Editing Carlton Football Club (section)

===Ron Barassi to 1973===
A change of president at the end of 1964 heralded the most successful period in the Carlton Football Club's history. Between 1967 and 1988, Carlton missed the finals only three times, contested ten Grand Finals, and won seven premierships.<ref name="seasons" />

The period of success began when [[George Harris (Carlton president)|George Harris]] replaced Lew Holmes as president of the club, after the 1964 season. Harris then signed {{AFL Mel}} legend [[Ron Barassi]] serve as coach from 1965. Barassi was a six-time premiership player and two-time premiership captain at Melbourne during its most successful era, and at the age of 28 was still one of the biggest names in the game. His shift to Carlton remains one of the biggest player transfers in the game's history.<ref name="fpf3">{{cite web|url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/Carlton_part_3.htm|title=Carlton – Part Three: 1965 to 2010|first=John|last=Devaney|access-date=24 October 2011|publisher=Fullpointsfooty|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619231323/http://fullpointsfooty.net/Carlton_part_3.htm|archive-date=19 June 2010|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Also contributing to Carlton's success was the strength of the [[Bendigo Football League]], to which Carlton gained recruitment access through the VFL's [[Zoning (Australian rules football)|country zoning]] arrangements.

Under Barassi, Carlton reached three consecutive Grand Finals between 1968 and 1970, resulting in two premierships: [[1968 VFL Grand Final|1968]] against Essendon and [[1970 VFL Grand Final|1970]] against traditional [[Carlton–Collingwood AFL rivalry|rivals]] Collingwood. The 1970 Grand Final remains one of the most famous matches in football history. Played in front of an enduring record crowd of 121,696, Collingwood dominated early to lead by 44 points at half time, but Carlton kicked seven goals in fifteen minutes after half time to narrow the margin to only three points; after a close final quarter, Carlton won its tenth VFL premiership with a ten-point victory. Carlton won its first and second [[Championship of Australia]] titles in 1968 and 1970, beating the [[SANFL]]'s [[Sturt Football Club]] in both seasons.<ref name="fpf3" />

Carlton missed the finals in 1971, and Barassi left the club at the end of the season, but Carlton returned to prominence the following year, and contested back-to-back Grand Finals. Both matches were against {{AFL Ric}}, with Carlton recording a high-scoring victory in [[1972 VFL Grand Final|1972]], and losing a rough, physical encounter in [[1973 VFL Grand Final|1973]].<ref name="fpf3" />

Of the legendary players from the Barassi era, none was more important than [[John Nicholls (footballer)|John Nicholls]], who captained all three premierships and took over as captain-coach upon Barassi's departure. Nicholls, a ruckman and forward, had played at Carlton since 1957, and he and [[Graham Farmer]] (who played with {{AFL Gee}} and in the [[West Australian Football League|WAFL]] during the same era) are regarded as the greatest ruckmen in the league's history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/vic_team_of_the_century_-_1st_ruck.htm#Ruckman%20-%20John%20Nicholls%20%28Carlton%29|title=Vic Team of the Century|first=John|last=Devaney|publisher=Fullpointsfooty|access-date=23 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806071543/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/vic_team_of_the_century_-_1st_ruck.htm#Ruckman%20-%20John%20Nicholls%20%28Carlton%29|archive-date=6 August 2011|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Midfielders [[Sergio Silvagni]] and [[Adrian Gallagher]], half-forward [[Robert Walls]], and ruckman [[Peter Jones (Australian rules footballer)|Percy Jones]] were also prominent throughout the Barassi era, and in 1970, [[Alex Jesaulenko]] became the first (and to date, only) Carlton forward to kick 100 goals in a season.