- Gary Ablett Sr has fallen on hard times financially
- The diagnosis of brain damage will follow at the end of 2022
- His Norm Smith Medal from the 1989 AFL Grand Final is up for grabs
- Over 200 Ablett items available to the highest bidder
AFL icon Gary Ablett senior has resorted to selling his individual prizes to the highest bidder as he continues to struggle with ‘significant brain damage’ as a result of his illustrious 248-match career.
Ablett, 62, has passed on a number of coveted items – including the 1993 Leigh Matthews Trophy for the AFL MVP and the 1989 Grand Final Norm Smith Medal – to Entertainment by Vin, a company that sells high-end sports memorabilia.
The man many football fans call God has fallen on hard times financially following his life-changing diagnosis in 2022.
Last year, the Geelong Cats champion admitted he suffered from ‘headaches and pressure on the skull’ from 2010 onwards, which then progressed to migraines, insomnia, blurred vision, significant memory loss, anxiety, fatigue and severe depression.
A subsequent scan confirmed Ablett’s worst fears.
AFL great Gary Ablett senior (pictured in 1995) has resorted to selling his individual prizes to the highest bidder as he continues to struggle with ‘significant brain damage’ from his 248-match career.
Ablett, 62, (pictured with his son Gary Jr.) passed on a number of coveted items, including the 1989 Norm Smith medal from the grand final
The man many fans call God (pictured with his grandson Levi) has fallen on hard times financially after his life-changing diagnosis
AFL identity Kane Cornes stated that Ablett Sr will sell over 200 items in total.
“This has come across my desk and it’s a reasonable story that hasn’t been reported yet,” he further said SEN.
‘Gary Ablett Sr, his catalog is currently being compiled.
“So all of Gary Ablett Sr’s personal items are for sale. We’re talking the 1993 Leigh Matthews Trophy, the 1989 Norm Smith Medal, the Coleman Medals, boots, jerseys… There are over 200 of Gary Ablett Sr’s items for sale.
‘He sells everything. There are posters, there are signs, there are his Geelong Guernsey, there are his boots.
‘Anything to do with Gary Ablett, he kept it all.’
As concussion remains a major talking point in Australian sport, Ablett acknowledged the AFL has taken significant steps to minimize head impacts in the modern game – unlike in its heyday, when head injuries were far more common.
Ablett estimates that he has been knocked unconscious at least eight to 10 times in his career – and that he has suffered other signs of concussion several times, including ringing in the ears and a feeling that he was just not there anymore.
The prolific forward played in 242 games for the Cats from 1984 to 1997, scoring 1021 goals, the sixth most in VFL/AFL history.