""He used to come and sit in the terraces with a group of friends and watch me play. Like all grandparents and parents he was biased – they used to say he kept my stats with a fork. Every time he went to mark down one kick, he would mark down four,"" O’Donnell laughs.
""One week he was watching me as usual and he suffered a heart attack – his aorta burst – and the only reason he survived was because he was at Windy Hill watching the football and there were medical staff on hand. Doctors said, if he had been at home he would have died. That was in 1987 when I was in the reserves. He lived another five years after that so I suppose this ground saved his life.""
Windy Hill will always hold a special place in the heart of O’Donnell. He played a season of under 19 football and spent many of his 70 reserves’ games running around the ground before breaking into the senior side.
""I remember that season of under 19s. We played under Ken Fletcher and it was round 10 and we hadn’t won a game for the season. We were playing the kangaroos and they hadn’t lost a game for the season and we caused this massive upset when we won. It was the only game we won for the season,"" O’Donnell recalled.
You will often see O’Donnell pounding out the laps around Windy Hill today. Fitness was his forte as a footballer and it is a habit he has found hard to shake.
""You do think about the ground as you run around it from time to time. You run past an empty Reynolds or Showers stand and you remember it being a sea of red and black. They were great days and the crowd support was enormous. We get bigger crowds now but at Windy Hill the noise was something else.
""I remember beating West Coast here one day when they kicked just one goal. I also remember coming off the ground having been beaten by West Coast with just 15 fit men and being clapped off.
""It is funny how you remember the little things. I remember one day I kicked a goal against Melbourne – I think Ron Barassi gave it goal of the day on World of Sport the next day. I remember kicking it into the cheersquad and it being marked by a mate I went to school with, Stephen Shellcross. It is funny the things you recall. I'm sure supporters remember the quirky things as well.""
The Feast on the Field will be all about recollections. The Essendon faithful will gather on Windy Hill on Saturday May 12th to pay tribute to one of football’s great suburban venues. It is a night no Bomber fan should miss. Click here to book your tickets on line or call the club on 92300340.