Footy premiership trifecta caps memorable marriage proposal
Ron Mills' wife Joyce must have been his lucky charm.
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The couple were engaged the morning of Mills' appearance in the 1948 Horsham and District Football League grand final.
The young Kalkee rover went on to kick 'a couple of goals, maybe four' in the game and help his team to its third successive premiership.
Mills also played in the 1946 and '47 teams but he identified the 1948 grand final as the most memorable game because it coincidently fell on the same day as his betrothal.
On the details of his engagement, Mills remained coy.
But wife Joyce piped up sardonically with: "It was very exciting." "It wasn't romantic in those days, or it doesn't seem like it when you think about it now," Mrs Mills said.
"But they were good days. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then."
Mills said playing in the three winning premiership sides was also something he remembered fondly.
"I started playing in the early 1940s. Jim Lawson was our coach but he retired and Wally Wollermann, a local farmer's son who had played with Essendon, took over," Mills recalled.
"He coached us to the three premierships in a row. I guess you could say we had a good run."
Mills said he had been playing for about eight years when the Kalkee team found its premiership-winning form. He remained loyal to the Kees except for a short stint with a Camperdown team when work took him away from the Wimmera.
"A couple of us were invited to play with Horsham after the premiership wins but we didn't get a good reception, so we decided to stay where we were," he said.
"We used to play in a paddock up the road where the Kalkee ground is now."
A couple of times I was playing, the umpires had to stop the game because the girls were out on the ground barracking and they had to get them off
- Ron Mills
But Joyce said that their romance didn't start on the football field.
"No, we met at a dance," she said.
However, Mills did describe his wife as his biggest fan during his playing days.
"And now I'm his biggest friend," she said.
The couple were married in 1949 and this year celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary.
Mills' football career ended soon after his final premiership when his work as an interstate truck driver made it too difficult for him to continue training and playing.
He also played cricket with Blackheath's second XI. Mills enjoyed early success in a junior premiership side with the Health but gave the game away because of work commitments.
Mills said his sporting prowess hadn't passed on to his children, although one of his grandchildren played basketball.
He has followed the Kees' progress since his retirement and said he was looking forward to a club reunion in July.
"There are only about six of us left from the 1948 team and only three or four still living in Horsham," he said.
"I played with Joyce's brother Robert Lawson and I hoped he'd be able to come to the reunion too but it doesn't look as though he'll be fit enough."
Mills said he never really followed anyone in the AFL until Adelaide made a finals appearance 10 years ago.
"I owned a service station in Dimboola Road at the time."
I went and got a big crow made and stuck it out the front, then I put up streamers and balloons in Adelaide colors
- Ron Mills
"All the motorists travelling from Adelaide to Melbourne for the game stopped in to get petrol. I couldn't keep up with the demand."
"After that, I thought I'd better be loyal and follow them."
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