To understand the importance of our 1977 premiership to our club, you need to look back over the years that came before it.
A reasonable amount of history had already played out prior to us going to Football Park in 1974.
When I started my career in 1968, the matches in finals series and ANZAC Day were based at Adelaide Oval and in that year we played Sturt in the ’68 Grand Final, which ended in disappointment.
Then in 1971 and 1972 we played North Adelaide in the grand final – once again, disappointment.
So then in 1974, moving Footy Park meant everything was new.
We had a new coach in John Cahill (Fos Williams had coached from 1968 to 1973) and our history at Football Park was quite good into the end of the seventies, even though we didn’t win a premiership until 1977.
We were third 1974 and 1975 and then in 1976 we were very successful throughout the year before being beaten by Sturt in the 1976 grand final.
So while 1977 was the highlight, really it was just the culmination of twelve years of Port Adelaide building towards a premiership.
1977 was an extra special year for a lot of people because of that time gap between premierships but also it was our first premiership at Football Park and came off the back of a really disappointing grand final the year before.
Without doubt the 1977 premiership had so much significance, so many good memories and so much relief.
The game itself was brutal one between Glenelg and Port Adelaide.
We lost a couple of players with Kim Kinnear, Darryl Cahill and Ivan Eckermann – so we were really looking down the barrel at one stage.
It was a real Port Adelaide want to win and desire to end the years without success that got us over the line.
It was certainly one of those special memories you’re fortunate to have during your career as a player.
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I think the importance of that win to the community was really shown after the siren.
A lot of people wouldn’t remember but we had 67,000 people at the game and I really believe there were more, they’d just open the gates and just counted them through. People just watched the game from wherever they could.
Occupational Health and Safety wasn’t a major concern back then!
There would’ve been only a couple of feet of room between the first people sitting inside the boundary and the boundary line.
When the siren rang we all went to the western side of the ground but couldn’t get right over there because the supporters just stood up and ran onto the ground.
It was quite unique because in 1976 they didn’t want to come and see us, they wanted to see Sturt, but in 1977 all they wanted to do was get around our players.
It was quite dangerous to have close to ten thousand people just stampede onto the oval into a really confined space. We just looked for our teammates and got into the huddle.
If you’ve seen photographs and moving footage of the day, you’ll see that it was quite an experience.
Everyone just wanted to get out there and be a part of it.
It had been so long for the club - some of the children had never seen a Port Adelaide premiership, others had waited 12 years.
For me, it’s the sheer relief, emotion and excitement that really sticks out when you think about Footy Park and 1977.
The lads went on to win again in 1979 (I wasn’t part of that due to playing for North Melbourne in the VFL that year) and that was sensational to win that on a blustery Footy Park day against South Adelaide.
To then go on and win in 1980 and 1981, it almost became a procession.
Playing in the grand final in 1984 was one of the lowlights, and we do often talk about highlights at Footy Park, but then we forget those teams like ’84 which had a pretty good year – without the superstars, but with a terrific team - that unfortunately couldn’t get across the line.
Since then I can’t remember a grand final that was lost, particularly during the eighties and nineties.
Really, I think a lot of clubs would be glad to get away from Footy Park because of the Port Adelaide dominance there throughout the seventies, eighties and into the nineties!
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