When Dick Drake was playing for the Mayne Tigers, training wasn’t quite as demanding as it is today.
Drake is believed to be the Tigers’ oldest suriving player, at 92, and he recalls “haphazard” Sunday morning trainings at Perry Park.
“Mayne at that time, were not terribly good at training except on a Sunday morning,” he said.
“Sometimes I’d go to Perry Park during the week and be the only one training.
“The training on Sunday morning was a bit haphazard, there was a keg, as I recall.”
A goal sneak, who managed five in the 1952 Mayne Tigers premiership, Drake said his playing days are filled with fond memories, and Queensland football was the source of plenty of interstate envy.
“They were happy days when I played football but as I said, training sessions were a pleasure, though I don’t know if they were very effective,” he said.
“My brother was a footballer in Victoria and, he came up for holidays and he said the way Queenslanders train on a lovely warm, sunny Sunday morning was an amazement.”
“He was used to those Melbourne conditions.”
Drake came to the Tigers from the Ascot State School past pupils team, and his father became the vice-president of the club.
The Tigers have been on the hunt for their oldest living Tiger, as part of their 90th anniversary celebrations, to culminate in a reunion day later this month.
Vice-president Richard Fell, said it was important to mark this occasion and try and include as many Tigers as possible.
“Part of trying to find the oldest player was about reconnecting with some lost history,” he said.
“Players are so crucial to football clubs and we wanted to include as many as possible in this reunion day.
Fell said the anniversary was a way to keep the club’s history at the forefront of current players’ minds.
“Mayne has moved around a bit over the years and the players aren’t surrounded by the history,” hesaid.
“So, we want them to be immersed in what it is to be a Mayne Tiger.”
The Mayne Tigers are hosting their 90th anniversary reunion day on Saturday May 24.
