Best ever Collingwood FC memorabilia collection up for auction

The best collection of Collingwood Football Club memorabilia outside that held in the club’s archives – including five premiership medals – will be auctioned from 10am Friday September 26 as part of Melbourne-based Abacus Auctions four-day sporting memorabilia, stamps, postal history and coins and banknotes sale at 29 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley. 

Owned by passionate Collingwood fan Gary Diffen, who also is a keen postal history collector, the oldest is an 1896 Victorian Football Association premiership medal (lot 4808) presented to Herman Dohrmann (who played 22 matches from 1895-96) for the club’s first Grand Final win, five years after it was established.

The following year, with seven other VFA clubs, Collingwood became a founding member of the Victorian Football League.

Only four of the 1896 premiership medallions are still in existence with two already in Collingwood’s archives.

Gary, who began collecting Collingwood memorabilia in 1999 when he bought ruckman the late Len Thompson’s (who played 268 games for Collingwood from 1965-1978) 1973 Copeland Trophy for the club’s best and fairest (lot 4823), said he only bought at auction the most important items for his collection.

“These included premiership medallions, Copeland Trophies and pre-World War II football jumpers,” he said.

Having purchased Thompson’s 1973 Copeland Trophy (he won five and a Brownlow Medal for the league’s best and fairest), Gary then snapped up Des Fothergill’s 1940 Copeland Trophy the following year.

One of the best players to pull on a Collingwood jumper, Fothergill played for the club from 1937-1940 and in that time won a Brownlow Medal and three Copeland Trophies. He returned after World War II to continue his football until a knee injury in early 1947 prematurely ended his career at age 26.

“This is the last time a Copeland was offered at auction until I decided to put Thompson’s medal on the market at this auction,” Gary said.

Lot 4810 is the auction’s second oldest Collingwood premiership medal, dating from 1903 and the club’s second VFL triumph – and is one of only five recorded. It was presented to Alf Dummett who played 118 matches for the club from 1901-1910 and was appointed captain in 1906.

Charles Pannam Jr, who played 97 matches for Collingwood from 1917-1922, featured in both the 1917 and 1919 premierships (the club’s fourth and fifth). His 1917 medal (lot 4812) is the only one from that year to be auctioned in the past 25. Five are retained in Collingwood’s archives.

The club’s 1953 premiership year, famous for the fact that Lou Richards – who later went on to become a well-known media identity – was team captain, included George Hams who played 108 games from 1948-1955. His auction medallion (lot 4820) is the only 1953 example to have come onto the secondary market.

Last of the trophies – a 1990 premiership medallion (lot 4824) – belongs to James Manson who played 120 games for Collingwood from 1985-1992 and 47 games for Fitzroy for three years beyond that.

The win was famous for Collingwood, breaking a 32-year drought and giving Hawthorn legend Leigh Matthews his first coaching triumph.

Another attraction is a pair of Go Pies (lot 4825) number plates for the right Collingwood fan to display on their car.

Gary said he was selling his Collingwood memorabilia collection because the availability of items he wanted to collect was no longer there and, after being its custodian for 26 years, it was time to hand the mantle to someone else.

“Selling my collection is part of a decluttering process to make my life simpler,” he said.

Other auction highlights include former Australian Test fast bowler Jason (Dizzy) Gillespie’s batting helmets for Australia (lot 4672 and 4674), South Australia (lot 4704) and Big Bash League team Adelaide Strikers (lot 4705).

Gillespie played 71 Tests for Australia between 1996 and 2006 and took 259 wickets at an average of 26.13. He famously scored 201 runs not out against Bangladesh in his last Test match and set a world record for a nightwatchman – a feat yet to be surpassed.