Mick Malthouse
A fierce competitor turned master strategist, he became one of Australian rules football's most successful and enduring coaches.
Born 1953 (age 73)·Australian rules footballer, born 1953·Birthday: August 17·Baby Boomers
Biography
Mick Malthouse's football life is a story of two distinct, fiercely driven chapters. His playing career as a hard-nosed defender for St Kilda and Richmond was solid, defined by toughness rather than stardom. It was in the coach's box where he forged his formidable legacy. Taking the helm of the West Coast Eagles, he built a disciplined, physically intimidating unit that broke through for the club's first premiership in 1992, following it with another in 1994. After a move to Collingwood, he engineered a profound cultural shift, eventually guiding the Magpies to a drought-breaking flag in 2010. His intense, often combative style and strategic acumen made him a polarizing but unquestionably dominant figure, culminating in his record for the most games coached in VFL/AFL history.
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.
Mick was born in 1953, 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 Mick Was Born
The biggest hits of 1953
#1 Movie
Peter Pan
Best Picture
From Here to Eternity
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Mick's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1953Born
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1958Started school
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1966Became a teenager
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Could drive
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1971Could vote
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
1974Turned 21
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
1983Turned 30
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 40
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 50
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 60
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 70
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 73 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Coached a record 718 games in the Australian Football League (AFL).
- Led the West Coast Eagles to their first two AFL premierships in 1992 and 1994.
- Broke Collingwood's 20-year premiership drought by coaching them to the 2010 AFL flag.
- Took three different clubs (West Coast, Collingwood, Carlton) to AFL finals series.
Did You Know?
He began his coaching career in the mining town of Bacchus Marsh before his AFL break.
His 2010 premiership win with Collingwood came against his former club, St Kilda.
He worked as a media commentator after his coaching career concluded.
“You build a team on pressure, discipline, and knowing your role.”
