Ted Soderblom, Richmond’s beloved servant of 55 years, who was Under 19s Team Manager, Recruiter, Little League premiership coach, and longtime Property Steward, has died.
Soderblom died June 17th, 2025, aged 95, the Richmond Former Players and Officials announced.
For his contribution at Tigerland, he was awarded life membership in 1991, and in 2019 the club’s property room was named in his honour.
“You’ve done (your contribution) quietly, you’ve done it humbly and you’ve done it happily,” the then CEO Brendon Gale said at the unveiling of the plaque.
“You symbolise a lot of people in the background who play their roles with great humility.”
A lifelong Tiger supporter, Soderblom loved sneaking onto the training track in the 1940s to watch his idol Bill Morris, only to always be kicked off by the one-armed groundsman ‘Wingy’.
So, he became a lolly boy at the games, which allowed him to walk around the boundary line and watch the matches close-up.
Soderblom was a rather handy player himself, lining up with Richmond Districts and was on Richmond’s radar as a possible U19s player before they discovered he was one week too old over the age requirement.
His long tenure at Tigerland officially began in 1966 when U19s coach Ray Jordon recommended him to Graeme Richmond and Tom Hafey, for the position of Assistant Team Manager under Bert Haswell.
That year he also joined their recruiting committee alongside Roy Weston, Kevin Rowe, Tom Allen, and Jordon.
Image: Soderblom received an honorarium of $40 in 1966 for his junior recruiting role. (RFC Finance book).
For the Under 19s 1967 premiership season, Soderblom was elevated to Team Manager and held that role until 1969 when the time pressures of studying to be a Trade Instructor took precedence.
The wheel turned full circle decades later when he was re-appointed to the role for the last season of the Under 19s competition in 1991.
Below is an image of Ted suited up in the U19s 1967 Premiership photo, and in more casual trainer attire for the last ever Under 19s team photo in 1991.
Soderblom continued in the recruiting role during the late 60s and into the early 70s, before he and Jim Geary took over running the Little League Squad, conducting clinics every Friday night on the Punt Road Oval.
He coached the kids until the mid 1980s and won the 1982 Little League premiership over defending champs Fitzroy, in a result that the Football Record dubbed “the upset of the season”.
On June 28th, 1983, he was appointed as one of three coaches of the Scholarship and Skills Squad – a talent pool of local kids in the Under 13s, Under 15s and Under 17s.
In 1995 he became Richmond’s third Property Steward in 71 years, when he took over the role after Dusty O’Brien’s death. Hall of Famer Charlie Callander held the role from 1924-1977.
“Aside from making sure that each player had three sets of clean gear packed for every game, their training gear had to be ready as well,” Soderblom wrote in 2015.
“All medical supplies, drink bottles, towels, training equipment and any individual requirements must be on hand at all times. Our van not only carried all of these things but the merchandising as well.
“The advances in the technology of current sports clothing and equipment are by far the greatest change I have seen in our sport.”
Image: The Annual Report citation for Soderblom's life membership.
In 2006 he said he was humbled to receive the AFL Coaches Association ‘Support Staff Leadership Award’ which honoured those who “show outstanding contribution, innovation, or initiative in carrying out their duties”.
Among all the players he saw over 50+ years he cited Bill Morris, Royce Hart, Kevin Sheedy, Matthew Richardson, and Wayne Cambell as his favourites.
In 2015 he wrote that “it has been an incredible journey since my school days at Yarra Park where I met Dawn, a fellow student who later became my wife. We have shared not just the passion but the rollercoaster ride of the years as proud Richmond supporters”.
Mr Soderblom’s funeral will be held at Tobin Brothers Currents of Life Chapel, 505 Princes Highway, Noble Park, on June 26th, 2025, at 12:30pm, and webcast on their website.
