King, one of the longest serving and well-known administrators in the history of the league was given the highest honour at the BFL’s Hall of Fame dinner at the Ballarat Leagues Club on Monday night.

He is just the fourth person to be elevated to legend status, having been inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2012 and joins Bill Henderson, Jim Gull and John Northey as legends.

Six BFL greats also were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

They included East Ballarat stalwart Michael Hallahan, who was also East Point’s first chairman in 2000; Ian Pym, who played a remarkable 639 club games for Redan and retired from playing at age 49; David Jenkins, a Sebastopol champion who won flags with Redan and Creswick and was a three-time league best and fairest winner across the BFL and CHFL; and the late Danny Roche, arguably East Ballarat’s best ever player and dual Bulldogs’ premiership 

captain.

Two non-footballers were also given the nod, with legendary umpire Bill Bruhn also inducted, an umpire who officiated 650 games and 20 grand finals over 37 years of service to the Ballarat Football Umpires Association.

And in arguably the most sentimental induction of the night, Lake Wendouree netball legend Sally McLean was also inducted.

Continuing to battle cancer, McLean was forced to step down as Lakers’ head coach this year, following years of astonishing success.

However, she will step back into coaching for the rest of the year, taking the helm of the Lakers’ A-reserve grade side.

Her long list of accolades includes five A-grade premierships in six years from 2007-2012, being named BFNL coach of the year four times, plus a momentous year in 2010 in which the Lakers won all four grades with McLean as

netball co-ordinator.

McLean is the first woman to be inducted into the hall of fame.

“It’s an enormous honour, it’s wonderful to be a part of such an event like this,” she said.

“Lake Wendouree has been such a huge part of my life. It’s a football and netball league so it’s important to have netball in the spotlight as well.”

There are now 24 people in total in the BFL Hall of Fame.

patrick.nolan@fairfaxmedia.com.au