Bert Ormond playing for Eastern Union; Ronnie Gillies at the back. Gisborne Photo News, No.82, April 20, 1961
I played up front alongside Bert Ormond, and he was the best inside-forward I ever took a pass from.
Bert died in Auckland this week, the latest in the gradual thinning of the ranks of New Zealand’s 1960s sporting greats.
And it is no exaggeration to call Bert one of this country’s football greats from that era.
After a successful career in Scottish professional football with Falkirk, Airdrie and Dumbarton, he answered the call to a new life playing for Eastern Union in “sunny Gisborne” in 1961.
He came from a famous football family in Scotland. One brother, Willie, a winger with Hibernian, played a regular starring role for Scotland and later managed the national team. Another brother, Gibby, also graced football’s professional ranks.
Bert was a small, terrier-like speedster who had tremendous stamina. He was as dangerous in the closing stages as he was in the opening minutes of every game he played in.
His decision to travel across the world from Scotland with his family was a bonus for football in Gisborne, as well as the national scene. Bert immediately stamped his class on the game here, and soon made the New Zealand team, eventually captaining the side on their 15-match world tour in 1964.
His livewire performances and outstanding skill on the ball were backed up by fierce determination. This was never more in evidence than at halftime in a Chatham Cup match in 1961. Eastern Union were losing, and Bert and I were expected to score the goals that would get us back in the game.
Bert was small, but he was tough. He turned to me as we were about to go out for the second half and said, “Right, Iain. It’s up tae us. Let’s get some skin.”
We did, and we won.
Bert’s gregarious nature and keen sense of humour made him a popular companion, and when he joined Gisborne Thistle as player-coach those qualities — along with his deep knowedge of the game — drew players to the club, and the local league became more competitive.
It was not long before Auckland football’s big boys came calling. In 1964, the Ormond family moved north and Bert became player-coach of Blockhouse Bay. He turned them into a powerhouse of the game in New Zealand. Under Bert’s guidance, Blockhouse won the National League in its first year, 1970, and the Chatham Cup the same year.
Bert coached Blockhouse for the first seven years of the National League, and the club’s finishing positions, starting in 1970, were first, fourth, second, third, fifth, third and fifth.
Bert’s assistant for much of this time was another British arrival in Gisborne in the early ’60s, former Gisborne Boys’ High School maths teacher and football coach Dave Metzger.
Bert’s sons Iain and Duncan came into the Blockhouse Bay side, and both played for New Zealand. A granddaughter, Vicki Ormond, also represented New Zealand.
When he packed in coaching, Bert’s opinions on football were still valued. He was a widely read columnist for the Sunday News.
Bert maintained lifelong friendships with peope he met in Gisborne, particularly among the Scottish expatriate community. In 1974, he played a major role in assembling two teams laden with National League stars for an exhibition game at Rugby Park to mark Thistle’s 50th anniversary.
Bert and his wife Esther enjoyed a quiet retirement. Two and a half months ago, Esther died. Bert rang me out of the blue last week and we talked for half an hour. It was great, but he was sad about Esther.
Then yesterday, Ronnie Leakey — another old Eastern Union teammate and one of the best goalkeepers to play here — rang to tell me that Bert had died. He was 87.
• At the New Zealand Football 125th Jubilee Dinner in Auckland in November last year, Bert Ormond was presented with the Friends of Football Medal of Excellence Award, which recognises those who have made a significant contribution to football in New Zealand.