CHAPTER 6 Premiership Won Carrying on from where they left off, Carlton won the 1945-46 premiership, and the seconds followed that example – a feat unparalleled in the history of the Club. In addition, membership became an all-time high. Next in importance was the selection of the ground for Interstate cricket and also for League football finals. The team had to fight against Northcote to reach the semi-finals. A score of 4/9 was disturbing, but Bill Kinnear and Harry Parkinson retrieved the position and the score reached 9/233. Kinnear made 62, Parkinson 78 and Besford 37. With Jim Baird taking four wickets and Jack Leehane two and Alan Jinks two, Northcote made only 155. Facing St. Kilda in the semi-final on a rain-affected wicket, Carlton were sent in to bat, and did well to score 299. Parkinson made 87, Besford 55 and Gordon Carlton 38. Against the hostile bowling of Freer, Jinks and Carlton, St. Kilda were dismissed for 151. Carlton lost 1/94 in a second innings, Kinnear making 51 not out. Again in the final Carlton began poorly, at home against Essendon, and at 3/10 Kinnear and Freer became associated. In was not until the score had reached 171 that Freer was dismissed for a glorious 98. Kinnear made a sound 62. Fred Lalor carried on the good work to make 64 not out splendidly, and the total reached 285. Essendon replied with 182, Leehane taking 3/21, Freer 3/54 and Carlton 3/44. The success can be ascribed to the evenness of the batting, the strength of the bowling, the ability of the players to rise to the occasion, and the confidence in, and loyal support accorded to, Mick Price, the astute captain. Highlights of the earlier matches were the bowling of Alan Jinks in taking 8/27 against Fitzroy, 8/68 in the next game against Coburg, 7/47 against Collingwood, 5/33 against North Melbourne, and 5/77 against Melbourne. Freer took 5/34, 6/52 and 4/41. In batting, Herb Turner made 57 not out, 127 against Collingwood (his first century for the Club), 86 not out in 74 minutes against Prahran, and Judd Moore made 101 not out against North Melbourne. The club championship went to Alan Jinks, the batting average was won by Herb Turner, with Bill Kinnear the highest aggregate. Parkinson and Numa did well but were available for only five games, and Freer’s absence with the State team threw a strain on the other bowlers. Jinks bowled 1770 balls and took 52 wickets. The Seconds met St. Kilda in the final and, after losing 5/18, recovered to make 127, with Tom Clague’s 58 top. When St. Kilda had 4/81 it looked all over, but the mercurial Jack Hale took 7/23 off 15 overs and the innings ended for 90. Later the two teams were accorded a civic reception by Cr. Ray Connelly, Lord Mayor of Melbourne. The retirement of Jack Baird after 10 years of splendid service was received with regret. TOP PLAYERS UNAVAILABLE Accidents and absence of leading players prevented Carlton from retaining top place in the pennant in 1946-47. With Mick Price, Jim Baird and Herb Turner on tour with the football team, there was a strain on the other players in the first match – that against Prahran – but, with Fred Freer and Alan Jinks bowling well, and Bert Numa making 73, Bill Kinnear 61, Freer 49, After dismissing Melbourne for 100, Carlton slumped for 56 for the second defeat in the game was won by 37 runs. succession. Price was top score with 87 against Northcote, and the slump was arrested. The premiership flag was unfurled at the next game, against North Melbourne, but, after a Although Carlton made 206 at Essendon, the home team responded with 8/342. Turner (61) was good start by Kinnear (67) and Freer (34) the side collapsed for 147. Although Jinks took 7/43, the best for Carlton. In vital match against Richmond, Numa made a splendid 106 not out and, North won by 18 runs. with Fred Lalor taking 5/25 and Gordon Carlton 3/54, Carlton won well. Against Essendon the score was 229 (Parkinson 47, Kinnear 40), but Test batsman Ken Carlton met Collinwood in the semi-final, and struggled to make 157, but Jack Leehane Mueleman made a century and Essendon won an exciting match by two runs. Jinks took 5/94. (3/24), Jim Baird (3/33) and Alan Jinks (4/26) were too good for the opposition. In the second innings Numa made 111 and Lalor 98 not out. In a score of 8/270 against a Hawthorn-East Melbourne total of 