Only once in his career did Peter Bedford play football on his birthday. He’ll remember it well. He always does.

It was his 23^rd birthday and his 40^th game. He had 22 possessions in South Melbourne’s one-point win over North Melbourne at Arden Street. Bob Skilton had 31 possessions and kicked two goals in his 199^th game, and 19-year-olds Reg Gleeson and Mick Pavone debuted.

It was 50 years ago today, on 11 April 1970.

Now, celebrating his 73^rd birthday, the ever-popular Bedford will have another good birthday story to tell as he, like everyone, lives through coronavirus pandemic.

And although the club was unable to get hold of him today he’ll soon be up for a chat.

Born 11 April 1947, Bedford invariably had a birthday about Round 2 each year.

He debuted nine days after his 21^st birthday in 1968, collecting 16 possessions and kicking four goals in a draw with Hawthorn at Glenferrie Oval in which Skilton had 25 possessions and kicked five, and Peter Hudson kicked eight goals nine behinds for the Hawks.

Birthday wins eluded the 1970 Brownlow Medallist and five-time Swans club champion more than he would have liked. In the first three years of his career he went draw, loss, win in his birthday week before five losses followed.

It wasn’t until his last year at South in 1976 that he had another win in his 161^st game one day before his 29^th birthday.

But he was a consistently good player in birthday week games, averaging 20.3 possessions and 1.9 goals per game in an era in which 20 possessions was very good, and even one goal a game was outstanding

Bedford remembers his career remarkably well, and if ever he tires of his countless football stories he can always go back to the major world event that coincided with his 23^rd birthday and celebrates its golden anniversary today.

It was the day the Apollo 13 mission was launched from Cape Canaveral, with astronauts James Lovell, John Swigert and Fred Haise aboard.

It was to be NASA’s third moon landing, following nine months after Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin took humanity’s first steps on the moon.

Lovell and Haise were to be the fifth and sixth men to walk on the moon.

But an oxygen tank explosion 322,000km from earth robbed them of that opportunity and instead gave them key roles in what is regarded as space travel’s most successful failure.

It is famous not only because the three astronauts returned to earth safely, but the moment after the explosion gave birth to a phrase that has become famous not just in space adventures but in the movies.

As the story is told, Swigert, the command module pilot, said over the radio: “OK, Houston, we’ve had a problem here”.

NASA replied: “This is Houston. Say again, please.”

“Houston, we’ve had a problem,” Lovell interjected.

Swigert, a last-minute fill-in, died in 1982, but Lovell and Haise are alive to tell of their famous expedition.

And while the coronavirus has shut down planned 50^th anniversary celebrations at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Lovell, 92, and Haise, 86, are happy just to be alive.

And despite the number of their failed mission they insist they are not superstitious, and both use 13 in their personal email address.

Nor, too, is Bedford. After all, he conquered the 11 April birthday “curse” which otherwise has struck Swans players born on this date.

There have been seven others and they played a combined total of 17 games. Listed with their year of birth and their career details, they were:-

Val Robertson – born 1879 – 7 games in 1898-99
Tom Clancy – born 1887 – 1 game in 1908
Jimmy Maher – born 1913 – 4 games in 1937
Ian Palmer – born 1921 – 1 game in 1941
Claude Anderson – born 1924 – 2 games in 1947
Graeme Bradley – born 1946 – 1 game in 1967.
Malcolm Scott – born 1958 – 1 game in 1985

Happy birthday ‘Beddo’ – Stay safe!