John Coleman (Australian Footballer) - Harry Caspar: "the Man Who Cost Essendon The Flag"

Harry Caspar: "the Man Who Cost Essendon The Flag"

Despite specific instructions having been given to the umpires in relation to the protection of forwards from "interference" from opposing backmen, and in the absence of any sort of protection at all from the field umpires, these problems with Coleman's response to the ever-increasing level of provocation, abuse, headlocks, hair-tugging, and out and out thuggery came to head quite sensationally when Coleman was reported in the last minutes of the second quarter of Essendon's last match of the 1951 home-and-away season against Carlton, at Princes Park. He was reported for striking Carlton's journeyman back-pocket ruckman Harry Caspar. Caspar was also reported for striking Coleman.

Today, it is well established that Caspar, Alby Coleman's old classmate, had been niggling Coleman since the very start of the match (the niggling included Caspar making persistent and heavy contact with a nasty boil on Coleman's neck ), and that Caspar had also punched him twice whilst play was at the other end of the ground (the reason that the field umpire was not present at the incident), immediately before Coleman's retaliation; and that, apart from his reaction to Caspar's thuggery, Coleman had not been proactive in any way.

The match to that time had been a somewhat brutal encounter, and the crowd was highly agitated. During the match bottles were thrown at Coleman, and as he came off the ground at half-time, and walked up the players race, a Carlton fan spat at him through gaps in the cyclone wired barriers that separated the spectators from the players. Coleman snapped, and smashed the fan in the face, badly hurting his hand. He went into the Essendon rooms, shouting with rage at the total absence of any protection from the match officials, took off his jumper, and spoke of not returning to the field.

He was finally persuaded to take the field for the second half, and once on the field, he was so "full of fire" that, according to the recollection of ruckman Geoff Leek, at the time the resting in the forward-pocket, he took two of the most amazing marks that Leek had ever seen:

Coleman took off from behind, grabbed the ball feet above the pack, cleared it and landed with the ball in front of a mesmerised group of players. Then he goaled. It was sensational. I had never seen anything like it and I don't expect to see it repeated. There was only one John Coleman —Miller, Petraitis & Jeremiah, 1997, p.56

At the tribunal, Caspar's case was heard first. Caspar was suspended for four weeks.

Coleman's defence was simple. He had simply retaliated to two unprovoked punches from Caspar (for which Caspar had been suspended). Although the tribunal had refused to accept that, due to Caspar's provocation, Coleman had no case to answer, those present at the tribunal felt that Coleman had presented a good case; and, although the VFL at that time made no allowance for provocation, the Players' Advocate Dan Minogue was thought to have made a good case for Coleman by arguing that any man, if he were a man at all, would hit back after being hit.

The boundary umpire, Herb Kent, gave evidence that Coleman had retaliated only after he had been punched twice by Caspar, Kent remarking not only that Coleman "was only defending himself", but also emphatically stating twice that "I would have done exactly as he did… It was under provocation".

Given that those who retaliated were thought to have been given more lenient penalties than those who instigated, and given that — because Carlton were not in the finals — Caspar's penalty represented the first four home-and-home games in 1952, and given that Essendon were, indeed, playing in the 1951 finals, it was generally thought by those present at the tribunal that, if Coleman was to receive any penalty at all, he would be given no more than two weeks. The chairman announced a penalty of four weeks.

Coleman broke down and wept with anger, disbelief and disappointment. As his friends and colleagues tried to assist an already deeply distressed Coleman from the tribunal's building, "Harrison House", at the corner of Spring Street and Flinders Lane in Melbourne, the impact of the rush of the large waiting crowd hurled Coleman against a traffic signal-box. He struck his head and collapsed on the pavement. He was eventually assisted into one of his friend's cars.

Eventually, the Bombers went on, without Coleman and with Dick Reynolds coming out of retirement as 20th man, to lose the Grand Final by eleven points and Essendon supporters to this day blame Coleman's suspension for Essendon's failure to win its third successive premiership.