Meeting Players current and ex and other celebrities

[Tom Verlaine's Ghost]

Fair enough mate, I am no expert on Neddy Smith, but i had an interest mainly because i grew up around Balmain and some of my older relatives had a few lets say colourful associates andearlier i heard plenty of stories as a young fella.I ended up working in the financial industry and my company got a contract educating soon to be released cons and kids in juvie.Quite a few criminals with money stashed away i guess because my classes were extremely popular! Anyway, i asked about Ned and was told he had been moved to another jail a few years earlier.

Yeah, no worries. He was arrested in 1987. The only time he hasn't been at the Bay was briefly in the early 90s, just after all the ICAC shit went down. He went to Lithgow. But it was less than a year. He's been at the Bay ever since. He was in 5 Wing when your classes were on.

[Maxy Walker]

Bart always had a bit of 'Jack' about him for me, including the economy with words. Maybe had the benefit of more education than Jack but when they spoke, you listened.

Both legends of Aussie sport and folklore.

Read a good book about Bart recently. His economy of words was just an act he put on for interviews. All about giving the press nothing to protect the odds of his runners back in the days when trainers lived off the punt. Supposedly a much more outgoing person among trusted company.

[Insider]

Has anyone met any of the above and were surprised or disappointed when your met them and what were the circumstances etc.

I had a poor experience with the real John Tobin as i have mentioned before short changing me and denying it at his newsagency after i got him to sign his Scanlon Footy card- I always wonder if i had reported it to the police he may never had embarked on a life of crime - sure the cops would say oh yes we will give it top priority sunny after we deal with a few minor matters such as murders/rapes/burglaries/assaults/drug dealers etc.

Not quite sure if he would like to be called a celebrity but i remember being in London meeting up with relo's- They invited me to go some art exhibition maybe for charity or something so attended this with some of the cousins who fancied themselves as artists having attended art school.

Anyway one of the artist or painters in attendance was Paul Simonon ( Clash Bassist ) - my cousins have the gift of the gab so we went over to talk to him - I thought it's always a bit of an issue doing this as they may not want to be bothered - completely the opposite a really nice bloke.

When my cousins said this is our Aussie cousin he remembered the i think magnificant seven tour and asked if i went - nervously i replied ahhhh yes i did it was great- anyway he then says if you hang on a sec i'll bring Mick Jones(Clash Guitarist and Song writer with Joe Strummer ) over as he's here as well - Nice bloke as well - I was wearing my Clash T-Shirt so that may have helped.

The above was in the late 80's

https://www.pinterest.com.au/huntdeb...uls-paintings/

First player i met was Artie when i was 10, met Johnny Peard on the same day. Dad was building houses in the Eastern Suburbs at the time and asked me one day during the school holidays if i wanted to go to work with him. Mate, hanging around the ol man wherever work was concerned was not a good idea, he was an old school slave driver. Anyway i went along reluctantly and there was Artie. After shooting a prepubescent load i sat there watching him hurl bricks up to the brickies on the 2nd floor. A bit later Johnny Peard rolled up in a Readymix concrete truck and dropped off a bit of concrete on the sly for the ol man while on his way to another job who had payed for the concrete unawares they were getting a short load.That went on all day. About 4pm Peard rolled up and i sat on Arties shoulders while Dad,Artie, Peard and a few other blokes demolished a carton.

[Headless Chook]

I met Bart Cummings quite a few times and dealt with him occasionally on the phone.

The most interesting part about him was the fact that he said so little.

My favourite Bart story is the one where the Health Inspectors went through his stables and one of them told him he had too many flies, Bart then asked how many he was allowed to have.

The other story I loved was in the lead up to the 96 Melbourne Cup where Bart had Saintly running. Saintly's pedigree suggested he might struggle to run the 3200m and a journalist asked Bart if he was worried that the sire and dam had failed to run 2 miles. Bart replied that Saintly didn't know how far his mum and dad could run

[OMR]

Read a good book about Bart recently. His economy of words was just an act he put on for interviews. All about giving the press nothing to protect the odds of his runners back in the days when trainers lived off the punt. Supposedly a much more outgoing person among trusted company.

Jack Denham was renowned for giving journos absolutely nothing, he was as sour as can be, but he could pull off a plunge.

[ism22]

The romanticism of bring back the biff and for nefarious characters is farcical.

Kinda is hey.

I worked in a prison and have been in rooms 1-on-1 with many big name crims. My only reflections are:

1. These guys are all absolute d!ckheads no matter how you look at it. They've harmed people and the majority have zero remorse. Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult to end up in prison. It really is an option of last resort.

