Revered. Heroic. Immortal.
Russell Ebert, Port Adelaide’s four-time Magarey Medallist and arguably the greatest South Australian footballer of all time, has passed away aged 72 after a battle with leukemia.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch sent his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Ebert.
“No person has done more for the Port Adelaide and South Australian football community than Russell Ebert. He represented everything about Port Adelaide, yet had the power to transcend rivalries and connect with the entire football community and beyond,” Mr Koch said.
“Born and raised in the Riverland of South Australia, Russell made Alberton his home from 1968 to include a club record 392 games, three premierships, six best-and-fairests and of course that extraordinary achievement of four Magarey Medals.
“But Russell’s remarkable contribution surpassed just the football field. He was equally revered in the community as he was on the playing arena. From countless voluntary visits to hospitals and nursing homes, to raising money and profile of local charities, to the establishment of his pride and joy – the Power Community Youth Program, Russell’s first thought was always ‘How can I help others?’.
“Even in the last few weeks, despite his ongoing battles, Russell would ask how everyone else was going. It was mark of who he was. Right until the end, Russell was the most selfless person you could meet.
“During its 151-year history there have been so many champions of our club, and a handful of Legends... Russell Ebert stands tall among the Legends of Port Adelaide.
“While all of the champions and Legends played for Port Adelaide, Russell lived Port Adelaide. His feats on the field are well chronicled and admired, but it’s his feats off the field which set Russ apart.
“This is a man who made his family, his club and his community incredibly proud. While so many of us use the hashtag #weareportadelaide in our social media, Russell Ebert #isportadelaide.
“My thoughts, and all of those at the Port Adelaide Football Club, are with the Ebert family and everyone who has had the pleasure of being touched in some way by Russell.
“Tonight we all carry a heavy heart as we’ve lost one of the greatest of all time. The Port Adelaide community is hurting like never before. But it also provides an opportunity to celebrate what Russell has contributed to Port Adelaide, football and the wider community.”
Port Adelaide CEO Matthew Richardson said it is a sad day for the football world.
“Russell’s contribution to Port Adelaide, to football, and more broadly to the community in South Australia is monumental,” Mr Richardson said.
“On the football field he was incomparable. Scrupulously fair, Russell always played the game in the right spirit. But he was tough, with his granite like physique. He played in equal doses of rare courage and remarkable brilliance which set him aside from any other player in South Australian history. And with a great sense of humour and insatiable willingness to put others first, Russell became one of the giants of South Australia.
“Today is a sad day for so many people, Port Adelaide supporters and South Australians alike, and our thoughts are with his family. We pass on our heartfelt condolences to Russell’s wife Di, children Ben, Tammy and Brett and extended family. We celebrate an amazing man who above all else, loved his family dearly and was just so proud of them all. ”
Ebert, with Bruce Light as his travelling companion from the Riverland, arrived at Alberton in 1968 from Waikerie.
Desperate to find an opening in Port Adelaide’s imposing League team, Ebert immediately raised his hand to play full-forward as a replacement for Eric Freeman who was called to Ashes cricket duties in the winter of 1968.
Ebert had rarely played full-forward previously, but he saw an opening and he gratefully accepted the opportunity on his way to topping Port Adelaide’s goalkicking list with 44 goals in 21 games.
However, it became very clear, very quickly that Ebert offered far more than a stay-at-home forward.
By the time he played his final match on September 7, 1985, Ebert was awarded a record four Magarey Medals, a club record six best-and-fairests and held the Australian record for most League games.
He was universally admired as the greatest player to grace the field in South Australia.
Upon his playing retirement Port Adelaide chairman Bob McLean declared, “It is the end of an era of the Port Adelaide Football Club – and the game generally. Port Adelaide, in particular, will be poorer now. He will no longer delight crowds with his superlative skills.
“He was always scrupulously fair in the way he played and was an object lesson to all footballers who aspire to be champions.
“He has been idolised by Port Adelaide fans and has been admired by supporters of other clubs. He is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats.”
Legendary Port Adelaide coach Fos Williams once described Ebert as “the most skilful of all the Port Adelaide players coming under my control. There’s nothing he couldn’t do. He was a pleasure to coach.”
For all his individual accolades, Ebert’s greatest desire was team success. By his admission, Ebert’s greatest football achievement was captaining Port Adelaide to the famous drought-breaking flag in 1977.
In a recent interview on the Port Adelaide Football Club website Ebert described 1977 as a “monumental year” given the disappointments of previous Grand Finals.
“You can chuck in medals and State games and all that, but when you win that premiership you win it for the whole club, you win for every supporter,” Ebert recalled.
The enduring image from that memorable day is Ebert lifting the Thomas Seymour Hill Trophy above his head with those chiselled arms proclaiming “It’s taken us a bloody long time, but by geez it’s worth it.”
After a one-year stint at North Melbourne in 1979, Ebert returned to claim back-to-back flags with Port Adelaide in 1980 and 1981.
Until his playing retirement in 1985, Ebert captain-coached the club from 1983 to 1985, and was then non-playing coach in 1986 and 1987 before departing the club to coach Woodville from 1988 to 1990.
He returned to Port Adelaide in 1999 to launch the club’s school-based Community Youth Program which, to this day, is still promoting healthy lifestyle messages to Primary School students.
Ebert’s final message was one of thanks and to “appreciate each day as it comes, enjoy it and care about others”.
“During your career you’re just trying to get a game, organise a family and run a business, so you very rarely get the opportunity to tell people, whether they’re one, two, three, or four years of age, or whether they’re the Grandma still knitting black-and-white and have added a bit of teal to their scarves and rugs, you very rarely get an opportunity to just say how absolutely privileged it’s been to be able to run out onto the ground and give you some enjoyment,” Ebert said.
“Just a sincere thank you for all the support you’ve given us over so many years.”
Russell Ebert OAM honours:
Playing career: 1968-1985
League games: 392
Goals: 294
State games: 29
Premierships: 1977, 1980, 1981
Best-and-fairest: 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981
Magarey Medallist: 1971, 1974, 1976, 1980
Club leading goalkicker: 1968 (44 goals)
PAFC Life Member: 1977
Jack Oatey Medallist: 1981
Australian Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 1996
Port Adelaide Hall of Fame Inductee: 1998
SANFL Hall of Fame Inductee: 2002
Member of Port Adelaide’s Greatest Team 1870-2000
Legend status in the South Australian Sport Hall of Fame: 2021
