THE Port Adelaide Football Club mourns the loss of legendary player, administrator and Life Member Bob Clayton, but celebrates an extraordinary contribution at Alberton spanning half a century.
Bob passed away peacefully on Thursday 8 September after battling a long illness with the courage and character that marked his life and his football career both on-field and off.
He was 65.
The Port Adelaide Football Club respectfully advises that the funeral service for the late Bob Clayton will be held at Alberton Oval at 10.30am on Tuesday 13 September.
It is a public service open to anyone who would like to pay their respects.
Bob first played for the Magpies as a 16 year-old in 1961 and he was contributing to the Club right up until the time of his passing.
He had a great influence on generations of players, from his under-age and League team-mates to those he helped daily during his reign as Football Manager during Port Adelaide’s formative years in the AFL.
Indeed Port Adelaide’s presence in the AFL is in large part due to Bob’s work as General Manager at the time of the initial bid in 1990 and as Football Manager in 1996 when its entry into the national competition was confirmed.
His death has brought tributes from players, colleagues and club officials past and present.
Port Adelaide Football Club President Brett Duncanson said “Bobby” would never be forgotten.
“Bobby was loved by everyone because of his gentle nature,” Mr Duncanson said.
“He epitomized what the Port Adelaide Football Club stands for - he never accepted losing.
“Bobby was always there for Port Adelaide but always he went about his work without fuss and without attention.
“And he was doing that right until the end. Just last week ago, I saw him at a Life Membership Sub-Committee meeting. Even then there was no way he was giving up.”
A defender, Bob played 151 League games for the Magpies between 1966-75 and competed in five League and 2 Reserve Grand Finals, but retired without a Premiership.
Team-mate Russell Ebert remembers him as tough an uncompromising.
“He wasn’t the most athletic or naturally skilled player, but his fierce determination and competitive nature on the field made him an almost scary opponent,” Russell said.
“At many a competitive training session under Fos Williams you’d be checking to see just in what order Bob Clayton and Neville Thiele were coming at you.
“I recall him needing to play only three games in his tenth season to qualify for Life Membership. He ended up playing every game of the year.”
After retiring from League football, Bob spent seven years playing and coaching in Whyalla, Millicent and Port Pirie, before returning to Alberton in 1982 to begin his distinguished administrative career.
“As a player you didn’t necessarily see him becoming an administrator, but he was a player’s man and when he moved into those roles that was always the case,” Russell said.
“Everyone knew that he was a straight shooter and that they’d get a fair hearing and an honest answer, whether they like the answer or not.”
Indeed, Bob would become a giant of the Club throughout one of its most successful and significant eras.
He started as Technical and Development Officer while performing many other roles including Under 15 and Under 13 coach, before being appointed General Manager of the Port Adelaide Football Club in 1989.
It was then when Port Adelaide’s ill-fated first bid to join the AFL was thwarted, but Bob remained in the top administrative job through the early 90’s and continued to serve on a wide range of committees with a focus on football and all areas of off-field activity.
In 1991 he stepped aside as Brian Cunningham became General Manager, but continued as Football Manager with a focus on both senior and junior development. It’s at this time knack for spotting young talent shone through. It delivered some of Port Adelaide’s greatest players, including Gavin Wanganeen, Scott Hodges and Byron Pickett to name a few.
Through this era - under Bob’s guidance - the Magpies continued their dominance in the SANFL with Premierships in 1992, 94, 95 and 96.
It is during these years that Bob played a vital role shaping Port Adelaide in preparation for its entry into the national competition in 1996, a year in which he resumed duties as General Manager allowing Cunningham to become inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the AFL operation.
Brian - who began his playing career in the early 1970s alongside Bob - says he was vital to keeping Port Adelaide performing successfully as it made its case to become the national league’s 16th team.
“Bob was a major part of that success in terms of recruitment, player management, and general football management which kept us at the front in the eyes of everyone in the football world,” he said.
“When we made it into the AFL it was critical that we were strong both on-field and off, and Bob made sure we were.
“And when we got into the AFL I knew that I wanted Bob with us in some key roles.”
Bob would become a pivotal figure in the Power’s entry into the AFL in 1997 through to its first Premiership in 2004. Throughout that eight-year period he served in several roles, including Team Manger, assisting players and coaches and ensuring the Football Department ran like clockwork.
From its foundation year until 2001 Bob was also AFL Player Welfare and Development Manager, a role for which he is fondly remembered by those he mentored and nurtured - including some still at the Club.
Inaugural squad member and current Power senior coach Matthew Primus says:
“He was an outstanding human being and the most honest bloke you’d ever meet in your life,” Matthew said.
“He was a jack of all trades and especially in the first few years in the AFL it was Bob who pulled everyone together.
“We had a few blokes from the Magpies, but everyone else came from other clubs and interstate and it was Bob who got them all settled in and feeling comfortable at the Club.
“He was always there to find accommodation or host families, or to find work for wives and girlfriends. And on top of that he was organizing all our travel and training and everything that went with being in the AFL.”
Bob’s proudest moment came in 2004 with the Grand Final victory over Brisbane, a crowning achievement which would provide the ideal time to step away from AFL duties and return to the Magpies as Football Operations Manager.
Bob was instrumental once again in shaping the Magpies’ future by rebuilding the Club’s elite talent pathway with the establishment of the football academy programs in Port Adelaide’s country and metropolitan zones. This work produced a significant number of the 2011 Magpies squad and ensures Bob’s legacy will continue for many years to come.
Using the skills and experienced gained in the national competition, Bob remained a wonderful asset to the Club and stayed in the role of Operations Manager of the SANFL team until early 2010.
While he was forced to give up his full-time position to battle his illness, Bob retained an active interest at Alberton, continuing to sit on the Club’s Life Membership Committee into 2011.
Great mate and legendary Port Adelaide Coach and player John Cahill shared Bob’s long journey.
“In my 50 years at Port Adelaide as a player and as a coach, Bob Clayton was right along side me,” John said.
“He was a confidant, someone I could trust, an inspiration to many and a true friend. His honesty and trust was something I cherished.
“In all my years in football I met some wonderful people, but none better than Bob Clayton.”
The Port Adelaide Football Club extends its sympathies to Bob’s wife June, his sons Mark and Ashley and his three grand children. Mark himself is a former Magpies captain and Premiership player who tallied up 228 games, most of them in his Dad’s number 10 guernsey.
The Club is forever indebted to Bob for his life-long contribution and counts him as one of the most significant figures in its proud history in both the SANFL and the AFL.