2. Prisoners won't hurt you (unless you're a cop, prison guard, their ex, a paedo or somebody who dobbed them into the cops) so there's absolutely no need to be scared visiting a prison. If you get somebody out of their cell for a while and give them attention, that's a serious gift to them. They're not gonna bite the hand that feeds, no matter how big and stupid they are. Particularly lifers... the only time they go postal is right after their sentence is handed down and they're coming to grips with the fact they'll never be released. That's when they'll take hostages and try to escape by using them as human shields. They then inevitably fail, realise they're farked and spend the next 50 years pretty much chilling out once they've processed shyte. Prison becomes their home... their safety too.

3. Most men in prison are either paedos (usually super nice but farking weirdos), wife beaters (soft as fark) or thugs/terrorists (not very bright)... you're talking about human beings who are the absolute bottom of the barrel. No matter how tough they pretend to be, they're all insecure and jealous of you. The one 'smart' guy I met intentionally got arrested so that he could murder his sister's murderer. The guy had a 100% clean record but knew his sister's murderer was still in remand so committed a serious enough crime to get arrested, used a different name so that they weren't separated and had a serious shot at knocking the guy off. Was that REALLY 'smart' though? He's now in prison for a very long time and has given up his own life (he was relatively successful) trying to kill a guy who will literally never be released (life means life in that jurisdiction... no limit and no parole).

4. You can bring books into a prison, that's nothing special. You just can't bring contraband in (there's always idiot sympathisers hooking them up... stupidest thing ever because once you break the law, they can hold you random over smuggling one apple into prison... 'hey I'll report you for the apple and you'll be in deep shyte unless you bring me a constant supply of ciggies, booze, hard drugs...etc').

[Vasco]

Bart always had a bit of 'Jack' about him for me, including the economy with words. Maybe had the benefit of more education than Jack but when they spoke, you listened.

Both legends of Aussie sport and folklore.

Agreed.

[Vasco]

Jack Denham was renowned for giving journos absolutely nothing, he was as sour as can be, but he could pull off a plunge.

I was a big fan.

His son couldn't train Phar Lap.

[OMR]

I was a big fan.

His son couldn't train Phar Lap.

LOL , being burnt by him.

[Mickie Lane]

Kinda is hey.

I worked in a prison and have been in rooms 1-on-1 with many big name crims. My only reflections are:

1. These guys are all absolute d!ckheads no matter how you look at it. They've harmed people and the majority have zero remorse. Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult to end up in prison. It really is an option of last resort.

2. Prisoners won't hurt you (unless you're a cop, prison guard, their ex, a paedo or somebody who dobbed them into the cops) so there's absolutely no need to be scared visiting a prison. If you get somebody out of their cell for a while and give them attention, that's a serious gift to them. They're not gonna bite the hand that feeds, no matter how big and stupid they are. Particularly lifers... the only time they go postal is right after their sentence is handed down and they're coming to grips with the fact they'll never be released. That's when they'll take hostages and try to escape by using them as human shields. They then inevitably fail, realise they're farked and spend the next 50 years pretty much chilling out once they've processed shyte. Prison becomes their home... their safety too.

3. Most men in prison are either paedos (usually super nice but farking weirdos), wife beaters (soft as fark) or thugs/terrorists (not very bright)... you're talking about human beings who are the absolute bottom of the barrel. No matter how tough they pretend to be, they're all insecure and jealous of you. The one 'smart' guy I met intentionally got arrested so that he could murder his sister's murderer. The guy had a 100% clean record but knew his sister's murderer was still in remand so committed a serious enough crime to get arrested, used a different name so that they weren't separated and had a serious shot at knocking the guy off. Was that REALLY 'smart' though? He's now in prison for a very long time and has given up his own life (he was relatively successful) trying to kill a guy who will literally never be released (life means life in that jurisdiction... no limit and no parole).

4. You can bring books into a prison, that's nothing special. You just can't bring contraband in (there's always idiot sympathisers hooking them up... stupidest thing ever because once you break the law, they can hold you random over smuggling one apple into prison... 'hey I'll report you for the apple and you'll be in deep shyte unless you bring me a constant supply of ciggies, booze, hard drugs...etc').

Like who?
Ive gotta hear this.

[Insider]

Kinda is hey.

I worked in a prison and have been in rooms 1-on-1 with many big name crims. My only reflections are:

1. These guys are all absolute d!ckheads no matter how you look at it. They've harmed people and the majority have zero remorse. Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult to end up in prison. It really is an option of last resort.

2. Prisoners won't hurt you (unless you're a cop, prison guard, their ex, a paedo or somebody who dobbed them into the cops) so there's absolutely no need to be scared visiting a prison. If you get somebody out of their cell for a while and give them attention, that's a serious gift to them. They're not gonna bite the hand that feeds, no matter how big and stupid they are. Particularly lifers... the only time they go postal is right after their sentence is handed down and they're coming to grips with the fact they'll never be released. That's when they'll take hostages and try to escape by using them as human shields. They then inevitably fail, realise they're farked and spend the next 50 years pretty much chilling out once they've processed shyte. Prison becomes their home... their safety too.

