Russell Frank Ebert (22 June 1949 – 5 November 2021) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of Australian rules football. Ebert is the only player to have won four Magarey Medals, which are awarded to the best and fairest player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He is one of four Australian rules footballers to have a statue at Adelaide Oval, the others being Ken Farmer, Malcolm Blight and Barrie Robran. Football historian John Devaney described Ebert as coming "as close as any player in history to exhibiting complete mastery over all the essential skills of the game," and he is widely regarded as the Port Adelaide Football Club's greatest-ever player.
Aside from his 367 premiership games at Port Adelaide, Ebert also played 25 games for in the 1979 VFL season and collected over 500 possessions as a midfielder for the club, which reached the preliminary final. Ebert was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and he was posthumously elevated to Legend status in June 2022, the highest honour that can be bestowed onto an Australian footballer.
Early life
The fourth of six children of Doreen and Albert Ebert, Russell was born in the South Australian river town of Berri. Russell's father Albert was a footballer with the Alawoona Football Club and captain coached the team to a premiership in 1953. At eight years old Ebert was in the crowd when Port Adelaide defeated Norwood in the 1957 SANFL Grand Final.
Russell's family moved to Loxton during his high-school years and the town was home to his junior football club, the Loxton Football Club, where he played with his brothers.
As a teenager, Ebert gained employment with the Bank of Loxton.Wood, John (1985). Russell Ebert Australian Record. South Australia: Port Adelaide Football Club. p. 4. He was subsequently transferred to the Savings Bank at Waikerie.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 43. . Ebert joined the Waikerie Football Club and played alongside Bruce Light, who eventually played for Port Adelaide with him.
Football career Before Ebert agreed to join Port Adelaide, six other SANFL clubs (North Adelaide, Central District, Woodville, Norwood, Glenelg and South Adelaide) approached Ebert about joining their clubs. In an interview with John Wood about this period in time, Ebert said he was set on joining North Adelaide but their representative "never came back".
Port Adelaide (1968–1978)
In 1968, Eric Freeman, Port Adelaide's full-forward, was selected to play for the Australian cricket team for the upcoming Ashes series. The absence of Freeman provided Ebert the opportunity, as an 18-year-old, to claim the full-forward position in the team. Ebert made his debut in the first round of the 1968 SANFL season against Glenelg on Alberton Oval. Ebert remained in Waikerie during 1968, driving back and forth between the Riverland and Adelaide for training and match day. During that season, Ebert kicked six goals in a game against both North Adelaide and Sturt. He played all but one senior game for Port Adelaide in his first season. In his first season of league football, Ebert benefited from experienced Port Adelaide premiership players such as John Cahill, Trevor Obst, Peter Obst, Ronald Elleway and Eric Freeman after his return from playing test cricket in England. In Ebert's first season with Port Adelaide the club qualified for the 1968 SANFL Grand Final against Sturt, reigning premiers for the past two seasons.Rucci, Michelangelo; Williams, Fos (1999). Dynasty: A Legend, A Family and the Port Adelaide Football Club. Norwood, South Australia: Peacock Publications. p. 148. . Sturt won the match by 27 points. At the end of year Ebert was the recipient of Port Adelaide's leading goal-kicker award in his debut season after kicking 44 goals. He was also awarded the club's best first year player award.Wood, John (1991). Bound For Glory: The Story of the Port Adelaide Football Club 1939–1990. Largs Bay, South Australia: Largs Bay Printers. p. 116. .
In 1969, Ebert moved from the forward line to the centre and consolidated the position as his own in the Port Adelaide line up. It was during the 1969 SANFL season that members of Port Adelaide's golden era were retiring from football en masse, resulting in Fos Williams providing league debuts to 15 first-year players.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 44. . As a result of this influx of junior players the club finished sixth, winning 9 of 20 games.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 44. .
In 1970, Ebert was selected for the South Australian state football team for the first time. Port Adelaide finished the 1970 SANFL season as minor premiers for the first time since the club won the 1965 SANFL Grand Final. They would lose both finals to eventual 1970 SANFL Grand Finalists Glenelg and Sturt, the latter recording their fifth straight premiership. At the end of the season, Port Adelaide recognised Ebert as the club's best player during their finals series.Wood, John (1991). Bound For Glory: The Story of the Port Adelaide Football Club 1939–1990. Largs Bay, South Australia: Largs Bay Printers. p. 124. .
