Neville Crowe missed Richmond's 1967 triumph after an incident involving John Nicholls. Credit:The Age "He was a great Tiger man. He saved the club. When I first got to the club, we were probably in much the same position we [Tigers] are now. I can remember after a loss, he would be in the showers crying. That sticks in my mind as much as anything about Neville – about how hard he took Richmond's poor performances as a player," Jewell said on Friday. "Of course, he went on to be president and rattled the cans and saved the club. He was a genuinely good human being." Crowe's scuffle with Nicholls impacted on him so much that, aged 30, he quit the big league – and didn't lace up his boots again until helping Jewell at suburban side Caulfield a few years later. He had been reported in the third quarter by boundary umpire Ron Fitzgerald for striking Nicholls with a right clenched fist. It was the first time he had been reported, and video evidence was not used at the time.

Crowe argued he had taken a mark but had been restrained by two Blues, including Nicholls. As he attempted to get to his feet, Crowe said "the Carlton player continued to hold me, and I made a forward move with my right hand ... it was not a clenched fist and very little, if any, contact was made." As he has had already injured his little finger on his right hand, Crowe said he could not have clenched his fist. At the tribunal hearing, Nicholls said: "I don't remember the incident very clearly at all. From what I remember I think there was a scramble and a free kick or mark was given. I remember him [Crowe] on the ground and I grabbed his arms. I'm not too sure what happened after that. My memory is not too clear. I remember clearly I was retarding Crowe to stop him handballing." Nicholls' evidence did not matter, and Crowe was suspended for four weeks by a tribunal led by chairman Alf Baud. "That was a sad time. I know Carlton probably thought it was the right thing to do at the time but Neville always swore his innocence. It tore his heart out that – I don't think he ever recovered," Jewell said.

"He retired at the end of '67, didn't play again for another two or three seasons and actually made a comeback at Caulfield as a mate to me. "He just gave football up when he at the height of his form. It affected him greatly for a long, long time not playing in that [1967] side. "Even when [former president Ian] Wilson puts on a premiership dinner at the MCG every year for all [Richmond] premiership players, he would invite Neville but Neville took it so hard he just couldn't bring himself to go even to those dinners and everyone wanted him there." Crowe returned to Punt Rd in 1987 after Alan Bond's short reign, with the Tigers at the foot of the ladder and in financial decay, as the recruiting wars of the early 1980s took their toll.

In August 1990, Crowe revealed the Tigers needed to raise $1 million by October 31 that year or their doors would be closed. He was the major architect of the successful Save Our Skins campaign. By that October deadline, the Tigers had exceeded their target by more than $30,000. Tigers great Kevin Bartlett, who had been the senior coach in 1990, tweeted on Friday that Crowe was the "man who saved the Tigers". Crowe remained as president until August 1993, when he stood down from the role to concentrate on his business interests. He would return in 2003 in a full-time role in the sales and marketing department. He also managed the "Captains' Club" coterie group and was a foundation member and inaugural committee member of the Tommy Hafey Club. Tigers president Peggy O'Neal paid tribute to Crowe, who is survived by wife Valy, his children and their extended family.

"Neville was a giant of the Richmond Football Club. He was a Jack Dyer Medallist, life member, hall of fame member and former president," she said. "His commitment to the Save Our Skins campaign epitomised his love of this football club and we are both honoured and indebted that he is such an important part of our history."