Blues mourn Ted Hopkins, the four-goal hero of famous 1970 flag
TED HOPKINS, who spearheaded Carlton’s famous 1970 VFL Grand Final comeback win over Collingwood, has died at the age of 74.
Hopkins only played 29 VFL games before retiring from top-flight football at the age of 21, but his heroics in the 1970 decider ensured his name will be forever part of Carlton folklore.
The Blues were trailing Collingwood by 44 points at half-time when coach Ron Barassi, acting on a gut feel, decided to throw Hopkins into the game at the expense of Bert Thornley.
Hopkins, a little-known rover, had spent the entire first half on the bench.
But he made his presence immediately felt in the third by kicking two goals in the space of a minute and three in total for the term.
He also kicked a goal in the last quarter to make it four for the match as Carlton won by 10 points in a clash that is still regarded as one of the greatest Grand Finals ever.