In the 16^th of a special richmondfc.com.au nostalgic series celebrating Richmond’s 50 years at home at the MCG, Tony Greenberg rewinds to August 1983, when the great Kevin Bartlett made league football history.


The seeds for Kevin Bartlett’s quest to achieve what no other player in league history had managed up to that point – 400 games – were sown just after he reached the 300-game milestone.

That occurred in Round 8 of the 1979 season, with Bartlett booting five goals in inimitable style against Footscray at the MCG, as Richmond recorded a crushing 73-point win.

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Following his 300^th game, Bartlett received a congratulatory message from the man who had originally welcomed him to Tigerland all those years ago, the Club’s former under-17s (fourths) coach and later fitness adviser, Bill Boromeo.

“It was this footnote to his lovely letter – ‘Why not 400?’ – that struck a chord with me,” Bartlett revealed in his book, ‘KB:  A Life In Football’.

“I read it as a challenge:  to continue to play on and to continue to enjoy playing.  It was unthinkable at the time for someone to play 400 games.  But that question, posed by a lifelong friend and mentor, gave me the impetus to try . . .”

Bartlett was 32 years and 82 days old when he chalked up game No. 300 in 1979.

The following year, the champion rover’s reinvention as a half-forward by Richmond coach Tony Jewell proved a masterstroke, with Bartlett kicking 84 goals for the season, including seven in the Tigers’ thumping 81-point triumph over Collingwood in the Grand Final.

He then scored 58 goals in 1981 and 58 again in 1982, when Richmond finished runner-up.

By the time the 1983 season rolled around, Bartlett was within striking distance of the magical 400-milestone on 384 games.

A three-week absence due to injury from Round 7-9 was a slight setback for Bartlett, but he quickly found his goalkicking touch upon return to the half-forward flank in the Tigers’ line-up.

Had the man affectionately known as ‘KB’ or ‘Hungry’ not missed any games that season, he would have played his 400^th against Footscray at the Western Oval.

As it turned out, being sidelined for three matches meant his 400^th shifted to the Round 19 clash with Richmond’s arch rival Collingwood at the MCG . . . a significantly more appealing scenario.

The Tigers had struggled throughout the ’83 season and were 11^th (in the then 12-team competition) with six wins and 12 losses.

They were, however, coming off a stunning 72-point upset win against Essendon at Windy Hill in Round 18.

Collingwood was sixth, with nine wins, nine losses, and one game out of the then top five.

Notwithstanding the mediocre form of both sides, the two tribes turned out in force for Kevin Bartlett’s history-making game.  And, the Richmond cheer squad paid KB a fitting tribute, constructing one of the biggest banners ever seen at the MCG for him to run through, as he led the Tigers out on to the field.

“On the morning of my 400^th game I was calm, but any thoughts that it would be just a game were dashed by the size of the crowd at the MCG, which was of finals proportions,” Bartlett said in his book.

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“It was quite amazing when you consider that Richmond was out of finals contention and Collingwood had no more than a reasonable chance of making the finals.

“Before the game, I received a large card that the Collingwood players had signed to congratulate me on my achievement, which was a nice touch.

“The (cheer squad) banner was 10 metres high and 20 metres long.  It had taken 500 hours to make and it cost $400.  David Norman, the cheer squad leader, had overseen its creation.  It took 29 cheer squad members to hold up the banner.

“I had actually seen the banner a few days earlier.  I was down at the Club.  The cheer squad put up the banner and I had some photos in front of it.  I remember saying, ‘Gee, it looks big and strong.  How am I going to get through it?’ and Norman pointing out to me the ‘weak’ spots they had put in the banner for me to run through.

“Maybe he pointed to the wrong part of the banner, or maybe I didn’t listen as well as I should have.

“As many people remember, I ran down the race with teammates on either side of me, VFL general manager Jack Hamilton and Club president Ian Wilson applauding me, and television cameras at the base of the banner.

“I picked up speed and ran into it, but I couldn’t get through and fell flat on my face.  So I just bounced up off the ground and kept running.

“I’ve always maintained that they forgot to tell me that there was a large piece of wood across the bottom, which was stabilising the banner.

“Running through that banner was like running through a brick wall.  It could have been the end of my 400^th game then and there.

“My opponent was Ray Byrne, a half-back flanker who was a bit of a character. 

“He had a comb in his sock that had no teeth and he presented it to me.

“I don’t know what happened to it, but perhaps I threw it on the ground in disgust.  He thought it was a bit of fun.”

The Richmond players that day did their utmost to reward their 36-year-old little champion with a win in his 400^th game.

It was a tight encounter throughout, with the Tigers turning a four-point deficit at quarter-time into a five-point lead at half-time, and increasing that to seven points by the final change.

In the last quarter, however, the Magpies managed to regain control, and they had edged ahead by 10 points when the final siren sounded.

Although it wasn’t the result Bartlett was seeking, and he didn’t manage to add to his season’s tally at the time of 35 goals, he was philosophical about what transpired on that momentous occasion in August 1983.

“My 400^th game was fair, nothing more than that,” Bartlett said. 

“I was at the end of my career and my body and mind had just about had it.

“I ended up with 16 kicks and six marks and we lost the game. 

“But the day, as a whole, was a great thrill for me . . .”

Interestingly, four members of the Collingwood team that day subsequently played for Richmond – John Annear, David Cloke (his second stint with the Tigers), Craig Stewart and Philip Walsh (current Adelaide coach), while another, Mark ‘Choco’ Williams, is now the Tigers’ development coach.

Graham Teasdale, who started his league career at Richmond, before crossing to South Melbourne, where he won a Brownlow Medal, also was in Collingwood’s line-up for KB’s 400^th game, while the Tigers’ team contained former Magpie key defender Neil Peart.


Match details
Richmond            4.4          7.7          9.12        11.13 (79)
Collingwood       5.0          7.2          9.5          13.11 (89)

Goals – Richmond:  Roach 4, Weightman 4, Rowlings 2, Egan.
Leading possession-getters – Richmond:  Lee 29, Landy 24, Keane 23, Weightman 23, Rioli 20, Rowlings 20.
Goals – Collingwood:  Walsh 3, Annear 2, Richardson 2, Williams 2, Allan, Banks, Fellowes, M. Taylor.
Leading possession-getters – Collingwood:  Walsh 31, Richardson 30, M. Taylor 28, Williams 25, Annear 24, Picken 23, Stewart 21, Fellowes 20, Phillips 20.
Crowd:  81,966.