white and blue of his idol, Footscray's Ted Whitten.

Kevin Bartlett channelling the 1980 Grand Final. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: News Corp Australia

Bartlett had played his junior football with the Try Boys in South Yarra, where he wore No.13. He got his start at Richmond playing in the fourths (Under-17s), having spent the first few weeks running the boundary while he waited for a clearance. At 16 he was fast-tracked to the Under-19s, where a new coach, Ray "Slug'' Jordon, had just taken over from Graeme Richmond, recently promoted to the position of club secretary.

KB's first taste of the big time came in March 1965, when he arrived home from his job as an apprentice at the PMG workshops in South Melbourne to be told by his mum, Thelma, that there was a telegram waiting for him on the kitchen table. "You have been selected to play in the main practice game at MCG, Saturday. Attend at 1pm. Bring white shorts. Socks provided.''

A few weeks later coach Len Smith called Bartlett over during Thursday evening training to confide he would be making his senior debut, as 19th man in the Round 3 match against St Kilda at the MCG. The Bartlett family remained unconvinced, though, until Kevin's selection was confirmed that night by Ron Casey and Lou Richards reading out the teams on 3DB radio at 9pm.

Having managed 14 games in his first year, Bartlett finished the 1965 season wondering who his new coach would be, after poor health forced Smith to relinquish the role. It came down to a choice between Branton and a former Tigers back pocket named Tom Hafey.

Although Hafey had played 67 games for the Tigers in the mid-1950s, "when they announced that he had got the job I wondered who he was''.

FIVE GREATEST 29s

Over the next decade they would combine to help Richmond win four premierships, but more importantly Hafey would become a mentor, mate and inspiration in Bartlett's life. More than the premierships, Bartlett values such relationships from his time at Punt Rd, and in a way wearing the No.29 played its part.

"Another player at Richmond who wore that number was Les Flintoff (17 games between 1950-52), who was the father of Debbie Flintoff, the Olympian.

"He always used to have a bit of fun and say, 'Don't let that number down, son'. Les became one of the gun recruiters after he retired, during those halcyon days with Graeme Richmond and the like, and he remained a lifelong friend.''

Numbers provide an emotional connection for fans — which makes it tough when your favourite player defects to another club, as Cats fan Luca Copic discovered. Source: News Limited

Then there was the No.29 locker in the Punt Rd Oval changerooms. "My locker was part of a cluster of maybe five or six on the back wall, between the door to the showers and a passageway to the old board room,'' Bartlett recalled.

"We were right underneath a huge tiger at the far end of the room.

"Back in those days Richmond probably only had two or three showers that actually worked, so if you were close you were some sort of chance to get a decent shower, particularly with the old hot water service we had.''

Some other notable No.29s Source: HeraldSun

As for the corridor to the boardroom, Bartlett said "my idea was to never go up there''. I reckon I was there for more than two years before I even set foot in it.''

Bartlett's locker neighbour was a man named Francis Bourke, with whom he played a then record 289 games in the same team between 1967-81 (only Adelaide pair Tyson Edwards and Andrew McLeod (307) and Sydney duo Adam Goodes and Jude Bolton (301) have since passed that mark).

"We sat next to each in the Punt Rd rooms for all of those years,'' Bartlett said. "He's lovely man Francis.

"(Geoff) Strangy would have been there, he was No.28. A bit later in our careers Peter Welsh (31) was one of our locker mates, he was a great fella with a fantastic sense of humour. A bit of a prankster. Always had great stories to tell. He kept us entertained.''

The No.29 that he wore in 403 games now has become intrinsically associated with Bartlett. It is repeated twice in his mobile phone number (he wanted it three times but could not get it), and it is not unusual for strangers to randomly walk up and thank him — because they have won money by choosing 29 at the roulette table or in a raffle.

"I think 29 is the most drawn out number in Tattslotto history,'' Bartlett said. "So if you want to win Tattslotto you have to have it in there (29 may have been at some point, but as it stands the No.25 is the most commonly drawn Saturday lotto number).''

Who is the greatest VFL-AFL player to have worn No.29?

It is interesting to note that Bartlett started at Richmond as a junior in 1962, and left as a sacked coach 29 years later.

These days, in his role as football commentator, he now takes a special interest in

players who take the field wearing the 29 guernsey.

"I don't know what it is, and it's a bit unusual, but that the number has been worn by a lot of rovers. We mentioned Ron Branton. Then there's Garry Wilson who was just a fantastic player for Fitzroy and a mighty bloke. Brent Harvey, Gary Ablett Jr started out in 29.

"Also I don't know whether there's another number that's been so good for longevity,'' he said. "There are a quite a few players who had played a lot of games wearing 29.''

Apart from Bartlett himself, these include Harvey (game 375 on Sunday), Fremantle's Matthew Pavlich (game 304 on Saturday night), Wilson (268) and former Hawk and Saint Russell Greene, who wore 29 in 263 matches. Most of Heath Scotland's 268 games were in 29, while Gary Ablett played 192 at Geelong before adding another 74 in No.9 at Gold Coast. And 300-gamers Nathan Burke and Chris Grant both wore 29 early in their careers.

All of which helps to make No.29 one of the great jumper numbers in AFL history. In fact, according to our panel of experts, it comes as the ninth greatest number.

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