ON THE CUSP OF GREATNESS at the age of 23, when most footballers start to hit their stride, John ‘Jack’ Pimm replaced the roars at Victoria Park with the call to arms.

A quick, high-marking forward, Jack was ready to launch into the peak of his career. But just as his journey was beginning, the world was plunged into war. Instead, he sacrificed the next six years of his footballing career, and almost his life, serving his country.

Battle Scars  

Jack’s military service during World War II saw him face the horrors of battle in Papua New Guinea and later, in Bougainville Island where he became known as Lieutenant John ‘Jack’ Huggett Pimm.

Lieutenant John ‘Jack’ Huggett Pimm distinguished himself with courage and self-devotion, earning the Military Cross medal awarded for "inspired and gallant service” behind enemy lines. 

Yet, the war left its mark on Jack, with shrapnel lodged in his stomach, ulcers on his legs, and a relentless case of malaria. He returned to Collingwood in 1946 and reclaimed the role of ‘Jack Pimm, the famous footballer… back from the army.’

But he was no longer the same.

Jack’s once-promising career was marred by injuries and the struggle to regain his former fitness, which would see him dance in and out of the seconds.

With his wife Esmae by his side, they would anxiously tune in to the radio every Thursday evening to hear the team selection news.

One week they’ll announce, "J. Pimm – IN.”  

Then the next, it was "J. Pimm – OUT.”

The Woman Behind the Player

Today marks the 100th birthday of Esmae Pimm (née Orford), who sits in a quiet room surrounded by cherished photographs and the echoes of a bygone era.

“I met Jack as a little girl. He lived on a small farm, and my relatives had a holiday house on the other side of the road,” Pimm reflects.

Esmae would spend time during her childhood days playing with his younger sister but knew little of Jack himself.

With a twist of fate, it wasn’t until their early twenties when their love story really began.

They reconnected at a mutual friend’s kitchen tea, and it was (almost) love at first sight. Jack was back from the war and ready to start his life again, while Esmae was nursing a broken heart from a recent break-up.

“He always remembered that red and white dress,” Esmae reminisces.

Jack was smitten.

It’s the theoretical ‘string theory’, where their lives are stitched together with unseen threads and the universe would’ve always led them back to each other.

From that moment on, they became inseparable, facing life’s challenges together.

The Club is Family

Esmae’s perspective on football is one of quiet support.

She used to get nervous watching the games. Sitting in the same seats every Saturday with their two daughters Janine and Julianne, and with Collingwood legend Lou Richards’ wife, Edna.

Edna was serious about the game, analysing each play and tactic. While Esmae loved to chat, and enjoy a freshly baked pastie at half-time.

Although it didn’t take long for her undying love of football to grow being entrenched in the black and white army.

“She (Edna) must’ve gone to the football ever since she was born!”

“I always wondered what I was missing. I really did. One of the wishes I did have… I should’ve followed football earlier.”

For Esmae, her days around Collingwood were more about holding the family together, providing the stability that allowed Jack to focus on his love for the game and his work with the club.

A Life of Quiet Influence

Instead of lamenting what might have been during his playing career, Jack found a new way to leave his mark on the club he loved.

Though his on-field career was cut short, his contributions off the field became his true legacy. Jack transitioned into coaching the seconds and, more significantly, became a key recruiter for Collingwood.

It was in this role that he helped shape the future of the club, identifying and nurturing talent that would go on to define Collingwood's success in the years to come.

Esmae was by his side every step of the way.

“We had to go and look at a player. And when we got to the ground, we found out the match was an ‘away’ game and had to drive out to Mt Gambier, near the South Australian border!” Esmae recalls.

“There was nobody there. It was freezing so I stayed watching the game from the car while Jack went and stood behind the goals. There was this one player playing really well - extremely well. Jack comes back to the car and asked me what I thought, I said ‘well, there is only one player on the ground – it’s number 8!’” she continued.

It was the player he came all that way to scout, Billy Picken.

Picken is remembered as one of the best-ever players to represent the Collingwood Football Club and one of the greatest centre half backs of his generation.

He’s the father of former Western Bulldogs Premiership player Liam Picken, and former Brisbane Lions player Marcus Picken.

The legendary defender finished his career back with the Magpies in 1986, capping off a brilliant career which later saw him inducted into Collingwood’s Hall of Fame (2006) and named in its Team of the Century (1997).

Jack Pimm also took an interest in was a long, lanky kid taking big marks while still in Year 12 at Eltham High School.

That young man was Peter Moore.

Jack took Moore down to Collingwood and asked Esmae to sit with Moore’s mother during training. Moore’s mother wanted Peter to play for Melbourne.

As fate would have it, Moore ended up winning a Brownlow for both clubs, while his son Darcy went on to Captain Collingwood’s 2023 premiership team.

Love and legacy

Together, Jack and Esmae Pimm created a life painted in black and white and filled with love and loyalty.

His true legacy isn’t in the 112 goals he scored during his short 58-game career, after duty called him away.

It’s the lasting impact that he had on the Collingwood Football Club's history, the players he mentored, and the community that still cherishes his contributions long after their time at the club.

On Esmae’s 100^th birthday, here’s a toast to the football club she loves – and the man she loved even more.

To read Jack's full story and the stats from his career, check his bio on Forever.