During the 1971 pre-season, Port Adelaide defeated South Melbourne in a trial match in Victoria.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 46. . On 26 June 1971 the publication Inside Football reported that Carlton had approached Port Adelaide with the intention of freeing Ebert from his contract to play for them in the VFL. Ebert confirmed that he returned to Melbourne, after South Australia played Victoria in that state earlier in the year, to meet Carlton officials but that nothing came of it, saying, "I haven't heard from Carlton since I went over after the State game. It was during this year that Ebert won his first Magarey Medal, awarded to the fairest and most brilliant player in the SANFL, receiving 21 votes from the league umpires, one more vote than runner up Peter Marker and Phil Haughan, who both received 20 votes each. In 1971 Ebert was also awarded his first Port Adelaide best and fairest.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 47. . Port Adelaide reached the 1971 SANFL Grand Final but lost to minor premiers North Adelaide by 20 points.
In 1972, Port Adelaide again reached the SANFL Grand Final and again lost to North Adelaide, this time by 56 points. North Adelaide went on to win the 1972 Championship of Australia defeating Carlton. At the end of the season Ebert was awarded his second club best and fairest.Wood, John (1991). Bound For Glory: The Story of the Port Adelaide Football Club 1939–1990. Largs Bay, South Australia: Largs Bay Printers. p. 136. .
For the 1973 SANFL season, Port Adelaide finished the minor round fourth. On 8 September 1973, the club faced fifth place Norwood, at Norwood Oval, in the Elimination Final. Norwood won the match by 36 points in what was Fos Williams's last outing as coach of Port Adelaide. Twenty-six years later Fos Williams said that Ebert was the best player he had seen play for Port Adelaide and that "it was my privilege to coach him". At the conclusion of the 1973 SANFL season, Alan Schwab from Richmond and Ron Joseph from North Melbourne both made approaches to Ebert offering him contracts to play for their respective clubs in the VFL. Footscray and Melbourne also made approaches regarding acquiring Ebert around this time.
Port Adelaide captain (1974–1978) For the 1974 SANFL season, John Cahill took over as Port Adelaide coach from Fos Williams, and one of his first actions was to appoint Ebert as club captain. During the 1974 pre-season Port Adelaide defeated South Melbourne on Alberton Oval by 10 points.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 71. . During the season at a Port Adelaide fundraiser at Alberton Oval titled 'Build Local Players', Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was present and congratulated Ebert on his season to that point. Ebert won the 1974 Magarey Medal, his second, in front of runner-up Rick Davies of Sturt. Port Adelaide lost the 1974 SANFL Preliminary Final to Glenelg by 49 points with Ebert's summation published in the Sunday Mail being "Disappointed...what else can I say?".Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 73. .
In 1975, Ebert captained the South Australian state team for the first time. Port Adelaide finished the minor round of the 1975 SANFL season in fourth place. Ebert was best on ground in Port Adelaide's 30-point win over North Adelaide in the First Elimination Final, collecting 42 disposals and 1 goal.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 74. . The following week Port Adelaide comfortably beat reigning premiers Sturt by 67 points in the First Semi Final. Port Adelaide lost the Preliminary Final to Norwood by 30 points despite leading at the end of the third quarter by 6 points.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 75. .
Port Adelaide finished the 1976 SANFL season as minor premiers, two and a half wins ahead of second placed Sturt.Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 81. . Ebert was selected as captain and centre in The News '1976 Team of the Year'. That year Ebert won his third Magarey Medal by a record margin of 17 votes over runner-up Barry Norsworthy of Central District. With 42 votes he became the sixth SANFL player to become a triple Magarey medallist. In the lead up to the 1976 Magarey Medal, Ebert noted that he would rather win the premiership than have another Magarey Medal.Wood, John (1991). Bound For Glory: The Story of the Port Adelaide Football Club 1939–1990. Largs Bay, South Australia: Largs Bay Printers. p. 149. . In an interview with Alan Shiell, Ebert stated that "It's a big thrill to win the medal but its still an individual award".Wood, John (1982). Gentleman Jack: The Johnny Cahill Story 1958–82. Plympton, South Australia: John and Wendy Wood. p. 82. . Port Adelaide qualified for the 1976 SANFL Grand Final after defeating Glenelg by 43 points in the Second Semi Final. That years SANFL Grand Final sold a state record 66,987 tickets. When the SANFL ran out of tickets they opened Football Park's gates for free and the crowd grew by an estimated 15,000. The gates were shut by police 90 minutes before the bounce as spectators were being crushed. Subsequently, the police allowed thousands of spectators onto the field to sit along the fence to prevent any further physical injuries. In Ebert's fourth attempt at winning an SANFL Grand Final, he and his club were unsuccessful, with Sturt defeating Port Adelaide by 41 points. During an interview with Mike Sheehan on Open Mike regarding the loss of the 1976 SANFL Grand Final, in the context of Port Adelaide having now lost its last four Grand Finals, Ebert noted that he started to question "whether I was to blame" for the club's failure to win a premiership.