SIZE and personality. Combined, they are a formidable asset. So when you have a girth that has earned you the nickname Galloping Gasometer, and your sunny disposition is a people magnet, remembering names can become a problem.

Mick Nolan cheerfully circumvented any embarrassing or awkward situations by using the old Australian utilitarian word "Cob" — short for Cobber — to address the legion of passing acquaintances and fans who would greet him in the street or in shops.

Almost unfailingly, Nolan, the North Melbourne premiership ruckman who was one of the most popular players in the history of Victorian football, would stop for a quick yarn. So much so a simple walk down the street would take forever, his son Danny recalled. And when asked who the latest "Cob" might be, Nolan would often say, "No idea."

Nolan, who died after a short battle with cancer, aged 59, owed his popularity, at least in part, to his build. In an era when most footballers were athletic but brawny, with hairy arms and thick thighs, Nolan had slender legs, like a racehorse, beneath a gut that hung over his shorts.

His nickname of the Galloping Gasometer — a reference to the gasometer across the road from North Melbourne's ground at Arden Street — remains one of the game's most recognisable monikers. Fans felt an affinity for the ruckman who made light of his appetite for bacon and beer.

Nolan's oldest sister, Toni, bears testimony to his easy nature: she was unable to remember having ever fought with him, which was unusual in a rowdy family of nine children.

At club functions, where stars such as Malcolm Blight were expected to get all the attention, there was always a queue of fans waiting to speak with Nolan.

His former teammates had to be pressed to think beyond his generous heart to recall football incidents. Brownlow medallist Keith Greig remembered Nolan's bashful smile after the big man had bent down like a wingman to pick up a loose ball and booted a torpedo from the centre square for a goal at Waverley Park; Ross Henshaw remembered Nolan inspiring his teammates during the 1978 preliminary final against Collingwood by chasing down an opponent and earning a free kick.

The most common memory, however, was of Nolan's performance against Hawthorn firebrand Don Scott in the 1975 grand final, in which the Roos earned their first premiership. The way Nolan played was evidence of his competitiveness, a trait that was often overlooked because of his affability. (He is pictured above contesting against Alan Martello of Hawthorn in 1975.)

Nolan was born in the north-eastern Victorian town of Tarrawingee, the third child of Peter and Mary, who had a small farm; they were also the publicans at Tarrawingee's Plough Inn Hotel. Weighing in at birth at less than two kilograms, he was the lightest of the nine children. Only as a young man did he reach his height of 194 centimetres.

Nolan and his siblings grew up playing footy and cricket behind the pub. In summer, they made daily treks to the nearby Ovens River to go for a swim. His intimate knowledge of the fishing holes along the river was handy when he became a maintenance worker on the Ovens River Trust.

When he was in his late teens, he met a Wangaratta hairdresser, Nettie Murrell, who would later become his wife. At the time, he began playing in the ruck at Wangaratta Rovers. At 19, he did a pre-season at VFL club Geelong but got homesick and resumed playing with Wangaratta Rovers.

Ron Joseph, the renowned North Melbourne administrator, watched the Rovers play in the 1972 Ovens and Murray Football League grand final against Yarrawonga. He had gone to watch 16-year-old Rovers prospect John Byrne (who later played with the Roos), but came away just as impressed by Nolan, who was 23. He invited him to Arden Street.

Nolan went on to play 100 games with the Roos, and his partnership with rover Barry Cable became one of the most feted in football history.

In 1981, Nolan took the playing-coach's job at Brisbane club Mayne on the advice of Allen Aylett, the then VFL president who was intent on expanding the game into the northern states. Nolan was a huge success at Mayne; he coached the club to the 1982 premiership, and played regularly for Queensland. Off the field, he was the marketing and sponsorship manager for cigarette company Rothmans, where he worked for 20 years.

In Brisbane, he and Nettie raised three boys, Ricky, Danny and Dale.

The family's many visitors were treated the same, whether they were premiership teammates from the Roos or fishing friends from Wangaratta. Nolan would fire up the barbecue and the visitors' children would sleep in the bottom room.

Throughout his Brisbane years, Nolan would return south to go on an annual fishing or shooting holiday. This Easter he was camping on the Ovens River with old friends when he suffered stomach pains. After driving back to Brisbane he was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer.

Family members began converging on his hospital room when the diagnosis was changed to pancreatic cancer. His son Ricky was in transit from Sweden when Nolan died two days later.

He is survived by Nettie, his sons, one grandson, and an army of friends..

MICHAEL FRANCIS NOLANFOOTBALLER

9-11-1948 — 27-5-2008