3. Most men in prison are either paedos (usually super nice but farking weirdos), wife beaters (soft as fark) or thugs/terrorists (not very bright)... you're talking about human beings who are the absolute bottom of the barrel. No matter how tough they pretend to be, they're all insecure and jealous of you. The one 'smart' guy I met intentionally got arrested so that he could murder his sister's murderer. The guy had a 100% clean record but knew his sister's murderer was still in remand so committed a serious enough crime to get arrested, used a different name so that they weren't separated and had a serious shot at knocking the guy off. Was that REALLY 'smart' though? He's now in prison for a very long time and has given up his own life (he was relatively successful) trying to kill a guy who will literally never be released (life means life in that jurisdiction... no limit and no parole).

4. You can bring books into a prison, that's nothing special. You just can't bring contraband in (there's always idiot sympathisers hooking them up... stupidest thing ever because once you break the law, they can hold you random over smuggling one apple into prison... 'hey I'll report you for the apple and you'll be in deep shyte unless you bring me a constant supply of ciggies, booze, hard drugs...etc').

You watch way to much TV mate.

[Speedymetric]

Kinda is hey.

I worked in a prison and have been in rooms 1-on-1 with many big name crims. My only reflections are:

1. These guys are all absolute d!ckheads no matter how you look at it. They've harmed people and the majority have zero remorse. Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult to end up in prison. It really is an option of last resort.

2. Prisoners won't hurt you (unless you're a cop, prison guard, their ex, a paedo or somebody who dobbed them into the cops) so there's absolutely no need to be scared visiting a prison. If you get somebody out of their cell for a while and give them attention, that's a serious gift to them. They're not gonna bite the hand that feeds, no matter how big and stupid they are. Particularly lifers... the only time they go postal is right after their sentence is handed down and they're coming to grips with the fact they'll never be released. That's when they'll take hostages and try to escape by using them as human shields. They then inevitably fail, realise they're farked and spend the next 50 years pretty much chilling out once they've processed shyte. Prison becomes their home... their safety too.

3. Most men in prison are either paedos (usually super nice but farking weirdos), wife beaters (soft as fark) or thugs/terrorists (not very bright)... you're talking about human beings who are the absolute bottom of the barrel. No matter how tough they pretend to be, they're all insecure and jealous of you. The one 'smart' guy I met intentionally got arrested so that he could murder his sister's murderer. The guy had a 100% clean record but knew his sister's murderer was still in remand so committed a serious enough crime to get arrested, used a different name so that they weren't separated and had a serious shot at knocking the guy off. Was that REALLY 'smart' though? He's now in prison for a very long time and has given up his own life (he was relatively successful) trying to kill a guy who will literally never be released (life means life in that jurisdiction... no limit and no parole).

4. You can bring books into a prison, that's nothing special. You just can't bring contraband in (there's always idiot sympathisers hooking them up... stupidest thing ever because once you break the law, they can hold you random over smuggling one apple into prison... 'hey I'll report you for the apple and you'll be in deep shyte unless you bring me a constant supply of ciggies, booze, hard drugs...etc').

He "used a different name so they weren't separated". Are you serious? So when he told them his name was John Bloggs the arresting officers just went, "Yes Mr Bolggs, that's fine, no we don't need to see any ID or check your identity we'll just put you straight in here with this murderer". Happens all the time!

[ism22]

Pearce was a bit of a tool in my interactions with him. During meet and greet sessions, others would be walking the floor, signing stuff and making light conversation.

On at least 3 occasions, Pearce was on his phone during meet and greet sessions and was swearing at some random (probably his girlfriend or parents). He's the one signature I don't have on my 2013 jersey for that reason...

Everybody else is pretty cool. Like I can be a really shy/nerdy/awkward dude in unfamiliar situations but they feel like family. Guess it's the energy factor that Robbo talks about? Just a really good bunch of blokes who can open the door to anybody...

[Tennessee Tornado]

Pearce was a bit of a tool in my interactions with him. During meet and greet sessions, others would be walking the floor, signing stuff and making light conversation.

On at least 3 occasions, Pearce was on his phone during meet and greet sessions and was swearing at some random (probably his girlfriend or parents). He's the one signature I don't have on my 2013 jersey for that reason...

Everybody else is pretty cool. Like I can be a really shy/nerdy/awkward dude in unfamiliar situations but they feel like family. Guess it's the energy factor that Robbo talks about? Just a really good bunch of blokes who can open the door to anybody...

I found the complete opposite with Pearce.

I've met him a couple of times and he was very happy to have a chat. Last time was around 2013 and he was waxing lyrical about Robbo.

[The Brain]

I met Bart Cummings quite a few times and dealt with him occasionally on the phone.

The most interesting part about him was the fact that he said so little.

hahha i shared an elevator with him at Randwick several weeks before Melbourne cup and he didnt have an entry at that time..I asked him who do you like for Melbourne ..he replied just back my horse and no one else ..so we waited and sure enough his horse got up.