The Collingwood Football Club is deeply saddened to announce the passing of 1958 Premiership player Ken Turner.

Ken, who was the father of 1990 Premiership player Jamie, was an outstanding, free-running midfielder who loved the wet weather and was always at his best in big games. He rivalled Thorold Merrett for best-on-ground honours on that memorable September day in 1958, and weeks later would finish second to him in the Copeland Trophy.

Merrett this week paid tribute to his former teammate.

“This is a very sad day,” he said. “Ken and I were great mates, very good friends. He was a wonderful teammate and a very, very good player – a very underrated player.

“He actually took over from me on the wing. And that was a sad day for me because he was too good a player! I played on him in some practice matches and I discovered then what long arms he had: he was such a good mark and he’d beat me every time we went up for one!”

Just five years before that triumph in ’58, Ken had been one of the crowd sitting on the grass at the 1953 Grand Final. He’d been a Magpie supporter since birth, born into a Northcote family with a rich Collingwood heritage (his uncles, Stan and Percy Yates, both played for Collingwood during the years of the First World War).

Ken went to Collingwood Tech and his football talent was obvious from an early age. But by age 14 things were looking bleak. Afflicted with chronic heel injuries, Ken hung up the footy boots for four years and focused his attention instead on tennis. (The depth of his natural sporting prowess was underlined by the fact that, just two years later, he was playing top grade metropolitan pennant competition.)

In January of 1954, Ken was sent to Puckapunyal for a three-month stint of National Service training. There he became mates with John James, of Carlton fame, and Bill Serong, who would later also join Collingwood. The lads often played kick-to-kick behind the barracks and, despite his four-year absence from competitive football, Turner’s skills so impressed James that the Carlton champ suggested he had a future in League football. This vote of confidence inspired Ken to try his luck with Collingwood thirds on his return from Puckapunyal, and he managed seven games in 1954 before breaking a wrist.

Widely known as ‘Herbie’ (after Herbie Turner, a prominent Carlton footballer and cricketer), Ken didn’t make his senior debut until 1956, and at the end of that season he played for the VFL amateurs’ team that played an exhibition match against the Australian amateurs at the 1956 Olympic Games.

He cemented his place in the senior team the following year, establishing a reputation as a fast, clever wingman/centreman who excelled in aerial duels. Although only 178cm (5ft l0in) tall, he was a quite exceptional mark. He relished the wetter days, and it was no surprise when he hit the purplest of patches during what was a particularly wet finals series in 1958. Three brilliant games in a row helped the Pies to that magical flag, and took Ken to within a whisker of a Copeland too.

In the end he would total 170 games in a remarkably consistent career that spanned 10 seasons. He always saved his best for the big games, and was among our best in almost all the finals he played – including his very last game, in the 1965 preliminary final. He placed in the Copeland three times, played for Victoria between 1960-63 and served as the club’s vice-captain or deputy vice-captain for five years. He moved onto the committee as soon as he retired and spent seven years in that role, and after running a catering business in Hawksburn he moved up to Queensland. Of course, his eldest son Jamie would follow in his Premiership footsteps in 1990 (giving them the unique distinction of being the only father-son combination in history to have played in their club’s successive flag-winning sides.)

Ken passed away suddenly last Friday night. He was 86.

The Board, management, staff, coaches and players of the Collingwood Football Club wish to place on record our appreciation for Ken’s great contribution to our footy club, and especially for his part in our famous 1958 Premiership win. Our thoughts are with his family, especially Jamie, and all his friends from Collingwood and beyond.

1935-2022
CFC Games 170
CFC Goals 56

Side by Side.

To read Ken’s full story and the stats from his career, check his bio on Forever:

https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/ken-turner/