Four times Martin Pike could have been a Brisbane player, and three times he was passed over. But finally ‘no’ became ‘yes’ in October 2000 and he found himself in the bizarre situation of arriving at a new club with his photograph already on the Honour Wall.

He arrived at the Gabba and, walking down the corridor into the football rooms, he passed photos of every Fitzroy club champion.     

There was nine-time winner Kevin Murray and five-time winners Allan Ruthven, John Murphy, Garry Wilson and Paul Roos, among all the greats. And there at the end of the row was Pike himself.

Four years earlier, in what turned out to be the last year of the Fitzroy Lions, Pike polled 299 votes to beat Matthew Primus (291), Scott Bamford (255), Jarrod Molloy (177) and Chris Johnson (175) to win the very last Percy Mitchell Medal.

It is all part of Pike’s special and unique place in football history.

He is one of only 30 players to have played with four clubs, and the only one of these to have won a flag with two of them. He was a member the North Melbourne premiership side in 1999 and the Brisbane colossus of 2001-02-03.

And he’s one of just 14 players to have played for Brisbane and North Melbourne, who will meet on Saturday at Mt.Barker, outside Adelaide, in AFL Gather Round.

Oddly, he played more games and had more success club by club as he worked through his career, eventually landing in Brisbane at the fourth roll of the draft dice.

In the 1992 AFL National Draft a then 20-year-old defender/utility from SANFL club Norwood was drafted by Melbourne with pick #9 after Brisbane had preferred Nathan Chapman at #2 and Justin Leppitsch at #4.

Two years later Pike was on the open market again, having played 24 games with the Demons, including 16 games and three finals in his second season.

Brisbane, having landed Alastair Lynch, Craig Lambert, Craig Starcevich, Andrew Bews, Gilbert McAdam and Troy Lehmann in a massive recruiting spree in 1994, had turned their focus on the draft. And although they eventually took ex-Fitzroy star Ross Lyon after his would-be trade to Sydney with Paul Roos was squashed by the AFL for salary cap reasons, there was no Pike.

Instead he was traded to Fitzroy. As the 1995 AFL Guide said: “There were a few raised eyebrows when this talented forward, who can also play in defence, was traded to the Lions … he was just starting to play some of his best football with Melbourne and turned in an eye-catching performance in the qualifying final against Carlton. Obviously will be keen to prove a few people wrong and providing he shows discipline on and off the field, Fitzroy will have gained a more than useful player”.

He was certainly that and played 14 games in 1995 and all 22 games in 1996.

After the Brisbane-Fitzroy merger the now 24-year Fitzroy club champion could have been picked among the ‘Chosen Eight’ to head north but was overlooked. Instead the club took Brad Boyd, Chris Johnson, Jarrod Molloy, John Barker, Scott Bamford, Shane Clayton, Nick Carter and Simon Hawking.

Instead Pike went to North Melbourne, where he played 81 games in four years, including the 1998 grand final loss and the 1999 premiership. But after a continuing record of off-field dramas he fell out with coach Denis Pagan and was sacked.

Leigh Matthews, two years into his term as Brisbane coach, decided the versatility and experience of the now 28-year-old 141-gamer was worth a punt and the Lions took him with pick #33 in the 2000 National Draft.

So in Round 1 2001 Pike became the ninth player to have played for Brisbane and North.

Rick Norman, a one-time Morningside star, was the first. A 12-game North player in 1985-86, he was the emergency for the Bears’ first game and played in the second. And never played again.

Ross Smith, a 36-game player over five years at North, was also a member of the inaugural Bears squad and played four games in 1987, including the first win at the Carrara.

Mark Roberts was the third and the first to go the other way. A Sydney junior who played 18 games with the Swans from 1985-86, he was a member of the first Brisbane side and played 59 games with the Bears before 125 games at North.

Alex Ishchenko had a similar path, going West Coast, Brisbane and North, before Michael Murphy, later a long-time sales executive at the Gabba, joined the Bears after stints at North and Adelaide.

Paul Spargo, father of current Melbourne player Charlie Spargo, joined Brisbane from North in 1993, and Shane Clayton of ‘Chosen Eight’ fame went Brisbane to North in 1999.

David Calthorpe, originally from Essendon, had one-year stints at Brisbane in 1999 and North in 2000, and after Pike in 2001 Ben Robbins (2002) and Daniel Pratt (2005) left Brisbane for North.

Completing the list are Ryan Bastinac, who headed north from Arden Street in 2016, Jared Polec, who was originally drafted by Brisbane and played at Port Adelaide before heading to North in 2019, and Josh Walker, who was picked up by North in 2020 after being delisted by Brisbane.