Some Tiger stories are longer than others, and Eric Thompson’s begins after World War II, but also before he was born. His father, one of five brothers “all born and bred in Richmond,” barracked for the local team, against the disposition of his siblings.
“They were a mixed bunch,” says Eric. “They went for Collingwood, North Melbourne, Fitzroy.”
Born in the winter of 1932, the son of the kennel master of the Melbourne Hunt Club in Cranbourne, the story of the Thompson clan’s support for Richmond is as long almost as the history of the Club.
As Eric tells it, when his father, Joe Campbell, enlisted in the Australian Army in 1940, he said to his wife: “I don’t know where I’m going, or how long I’ll be, but you keep my football membership going.”
Turns out he was posted with the 9th Division to the Middle East, then redeployed to New Guinea to fight against Japanese troops, before returning to Melbourne, where, in mid-1946, he was demobilised. First thing he did was take his son to the football.
“I was 14 years old and we went to Punt Road Oval,” says Eric. “I remember we used to pick up these bluestone blocks, so we could stand on them to see over the crowd.”
All these years later and Eric, now 80, turns over his Richmond membership card to confirm his tribal loyalty. He’s been signed up for 67 years – how passionate is that! At the time of writing, in the lead-up to the Tigers’ first home game of the season, the Club has 54,107 paid members. But how many have been part of the Club’s shared history since 1946?
For Eric, being a Richmond supporter has been an enduring motif of his life, rich with significance and meaning, giving him pleasures and frustrations, as well as a family ritual filled with great personal happiness and loss. In football there is a continuum, in Richmond there is a home.
As Eric says: “My father would say football is a great leveller. You could be standing next to a lady in a fur coat, or a tradesman, or a company director, and it didn’t matter. When you’re barracking and you’re at the ground, you’re all on the one level. You all have one thing in mind, and that’s to gee your team up to help them win.”
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The story of Eric Thompson I learn through his son, Paul ‘Tommo’ Thompson, who works as an OHS manager at a mine in Kenya. After reading How Tiger are you? on richmondfc.com.au, he sent an email chronicling his family’s Tiger affiliation.
“Me born in 1966, been a member every year since 1972 and have reserved seats as part of the package,” he wrote. “Trouble is, I’ve lived and worked overseas for 10 years now. That doesn’t stop me buying my membership and being a true Tiger supporter.”
Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
When Eric knocks on my door, he brings with him Paul’s old duffle coat, a family heirloom from the early 1980s, with fabric name plates of Tiger greats – Mark Lee, Robert Wiley, Jim Jess, Michael Roach, Mervyn Keane, Kevin Bartlett – hand-stitched on its sleeves. It has No. 3, Dale Weightman, ironed onto its back. It is a work of art, a tapestry of identity and belonging.
“My kids were born into the Richmond heydays,” says Eric. “They were brought up on Richmond success and the expectation of finals football. We seemed to queue up for finals tickets at Punt Road every year.”
I ask Eric about his football memories and he talks about the old suburban grounds – Glenferrie Road, Arden Street, Princes Park – as if they were churches.
“Victoria Park, it was a frightening ground,” he says. His favorite away trip was Kardinia Park. “I used to love going with dad to Geelong, probably because of the drive.”
When asked about his player idols, those he enjoyed watching, one name comes straight to mind: Royce Hart.
“He was a match-winner, he lifted a game,” he says. “I’ve never seen anyone who could come across a pack like he did. He had this ability to fly sideways. And, nine times out of 10, he’d kick a goal from that mark.”
He also recalls champion 1950s ruckman Roy Wright, “a big-taller bugger”, who won two Brownlows and had hands the size of dinner plates. “I saw him come back from the bar with five pots in one hand. He had massive hands.”
“I used to watch Jack Dyer, I used to watch ‘Mopsy’ Fraser, Max Oppy. Thinking back, the amazing thing is that these guys all had jobs. They worked day jobs and played football on Saturdays. That’s how it was.”
Eric, nowadays, doesn’t get to the football as much as he’d like to, having relocated to Sale 12 years ago and unable to make the long trip home after night games. His wife – “a paid up member for years” – can no longer attend, and his son’s reserved seat is mostly always empty beside him. But he’s surrounded by friends, predominantly Paul’s old Tiger schoolmates.
“I used to take them to the footy when they were little tackers,” he says.
He’s watched the team with his Tiger family through times of both feast and famine, unwavering in his allegiance. After many seasons of frustration, he now sees signs of hope.
“The team has given me more heart these last few years,” he says. “There’s a belief that one day they’ll be on the top again, they’ll be winners. And I know that the winning feeling is good.”
But there’s also a deep sadness – an unanswerable loss – that’s entwined with the Thompson family’s football following. During the good times in the early 1980s, he regularly attended Richmond games with his father, his wife, and their two children, Kathryn and Paul. They were fond times. Three generations of Thompsons sat together, all in Yellow and Black. Both children joined the cheer squad, adopting the passion of their father, and his father before him. Richmond was in the bloodlines.
In 1990, Kathryn died of cancer, eight weeks after her wedding. She was 25. “She was an avid supporter,” says Eric. “She loved going to the football. She was as keen about Richmond as what we were.”
Eric hopes to make “about eight” games this year, his 67th of being a member. When at the MCG, he sits among familiar faces in bay M15, row P, seat 18. If you’re seated nearby, look him up. He’s a good man. He’s a loyal man. He’s a Tiger man.
Tiger, tiger burning bright
or Twitter: @dugaldjellie
