Wife: Toni. Children: Jordan and Nicholas.

Parents: Jack and Mary. Siblings: Anne-Maree, Gerard, Bernadette and Brendan.

Education: St Monica's Primary School Moonee Ponds before going to St Bernard's Essendon.

Sporting highlight: I remember I was 12 years old when I went to watch.

Brian, the Demons have had a long VFL-AFL premiership drought since that 1964 victory. What are your memories of that win?

I think back to how lucky we were to get tickets. My dad Jack had a few contacts and he got us the tickets. I was only 12-years-old and was gobsmacked with the enormity of the day.

We played Collingwood and beat them by four points. Our back pocket player Neil Crompton kicked the winning goal.

I can still remember Collingwood's Ray Gabelich running down the ground bouncing the ball on four occasions and kicking a goal. I was only a child and Gabelich appeared to be a giant.

There was a huge crowd. I'll never forget that day or the game.

Have you been to any other grand finals that Melbourne has played in since 1964?

I was there in 1988 for the grand final when Hawthorn gave us a belting and I was there in 2000. Essendon beat us pretty convincingly on that occasion.

We've had a long drought since our 1964 victory and it does not look like breaking in the near future.

The funny thing is, we lived not far from the Essendon ground. It used to be a 10-minute walk to the ground and I would go and watch Essendon play all its home games. I would be there in time for the reserve games.

I had an autograph book and had lots of signatures of all the stars but sadly I've lost that book.

Did you play sport when you grew up in Melbourne?

I played cricket for St Bernard's. They played against sides called Essendon North and Northcote.

We played on a surface called matting. I made 100 runs in one game against Northcote B. It was a pretty ordinary competition but I still made 100 runs.

I moved up to Swan Hill for work and played footy with Woorinen in the old Mid-Murray league and St Mary's-Tyntynder in cricket.

The funny thing is, I had a couple of transfers in work to places like Ararat, Horsham, Echuca and Ballarat and I played either footy or cricket for local sides. I played footy for Ballarat reserves one game in ankle-deep mud and the next week I had to go to Echuca for work so I missed playing.

Brian, what was your line of work that saw you move around Victoria?

I was a pharmacist. I worked as an intern at the Western General Hospital in Footscray before going to the Swan Hill Hospital as a locum pharmacist in the mid-1970s.

I then moved around to various hospitals including Ararat, Horsham, Echuca, Ballarat and Warrnambool over a few years. I really loved working in Warrnambool on the rotating roster system. A permanent job came up as the pharmacist at the Warrnambool Base Hospital in 1986 and I jumped at the chance to take up the role.

It was obvious to me I wanted to work at the Base hospital. I found it warm and welcoming. I think there were only eight in the pharmacy department when I started at the Base. I worked there for 26 years before retiring in 2012 and in that time I was in charge of the pharmacy for 15 years. There was always a great relationship between all the departments and administration when I worked there.

From what I've heard, Craig Fraser and the staff at the hospital are doing a great job. The hospital has grown a lot over the past eight years since I retired. With the coronavirus pandemic, I was asked if I would sign up to be registered as a retired pharmacist in case I was needed but I haven't been needed. I've been kept busy in my retirement with a few other things.

What things have kept you busy in your retirement?

I'm involved with the Warrnambool and District Hospice. The group provides volunteer support so people can stay at home when they are in their final days, weeks or months of their lives.

We work closely with the palliative care unit and the families of people who are sick. It's all voluntary work and we've got more than 60 volunteers who work on a roster system and they all do wonderful jobs. The work is very rewarding. We've got a volunteer course next month. I've been on the committee for a few years and have taken up the role as president.

I have been a member of Warrnambool Central Rotary since 1987. The various rotary and community groups across Warrnambool do marvellous jobs. They are all run by volunteers who put in amazing amounts of time and effort in helping out the local communities and I've been involved with the North Warrnambool Eagles Football and Netball Club.

Brian, that involvement with the Eagles saw you awarded the official of the year award in 2019 by the Hampden Football Netball League for your role as the senior team manager. Was it a surprise to win the award?

It was a surprise. All football and netball clubs have people who work behind the scenes and I was lucky enough to be acknowledged. It's a humbling award. North Warrnambool is a great club. It's a family-oriented club. My involvement came about because our son Jordan plays there.

I've also taken a keen interest in horse racing.

Are you involved in the ownership of any horses?

I've had small shares in horses over the years. I had a couple with Bill Wilde including Arch Fiend and Duecourse. Merv McKenzie was an orderly at the hospital for many years and I'm good friends with him through our work at the hospital. Merv also trains a couple of horses I told him once I retired from work that I would get involved in ownership with him. We've had some luck with Big Reel and A Good Yarn. Both have won a few races which has been great.