Melbourne fans can expect a familiar name when they arrive at the MCG this season, with Brunton Avenue to be renamed to Barassi Way in honour of club legend, Ron Barassi.
In a ceremony this morning, the state government announced the name change on what would have been Barassi’s 90th birthday.
Barassi had lifelong ties to Melbourne, first through his father, Ron Barassi Senior.
Barassi Senior played for Melbourne before enlisting in the Australian Army Service Corps in World War 2, and died at Tobruk in 1941.
Melbourne Football Club’s Coterie group pledged to care for his widow, Elza, and Ron Jnr, which kept the club firmly in their lives.
At the age of just 15, Barassi trained with Melbourne’s Thirds in 1951, and he was officially able to join the club when the father-son rule was instated across the league.
Barassi played 204 Club Games, including six Premierships (1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, and 1964).
He won the Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Trophy twice, in 1961 and 1964, and captained the Demons between 1960 to 1964.
After coaching stints with Carlton and North Melbourne, Barassi returned home to coach his old side between 1981 and 1985.
His legacy was bigger than the club and extended across the entire code. Barassi was instrumental in bringing the game to the northern states and the ‘Irish Experiment’ which recruited Gaelic players including Jim Stynes, to play Australian Rules from Ireland.
Barassi was honoured by Melbourne with inclusion in the Hall of Fame in 2001, and later elevation to Legend status in 2003.
The hero of Melbourne’s golden era passed in September 2023, aged 87, and his contribution as one of the most important figures of the game was acknowledged with a state memorial at the MCG.
Barassi Way signage will be officially installed in the coming days, with the Demons opening their season against the Saints at the MCG in Round 1 on Sunday 15 March.
