After 40 years at the Sydney Swans, the club’s most loyal and identifiable supporter, Kenny Williams, passed away last week aged 93.
Kenny Williams knew devotion. He knew it well. Seventy-one years lovingly spent with his wife, Yvonne. Every penny he earned as an apprentice jockey sent home to his mum and sister. And of course, a lifetime spent reverently in red and white.
In 1987, he suffered a stroke. The Swans had only been in Sydney five years, but Kenny had already made his mark. The whole team visited him in hospital. Soon after, with an upcoming SCG game in his sights, Kenny fled the Prince of Wales, drip still attached, to get to the footy. He didn’t miss a Swans home game until 2019.
Kenny had moved from Melbourne to Sydney aged 21, and for over three decades he followed the men in red-and-white from afar, never losing his Bloods connection. When the Swans also flew north to Sydney in 1982, Kenny couldn’t believe his luck. “When we played Melbourne in that first game, I was the first one there!” he beamed.
Almost immediately, Kenny volunteered. His initial assistance was as an unofficial video recorder/editor for Swans players seeking vision to assess their performances.
The Williams’ living room floor soon resembled that of a cutting room as VHS tapes were meticulously prepared. Each week, a bag was placed inside the front door, and one by one, players – including Barry Round and Dennis Carroll – would collect their personalised footage from Kenny.
Subsequent roles of ‘hydration specialist’ and leader of the team song were bestowed upon Kenny by former Swans’ coaches Ron Barassi and Rodney Eade.
“I’d meet Barassi at 7am and we’d run laps of Centennial Park together,” Kenny explained. “One day he said to me, ‘Why don’t you get off your arse and do something to help out at training?’ That’s when I started running the water.”
Eade got to know Kenny’s story too. In an effort to make the club more inclusive, the coach thrust Kenny into the Swans victory huddle, and the rest is history.
Earlier this year, I sat down with Kenny, Yvonne, and daughter Diane to relive a lifetime of memories. Their living room is homely and welcoming. It feels like family.
Kenny told me his remarkable story. Like many families during the Great Depression, the Williams’ clan were struggling to make ends meet. Dockland suburbs like South Melbourne were hotbeds of crime and Kenny Williams grew up among them. Long-time resident Father Bob Maguire once described the Swans’ South Melbourne birthplace as “the badlands, a place where refugees from life were gathering”.
Kenny left home at age 11 to begin work as an apprentice jockey at Flemington. He slept in the rafters above the horses and he believed this saved his life. When celebrated horse trainer TJ Smith invited him to join his Randwick stables in 1949, Kenny didn’t hesitate. He loved the racing caper.
Over 72 years later, soon after the 2022 Melbourne Cup was won last Tuesday, Kenny passed away. The heartfelt tributes that have flowed since are befitting a man who brought joy to so many.
Even those he never met. Instantly recognisable, a multitude of weird and wonderful requests came his way. “One day, I was standing at Richmond station, and a woman said, ‘You’re Kenny Williams, aren’t you? Can you do me a favour and sign my book?’ I said, ‘Certainly.’ So, I signed it, closed the cover, and it was the Holy Bible!’”
The contrast between football notoriety in Melbourne and Sydney is stark. Removed from the AFL’s heartland, the Swans have always relied on their renowned player welfare system to ensure young boys drafted from interstate are made to feel comfortable.
Remedy for homesickness? A baked dinner, of course. Yvonne’s roasts are legendary and up to three Swans players were invited to any one sitting. The night Barry Hall and ‘Spida’ Everitt arrived together had them all in stitches. Adam Schneider smothered his meal in tomato sauce and was denied another invite. Jude Bolton recalls, with pure delight, spending the night of his 21st birthday at the Williams’ home.
The day before I interviewed Kenny, former captain Brett Kirk tapped on the window with a six-pack. Club legend Troy Luff takes care of the garden. Kenny spoke fondly of two’ skinny kids’, Michael O’Loughlin, and Adam Goodes, who became his mates. O’Loughlin, in turn, described Kenny as “one of the Bloods’ greatest.”
In sport, if you don’t give it everything you have, you’ll never know the thrill of victory nor the bitter disappointment that is defeat.
Swans Hall of Famer Ted Richards reflected on Kenny’s commitment. “The ten minutes after a win is the best time for a footballer. It’s all about celebrating the moment before focus shifts to recovery and next week. Kenny owned those ten minutes. And he was also there for us in the losses and pre-season when times were hard.”
Kenny Williams was a true legend and spoke to us all in the most natural voice. A beautiful service on Friday gave a glimpse into a life well lived and a loving, generous soul who painted everything red and white. Vale.
