Dimmer, Hams, Campbell, Mason receive Life Membership

JOHN Dimmer, Ashton Hams, Bob Mason and Basil Campbell all received their South Fremantle Football Club Life Membership on Sunday.

The four greats of the Bulldogs received their awards at the annual Life Members Reunion held in the Griff John Function Centre at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Sunday.

With a host of legends of the South Fremantle Football Club including, but not limited to, Stephen Michael, Noel Carter and Ray 'Lizard' Richards attending, Dimmer, Hams, Mason and Campbell all were officially entrenched as Life Members of the Bulldogs.

Not only was the occasion memorable for the four new Life Members, but it also marked an emotional return to the South Fremantle Football Club for Dimmer.

Following a successful run with West Perth where he coached them to premierships in 1995 and 1999, Dimmer arrived to coach South Fremantle in 2004 and it marked the beginning of a tremendous eight-year period.

Dimmer coached South Fremantle to is last two premierships in 2005 and 2009, and in his eight seasons took the Bulldogs to finals on seven occasions including his last year in charge in 2011.

Dimmer parted ways ahead of the 2012 season and had not returned since, but that changed on Sunday as he proudly received his Life Membership and it was made the more special to receive it alongside Hams – whom Dimmer coached for the first eight years of his career.

Hams made his league debut with South Fremantle back in 2004 and went on to become a premiership player in 2005 and 2009. He won the Simpson Medal in the 2009 grand final win over Subiaco leading him to him being drafted to the West Coast Eagles.

He played 39 AFL games but after deciding to leave West Coast at the end of 2013, he returned full-time to the Bulldogs and has been a tremendous performer since.

That included him reaching 150th game during 2015 on his way to a first WJ Hughes Medal, and on Sunday he claimed his Life Membership.

Mason played 121 matches for South Fremantle after making his debut in 1947 and he had a dream start to his career playing in the premierships of 1947, 48 and 50.

Campbell played 102 games for the Bulldogs after making his debut in 1975. He played in the premiership of 1980.

Special thanks must also be made to Warren Campbell who attended on his father’s behalf. Warren himself is no stranger to the club having played in the 1997 premiership as part of his career.

The new inductees received loud applauses as they recounted their experiences and explained the mark the club had left on them. It was an emotional time for all and it really showed how much the Mighty Red V means to our members.

The event also saw the new Life Time Members receive their awards. Congratulations to the new inductees Rowley Door, Graham Scott, Barry Tilbury, Ian MacLean, Gordon Crane, John Ravlich, Denis Ryan, Ian MacKay, Kerry Reilly and the incomparable Jack Edwards.

South Fremantle Football Club President Haydn Raitt couldn’t have been more proud of how the Life Membership function for 2016 turned out.

"In my 19 years being involved at the club, this was probably the best Life Members function that we have ever held," Raitt said.
 
Echoing this same sentiment was club CEO Stuart Kemp who highlighted a great turnout of members to make it an occasion to remember.

"The large numbers of Life Members was encouraging and with the likes of Peter Bell and Arthur Maskos speaking, everyone had a very enjoyable afternoon," Kemp said.

This was a day about honouring club greats and one that encapsulated all the history and prestige that one expects with the South Fremantle Football Club. 

"Congratulations to Ashton, John, Bob and Basil and all of the Life Time Members on their much deserved induction into this great club," Kemp said.

"This is one of our most favoured events and we can’t wait for next year."