220, Turner made 66, Parkinson 51, Numa 48 and Kinnear 43, Freer taking 5/89. Freer’s 4/73 was the best Then came the final, and the fluctuating fortunes of both Melbourne and Carlton kept the performance in a drawn game against South Melbourne. crowd on its toes. Melbourne at one stage were 7/73, but fought back to reach 200, probably due to the fact that Jim Baird broke down when he had taken 4/41. The first three Carlton Splendid form was shown in the next game, against St. Kilda, with a score of 4/300, wickets realised 20 runs. Then the score went to 5/113. Fred Lalor was then joined by Ted Parkinson making 141 not out, Turner 88 and Kinnear 49. Baird, Jinks and Carlton shared the Besford for a partnership of 83, Lalor making 83. Besford went on to make a fighting 67 and St. Kilda wickets with a score of 198. the score reached 250. In a second innings Melbourne reached 303 (Leehane 4/73, Jinks 3/95 Jim Baird retired for the season before the next game, Jack Leehane was ill, and Freer was and Baird 2/79). Carlton made sure of victory with a score of 3/206 (Kinnear 80, Price 70). with the State team. This left the bowling weak for the game against Richmond, which lost As the Club championship was also won, it was a great season, and victory was a tribute to 5/274. Jack Hale’s 3/67 was the best effort. Carlton responded with 194 (Kinnear 88, Price 50). the wonderful team spirit, plus as even batting line-up, diversified bowling and excellent Carlton got a bad start with 3/6 against Northcote. Numa, Price and Turner helped to bring fielding. the score to 7/176, but it was not enough. Bert Numa won the Club championship, with 566 runs and an average of 56.6, which gave Freer returned for the next game, against Fitzroy, but his 4/68 was not enough and this him the batting average also. As he gained Interstate selection, it was his big year – one of game too was lost. Parkinson made 56 not out. There was a revival in the next game when, many. Gordon Carlton won the bowling average with 32 wickets for 14.09, with Jim Baird and against University, the score reached 2/336. Numa made a brilliant 118 not out, Turner 110 not Jack Leehane close up, each with 30 wickets. out, and Freer 80, but rain washed out the match on the second day. A defeat by 104 runs The Club suffered a severe blow when Fred Freer accepted an offer to play Lancashire against Melbourne ended a rather disappointing season. Turner made 60 and Freer 61 and Jinks League cricket. In recognition of his many successes over 17 years with the Club, he was made took 5/100. a life member. Five batsmen averaged more than 40, which indicated that the weakened bowling was the cause of the failure. Turner headed the list with 64.37 from 515 runs, and Parkinson, in his first SEMI-FINAL LOSS full season since 1940-41, showed great skill in scoring 415 runs for an average of 51.8. Once again Kinnear proved the sheet anchor, and averaged 40.25, proving one of the best openers in Carlton could do no better than reach the semi-finals in 1948-49. After rain had affected pennant cricket. Alan Jinks, with 38 wickets at and average of 16.71, won the bowling and Club the first match, Carlton went on the defeat Prahran outright, K. Wade taking 6/22, Carlton 6/28, championship. Leehane 4/52 and Jinks 3/18. Parkinson’s 63 was top score. In bad weather North Melbourne defeated Carlton by 119 to 82, but the Cup Day match CARLTON WIN AGAIN had to be abandoned. Although Carlton could make only 137 against St. Kilda, Jim Baird (6/35) and Alan Jinks (3/28) bowled so well that the opposition were dismissed for 100. In a second Another premiership was won by Carlton in 1947-48. The season was one of the wettest innings Herb Turner returned to form with 74 and Lalor made 54. on record, with three rounds washed out. Freer began in great style, scoring 62 and taking 7/33 against North Melbourne, who were defeated outright. Carlton were in strife against University, Turner continued his good form in the next match, against Essendon, scoring a brilliant 96, but Ted Besford, 68 not out, settled down, and with some good batting helped to give his side with Mick Price making 53, in a score of 4/198. In a one-day game, this was enough to win, as the win. South Melbourne were also defeated outright, with Kinnear (82) and Price (55) top Essendon lost 9/142.