1954 Premiership Bulldog Jim Gallagher says the honour of being inducted into the Club’s Hall of Fame is not lost on him.

Gallagher was announced as the first inductee at Saturday night’s formalities, joining the likes of Alby Morrison, Kelvin Templeton and Scott West as official greats of the red, white and blue.

And at age 92, he brought humility with a dash of humour to his acceptance speech.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be selected in the Hall of Fame,” Gallagher said.

“It’s very pleasing to see that the half-back flankers have been honoured too - often they’re ignored as second citizens, and the glory goes to the goalkickers and the on-ballers and all that, but the half-back flankers have a job to do and it’s a very specialized job.  

“They’re just as important as the high-flyers.” 

Gallagher also touched on the honour of being a senior footballer – an experience that has brought him so much joy and connection over the years.  

“It means a lot to me. When you’re a senior footballer, and as my experience even up to today – when people know that you’ve played senior football, they light up, they want to know more. They just love it,” he said.

“There’s something about it, and 99% of people in Victoria just love talking about football. It’s such an honour to be a senior player.

“To all those people I’ve contacted over the years that have had this passion and met me because of that reason – that they can talk football and talk to someone that has played senior football – it’s sort of a privilege to be in that position.”

Bob Murphy, Luke Darcy, Matthew Boyd and Dale Morris were announced alongside Gallagher as 2023 Hall of Fame inductees.