Vale Kelvin ‘Kel’ McMillan
The Club is mourning the loss of a true Brunswick and Victorian Hockey Legend, Kel McMillan.
The Brunswick Hockey Club is mourning the loss of another club legend in Kelvin ‘Kel’ McMillan. Kel’s passing follows the recent loss of Club champion Peter Robertson. Kel passed away on the 27th August at the great old age of 92.
Kel was born in 1930 and lived in Brunswick Road and was the son of one of the Brunswick Hockey Club’s founders Wally McMillan. For those of us who met Kel when he returned to Brunswick would only hear of this brilliant junior hockey player, who grew up around the Hockey Club and always had a stick in his hand. He rose to play A Grade hockey at Brunswick in his mid-teens. Stories of his hockey skills, stick work and prolific goal scoring were often talked about around the Club.
I was notified of Kel’s passing by his son Greg, who also played at Brunswick in the 1960’s and 70’s. Three generations of McMillans, Wally, Kel and Greg, all champion A Grade hockey players at Brunswick is why the Men’s Best and Fairest is named the “McMillan Medal”.
Kel represented Victoria in Senior hockey over three years from 1946 to 1948. Kel was only 16 when first selected for his State and the youngest ever to do so.
Earlier this year during a phone conversation with Kel he said “You know I hit five field goals against Camberwell in an A Grade game in 1948, has anyone ever topped that at Brunswick”. Well I knew he was only 17 years old when he hit those 5 goals and I had great pleasure in letting him know he still holds that title some 74 years later and it will probably never be beaten.
In that same year of 1948 when Kel was only 17, he was selected in the Australian team to tour New Zealand. His father Wally had apparently said that Kel was too young to go overseas with the National Team, and that he had plenty of time to do so in the future. Hence, he took his father’s advice, and he reluctantly didn’t go and represent his country. That Australian team went on to win the Manning Memorial Cup in the August of 1948.
Shocking news was to follow. Only nine months after Australia won that Cup, Kel would be struck down with infantile paralysis or the polio virus in April 1949. This meant that Kel had paralysis of the muscles in one of his legs and that there was no cure for that. Regarded as “The best forward in Australia” at the time he would never get the chance to represent his country.
Though Kel had his brilliant hockey career robbed of him, he remained around the Brunswick Hockey Club and took on roles over the next two decades as Club President, A Grade Coach and Manager up until the early 70’s. Past players who were around the Club during this time had said that “even on one leg you could not get the ball of him”.
Kel returned to Brunswick on the rare occasion after that. He kindly took up the invitation to attend the official opening the new Brunswick synthetic ground in 2008 with his son Greg. Coming into the rooms to meet the current day players and giving them a pep talk. Then going out on the ground to toss the coin. Some asked “who is that guy in the tailored suit with the walking stick?”
For the older generations his hockey story has been told over and over again, but the modern day members may not have heard of Kel. I hope his legacy will never be forgotten around the Club. Though his A Grade career was over as a teenager, and he would have played many years for Club, State and Country. He must be considered one of the greatest players to pull on the black and white for the Wickers. RIP Kel.
