The LeasePlan Western Bulldogs are pleased to announce that Peter Gordon is the new No. 1 Male Ticket Holder for the Club. President David Smorgon made the announcement at Wednesday night's Jumper Presentation in front of more than 600 attendees.

 

Born and raised in West Footscray, Mr Gordon has played an important role in the history of the organisation, President David Smorgon said.

 

“Peter worked tirelessly for the Footscray Football Club as both a supporter and President and has always been a strong advocate for the Club at all times. Back in 1989 Peter, along with other certain supporters effectively saved the club at a time when it needed help. On behalf of the Board, management and the Club I am proud to have Peter as our number one male ticket holder,” he said.

 

Peter Gordon said receiving the badge of number one male ticket holder was an honour he was proud to receive.

 

“It is a great honour to be here tonight and be able to say hello to some old friends and take a walk down memory lane. Recently I returned to Whitten Oval and it was am amazing feeling to stand on the same spot I stood back in 1989 but this time to look around and see what Campbell (Rose) and David have achieved with the $26M redevelopment. It was a very special moment for me,” he said.

 

“The best advice I can give the players is to seize the moment and take every opportunity to be part of something special.”

 

 

Peter Gordon has been a supporter of the Club since he was four years old. Concerned about Footscray’s probable relocation in 1988, he decided to do something practical to keep the Bulldogs at Western Oval and formed the “Save the Dogs” Committee. With Doug Hawkins, Gordon rigged up “four-by-two” placards, and printed stickers for a half-time demonstration. A policeman confronted him on the oval looking stern with the comment “Is that going to have a sufficient impact on the VFL?”

 

Peter then continued his fight in 1989 when he led the supporters against the imposed merger with the Fitzroy Football Club.  This fight was mostly conducted from the Footscray office of Slater & Gordon (where Peter had worked since 1980), and raised $1.6 million to stave off the Club's insolvency.  He became President of Footscray Football Club in November 1989.  Then aged, 32, he remains the youngest person ever to hold the position of President of an AFL/VFL club. 

 

Mr Gordon started the Western Suburbs Legal Service in Newport as a law student in 1978, and has worked at Slater & Gordon since 1980. He started the Footscray office of Slater & Gordon in 1984.  From that office, he conducted the first successful asbestos-cancer common law case in Australia in 1984. He was responsible for the opening of the first interstate Slater & Gordon offices (in Sydney and Perth,) in 1986, spending much of the late 1980s in Perth working on the Wittenoom asbestos cases against CSR.

 

He became a partner of Slater & Gordon in November 1989.  He became senior partner of Slater & Gordon in 1995.

 

He remained President of FFC for seven years until late 1996, during which time he also worked on major class actions involving asbestos, medically acquired HIV, defective breast implants; institutional sexual abuse; environmental contamination of the Ok Tedi River, and numerous other class actions.

 

Since 1996, he has continued to work on numerous class actions most notably against the tobacco industry.  In 2000, he was awarded the Australian Lawyers' Association's Civil Justice Award.  Since 2006, he has been a member of the Board of Governance of VicHealth.

 

In 2007, he oversaw the public float of Slater & Gordon; the first public listing of a law firm anywhere in the world.  He serves as Deputy Chair on the Board of Slater & Gordon which now has 25 offices throughout every Mainland State of Australia.