Mark Williams (Australian footballer, born 1958)
A fiercely determined footballer and coach who delivered Port Adelaide's long-awaited first AFL premiership, cementing his place in the club's folklore.
Born 1958 (age 68)·Australian rules footballer·Birthday: August 21·Baby Boomers
Biography
Mark 'Choco' Williams lived football with a combustible passion. His playing career was one of grit and movement, spanning clubs in the SANFL and the nascent AFL, where he was a clever, hard-nosed forward. But his true impact came from the coach's box. Taking the helm at Port Adelaide in 1999, he inherited a talented but unproven squad and infused it with his own relentless spirit. He famously drove his players with the mantra 'They don't hand out premierships at the start of the year,' focusing on ruthless, contested football. The culmination was the 2004 AFL Grand Final, where his team broke through for the club's first AFL flag, a victory that validated not just a season, but his entire uncompromising philosophy. His tenure was a high-wire act of emotion and results, leaving an indelible mark on the Power.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Mark was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mark Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Mark's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Coached the Port Adelaide Football Club to its first AFL premiership in 2004.
- Played in a premiership with Collingwood in the 1990 AFL season.
- Won the Jack Oatey Medal as best on ground in the 1990 SANFL Grand Final while playing for Port Adelaide.
Did You Know?
He is the son of Fos Williams, a legendary figure and multiple-premiership coach for Port Adelaide in the SANFL.
After his AFL coaching career, he had a successful stint coaching the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL, winning a premiership in 2014.
Williams is known for his colorful and often fiery press conferences during his coaching career.
“They don't hand out premierships at the start of the year.”
