Page 203 - History of Parkside Football Club (1897-2017) Editied Version Completed_optimized

Parkside Football Club 1897/2017

By the end of the 1960s, after the 1967 flag, the club was significantly weakened by the departure of
several members of its premiership side.

Declines in top results on the field had continued into the next decade. In fact, the 1970’s left the
club without winning any premierships in A Grade.

Unfortunately, 1969 will be remembered for bringing one of the most deadly fire events in Victoria,
a terrible blaze in Lara that killed 17 people. Gary Dempsey’s story testifies how football can
strengthen not only individual but all community which was able to recover from this disaster.

“Footscray footballer Gary Dempsey almost lost his life in the Lara fires spending seven weeks in
hospital. 20 years old Dempsey had only played two seasons with Footscray, he was told he would
never play football again. He came back to take his total to 329 games with the Bulldogs and North
Melbourne, winning the Brownlow Medal in 1975.”

Once a Parksider, Always a Parksider