Jack Sinclair still remembers as a young boy discovering his late grandfather’s woollen St Kilda guernsey from the 1950s in an old chest of drawers.

It was a bit of a “blank-looking Crest”, he recalls, the shape of it “a bit wonky”, however remains a special memory for who would become a two-time Best & Fairest and dual-All-Australian for St Kilda.

Sinclair’s grandfather, Bill Gleeson played 15 games for St Kilda between 1955-1956, and was the reason the No. 35 — who grew up a Carlton fan — wanted to play for the red, white and black when he was older.

Perhaps many years from now, it will be one of Sinclair’s grandsons or granddaughters who will do the same that he did many moons ago and unearth a guernsey from his own playing days; perhaps emblazoned with a Crest not so “bulky” as the one from the 1950s. 

As part of a club-wide modernisation heading into an ambitious new chapter for the red, white and black, St Kilda officially unveiled a brand-new club Crest for Season 2025 and beyond, of which Sinclair will be at the forefront of.

“The first Crest I think of is my grandfather’s. I remember when I was a kid pulling (his jumper) out of an old chest of drawers,” Sinclair told saints.com.au at the Hotel Esplanade for the Saints’ Crest content shoot.

“The jumper is still in the family, I think my aunty’s got it at the moment… eventually we got it framed, so hopefully I can get my hands on it one day. 

“I still feel like this (new Crest) embodies everything that old logo did. It’s pretty special to think about my grandfather and him playing for the footy club and then to me, being here for over a decade now, going into a new era for the club.”

A considerable amount has changed between Sinclair’s grandfather’s career and his own, however the red, white and black and an iteration of the famed club Crest have persisted.

Among the key revisions in the latest Crest are the incorporation of the words ‘St Kilda’ in place of the former ‘St K.F.C.’ to reflect pride in the club’s origins and sense of place, along with a more compact ribbon — now connected to the Crest as one joint symbol as opposed to sitting separately — which features the club’s establishment date of 1873.

“I absolutely love it, there’s a lot of similarities (to the old one) and obviously it’s not a dramatic change, which is a really good thing,” Sinclair said.

“It’s a bit more modern, but to still be proud of our history… I’m definitely someone that’s still really proud of the club and to play at the level that we have for 150-plus years now.

The Crest was first introduced in 1933 and was entrenched into club folklore later that same season in the wake of the famed ‘Crest Game’; a match in which an injury-plagued St Kilda outfit — with just 15 players on the field —  toppled the powerful North Melbourne in one of the club’s most inspirational victories.

In commemoration, then-President Fred Arlington-Burke commissioned medals adorned with the Crest to be struck for every player who took part in that game. The Crest has since embodied a legacy of resilience and perseverance no matter the odds; traits synonymous with the Saints over the past 151 years.

“It’s something special, not many clubs have something like that on the front of their guernseys,” Sinclair said.

“It’s always a privilege, you always think about the history of the club when you pull on the guernsey and the Crest just adds a bit more to it. 

“It’s a good modern update of the logo that we’ve grown to love over so many years. It ticks every box from my point of view. It’s modern, but we’ve still got that classic link to the past.

“I’m stoked with it. I think all the fans will love it too.”