IN times past, it was an occasional practice after the football grand final siren for players to swap jumpers.

Now and then even central umpires joined in.   

Former Western District Umpires Association member, Stuart Bigham, who now lives in Ballarat, has just come across souvenir football jumpers he had received after these games, prompting memories of yesteryear.

Bigham hopes to return all these mementos to the players who swapped with him, giving them back a slice of their own personal history on the football field.

According to the former official, the collection of jumpers by umpires was often sought after, but not always successful, as the clubs would require the players to pay for jumpers if they were not returned.

He had collected four or five over the years, which stood the test of time.

A few years back John Uebergang asked Stuart if he still had the Penshurst jumper he had swapped for the umpire shirt, prompting Bigham to return the shirt after all these years.

Stuart said he commonly used the jumpers he obtained as training attire over the years..

One prominent jumper in Bigham’s collection is the number 10 guernsey worn by Don Pratt in Dartmoor’s 1980 Premiership win over Bessiebelle.

It was a particularly historic game, with the season decider being the last in that league to have only one umpire on the field.

The former umpire’s request for a jumper was successful, because the jumper was torn badly during the game and had to be replaced, so the club approved the swap of the guernsey.

After more than 40 years, Bigham feels the time is right to return the jumper to Don or the Dartmoor club.

The other jumper remaining is a number nine guernsey from Wickliffe, believed to be from the 1984 grand final win over Dunkeld.

The jumper has a Wickliffe FC badge, but Bigham cannot remember from whom he got it.

It was a big occasion - Wickliffe’s first Flag in 50 years, and no doubt the player or club would like to get it back in their possession.

If the player or club could contact him via email at stu.big.onthemove@gmail.com, he will happily arrange for the jumper to be returned.