'BIG BOB' Johnson - the late, great Melbourne and East Fremantle big man - boasted a phenomenal Grand Final habit that would have to be unmatched in the history of big league football.

Johnson played in Grand Finals in 11 of his first 12 seasons.

The only blemish came in Johnson's eighth and final season with the Demons, in 1961, when they were eliminated in the preliminary final.

The net result was six flags - five with Melbourne and another as captain-coach of East Fremantle.

And Big Bob was a critical component in most of those finals campaigns.

Despite becoming so nervous before games that he would regularly vomit, Johnson was named among the Demons' best in four consecutive grand finals (1957-60), in which he averaged 15 kicks, 6.5 marks and two goals.

Standing 198cms (the same height as Sydney Swans ruckman Shane Mumford), Johnson was one of the tallest and most valuable players of his era.

He could play equally well as a ruckman or a forward.

However, Melbourne coach Norm Smith quickly realised Johnson was a far more dangerous proposition when left in the forward pocket, where he stretched opponents with his height, marking ability, surprising pace for his size, sharp brain and deadly-accurate left foot.

In Smith's forward structure, Johnson was the kingpin.

Quick, undersized full-forwards like Noel Clarke and Athol Webb would provide decoy leads upfield to take the full-back out of the equation, while Johnson drifted towards the goalsquare for the long ball. Shorter and less talented opponents naturally found it difficult to prevent him from marking or giving away a free kick.

And Johnson was a master of accentuating illegal contact, which riled opposition fans. He would later recall insults like: "Put a hessian bag over the big bastard and shoot him!"

However, Johnson remained a cult figure among the Demon faithful, who admired his showmanship as well as his football abilities.

His old Melbourne teammate John Lord often jokes: "If we were ever in trouble, we'd just flick the ball out to (Frank) 'Bluey' Adams and tell him, 'Run it down to Big Bob, will ya'."

Lord elaborated: "Big Bob would be a big, imposing player even today. He was unconventional, but we felt we'd never get beaten while we had him. He wasn't as mobile as a Lance Franklin, but did he need to be?

"You could just kick it high and long and he'd stick his bum out and they just couldn't get around him."

Johnson always appeared destined for greatness at Melbourne. His father, Bob Johnson snr, kicked six goals and was best-afield in Melbourne's 1926 premiership side.

Big Bob's debut, aged 19, in round 11, 1954, coincided with Melbourne's rise to superpower status. He was among a bevy of talented young Demons who started their careers in the same period.

Johnson joined East Fremantle purely for monetary reasons, and later regretted leaving Melbourne. But in the west he became the childhood hero of many, including Dennis Cometti, who occasionally weaves Big Bob into his commentary.

In May of 2001, as Johnson was organising for then-Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy to attend a function on the Gold Coast, he suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 65.

His widow Nola told AFL.com.au her husband "never talked much about his football career, but he'd be over the moon" at his elevation to the Hall of Fame.