All smiles … Trevor O’Shannassy, Roy Donohue and Alan Tymms reflect on their time at the Albion Football Club. 48249 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
By Michael Esposito
SEVEN stalwarts of the Albion Football Club were inducted into the club’s inaugural hall of fame at a glittering 50th anniversary ball on Saturday.
To coincide with the half-century milestone, the club honoured seven men who have been the lifeblood of the Cats for decades.
Trevor O’Shannassy, a life member of the club who was made a hall of famer on the weekend, joined the club as an 18-year-old and went on to play 340 games with the Cats and serve on the committee for 20 years.
He was president of the club for four years and also coached at junior and senior level.
O’Shannassy said the strong bonds formed at the club were most special to him.
“You don’t stay any one place, whether it be a football club or work, for any particular period of time if you don’t enjoy it,” he said.
“I’ve met a lot of good people over the years and some of them are very good friends of mine now, and I think besides the premierships and the best and fairests you win, I think the friends that you meet over the journey are probably the highlight of my career here.
“I still go down there, and I wouldn’t go down there if I didn’t enjoy it.
“Even though you put your heart and soul in it, sometimes to the detriment of your family life, it’s nice to be recognised in the finish, but you don’t work towards this finish when you’re doing things.”
Other hall of fame inductees were:
STAN COXHILL was responsible for starting up the club in 1961. Coxhill founded the club after being unsatisfied with the club’s treatment in the old Sunshine league, which decided not to subsidise the club after 1960.
ALAN “TITCH” WILLIAMS has never put on the boots for Albion, but he is one of the most recognisable faces around the club. The stalwart was the club’s first trainer 50 years ago, and is the club’s trainer to this day. For his 50 years of service he has been awarded life membership of the club and of the Western Region Football league. He celebrated his 700th game as a trainer last year.
ALEX HALL, better known around the club as “Smiley,” played in Albion’s inaugural team. He went on to play 320 games and spent many years on the club’s committee, including a stint as president. Hall doesn’t have an official role with the club anymore, but is still very much involved with his beloved Cats.
ROY DONOHUE was associated with the club for almost 30 years as an administrator, treasurer, president and club delegate to the WRFL. While he never played a game for the Cats, he was a part of the lifeblood of the club from the early ’60s through to the late ’80s.
ALAN TYMMS, who goes by the nickname Skinny, started playing at the club in 1971, and is still heavily involved with the Cats. He played more than 200 games for Albion, before going on the committee in several roles spanning almost three decades, including a role as president. He also coached the A reserves team.
Tymms’s son Aaron is the A Grade side’s current captain.
SHANE KEOGH played 177 games for the club from 1981 to 1991, and was appointed playing coach in 1985.
He had tremendous success with the club, winning the premiership in 1985 and 86. His legacy lies with the level of professionalism he brought to coaching, which at the time was way above the standard of suburban football leagues.
