There aren’t too many people involved at the Essendon Football Club that were there in the pre-Sheedy era, but Alan Stevens is one.

Stevens has been working with the club now for 50 years after starting as an assistant time keeper for the Bombers reserves back in 1966.

Now acting as the Essendon VFL match day manager, Stevens’ was presented with the Alec Gillon Award at the VFL’s J.J Liston Awards at Crown Palladium on Monday.

The award is presented in recognition of honorary club officials who have provided outstanding service to their club or football in general.

Stevens said a love of football and for the Bombers was in his blood.

“My father Ron was time keeper at Essendon and had started in 1940, I just tagged along as a young kid to go to the football and then there was a vacancy in the reserves for an assistant time keeper,” he said.

He stayed in that role until the mid 1970’s before taking on the Under 19’s for two years before returning to the reserves until the late 1980’s and then becoming the deputy time keeping under his father in the seniors.

“That lasted up until his illness in the mid 90’s and I took over as senior time keeper until 1999 when the AFL in their infinite wisdom decided to pay a panel of time keepers,” Stevens said.

“The old man in that period in the early 2000’s said why don’t we sue the AFL for back pay, it was one of his classic lines.”

In 2000, as well as being a doorman for the AFL team, Stevens was involved with the reserves coaching panel as a match commentary writer for Terry Daniher and Mark Harvey.

He did that for two years until the Bendigo Bombers alliance was set up, briefly filling the same role at Bendigo before taking over as match day manager.

He has been in the same role with the Essendon VFL team since its re-establishment in 2013.

There have been countless highlights across the five decades of service.

“The highlights are some of the premierships you have been involved in with the seconds and the seniors,” he said.

“Seeing the young blokes through the 80’s and 90’s and the Baby Bombers coming through was great. Mercuri, Misiti, Salmon and Alessio, those sort of guys coming up through the under 19’s, seconds and then into the seniors to success in 1993.

“From my point of view meeting the player’s parents and wives and becoming friends with them is fantastic, they are the backbone of the players.”

Having been around for so long and watching countless matches of reserves football, Stevens is a good judge of the bright future that is ahead of Essendon.

“I’m very impressed with all the young kids; there isn’t a bad one amongst us,” he said.

“That’s one thing about Essendon, you see it in other clubs with a bit of a rogue element gets them in trouble every now and then, with us we don’t see it.

“They’re all of good characters with the ability to play football.”

Stevens shared the event on Monday night with his partner Cheryle, but also his niece Nicola Stevens who was named full back of the inaugural VFL Women’s Team of the Year.

“That was a pleasure and a very emotional moment on Monday night, I don’t think she expected it,” Stevens said.

“To be full back of the year in a blossoming era of women’s football was exceptional. She’s the only talented Stevens in football.”

As proud as he was to receive his award, Stevens said it has never been his motivation.

“To receive the Alec Gillon Award is a recognition for being involved in something you love doing. You don’t do it for awards; you do it to help out,” he said.

“I’d like to thank the Essendon Football Club for the original opportunity, they let me hang around the old man for a start and it’s come to this point.

“I’ve got another 10 years to beat the old man so fingers crossed I can get there.”