The Brisbane Lions are deeply saddened by the loss of former Fitzroy player and Club Life Member Ivan Smith, who passed away aged 86 on Wednesday morning.
Smith was recruited to Fitzroy from Robinvale a small town country town on the border of Victoria and New South Wales in 1956 and went on to play four games for the ‘Roys’.
He resigned from Fitzroy after just one season where he went back to the bush and continued playing football locally and joined the police force.
But returned to Melbourne in 1964 and approached Fitzroy to see how he could get involved, purely because he wanted to give something back to the Club that gave him a chance of playing VFL football.
He was soon appointed to the committee of the Past Players’ Association, a position he maintained for the best part of 50 years and served as Secretary from 1988 to 2015. Throughout the period of the merger in 1996, he was a key driver in turning the Fitzroy Past Players’ Association into the Fitzroy - Brisbane Lions Past Player Association and even ensured a lot of players were recognised within the group.
His dedication towards maintaining a strong level of support for both the club and its long list of past players led to him earning Brisbane Lions Life Membership in 2015.
Upon accepting the award, Smith recounted his memories of his time at the Club.
“Some people ask, ‘what was your recollection of your first game?’ – I don’t think I had a kick in my first game”, he laughed.
“But I know my opponent didn’t have a kick either. I think the reason for that was Kevin Murray was playing along the flank next to me.
“I was a ruckman, back pocket and they put me in the centre. I had no idea what to do there, I think I was a ball watcher.
“Kevin had the ball all the time, he looked after his man, my man, and any other fella who was floating about,” he quipped.
“I’ve derived a great amount of enjoyment from this particular job, this is an honour, I really treasure it and I know my family will be very pleased.”
The Club extends its deepest condolences to his family.
