Image courtesy of the West Australian.

WITH the passing of Ken Melville, we have lost one of the special personalities and voices of the Melbourne Football Club.

In 1953, there were eighteen players who made their senior debut for the Melbourne Football Club.

One of the newcomers to excel was No. 38 - Ken Melville. He went on to take out dual honours in 1953, winning both the Best and Fairest and the Best First Year Player award after playing seventeen games. It was said of him in review that:

Commencing on the wing and later finishing in the centre, this player, by his courage and tenacity, won almost every encounter with his respective opponent; one of our many amateur players, Ken, with his modest demeanour, is a real find, and a credit to the game.

Made vice captain in 1955, Melville played in the 1955 and 1956 premierships. In the latter – Melbourne’s ‘Olympic Premiership’ – he earned deserved praise for beating Collingwood’s Bill Twomey, thereby helping the Demons to register a memorable triumph.

After this achievement, Melville hung up his boots to become a Presbyterian minister. In 1973, he delivered the funeral service for Norm Smith, and was the only speaker on the day. He gave everyone a special insight into Norm, for which we shall be forever grateful, saying of his coach and friend:

One remembers, too, the seemingly little things: the keen sense of humour, the twinkle in the eye, the sudden burst of anger, the touch on the shoulder asking for a last-quarter effort, the graciousness in victory, the disappointment but acceptance in defeat….

In 2021, Melville was one of the WA based players who brought the red and blue spirit to a memorable premiership win on foreign territory in COVID times. At the end of 2023, he was made a Life Member of the Melbourne Football Club, in recognition of his playing in two premierships for Melbourne.

Ken Melville was at the heart of the Melbourne Football Club far beyond his playing career. He will always be part of our heritage, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and teammates.