Sunday 23 July 1995 was a day in Brisbane Football Club history that will never be forgotten. 

The Brisbane Bears came from 45 points down at three-quarter time to beat Hawthorn at the Gabba in the greatest final quarter comeback of all-time.

It bettered a League record which had stood since 1947, when North Melbourne came from 44 points back at the last change to beat Essendon at Arden Street in 1947.

For 30 years and two days it stood as the greatest final quarter comeback of all-time, until it was bettered by a point on Sunday when St.Kilda came from 46 points down to beat Melbourne by six points at Marvel Stadium.

Here, as a tinge of sadness hits long-time-time Brisbane supporters with a good memory, lions.com.au takes a walk down memory lane to recount the heroics of a side that included some well-known names.

The battling Brisbane Bears, as they were at the time, trailed a more fancied Hawthorn 5-13 (43) to 13-10 (88) at three-quarter time on a hot Sunday afternoon at the Gabba.

It was Round 16. The Bears began the weekend 14th on the 16-team ladder with a 5-11 record, ahead of only St.Kilda (4-12) and Fitzroy (2-14), and were looking at a predictable loss against the Hawks, who were 10^th at 7-8 but only half a game outside the eight.

Coach Robert Walls, in his fifth season at the helm of the expansion club and having coached his 300^th AFL game the week before, had endured a tough 24-1-76 ride in charge of a club struggling for respect.

Walls told the story often of how, in his first season in charge of the then Carrara-based Bears in 1991, he’d walked into a local McDonald’s on the coast wearing a Bears t-shirt.

The young girl behind the counter, unaware of who he was, asked ‘do you like the Bears?’ And when he confirmed his interest she handed over a fistful of free tickets to an upcoming home game.

It was a sign of exactly where the club stood at the time and how important was the massive coup in snaring the ex-Carlton premiership coach north. And although they’d made progress in the years that followed, most notably on the back of a move from Carrara to the Gabba, Walls had indicated he would not seek reappointment beyond 1995.

In what was expected to be his seventh-last game at the Bears helm, they’d kicked 0-6 to the Hawks’ 6-5 in the first quarter, trailed 2-12 to 8-7 at halftime, and added 3-1 to 5-3 in the third quarter. It was 5-13 to 13-10 at the last change.

But what followed would change the very fortunes of the club. They outscored the Hawks 9-7 to 1-3 in the final quarter to win 14-20 (104) to 14-13 (97).

The stunning final quarter blitz followed a stirring three-quarter time address from coach Walls, who had noticed his Hawthorn counterpart Peter Knights, the inaugural coach of the Bears, take his tiring side into the shade at the final break.

“Look - they’re tired,” Walls told his players. “We’ve got them. Just believe in yourselves. We can win.”

It was a massive ask, and whether even Walls really believed it himself was questionable. After all, the Bears’ form had been miserable at best. Only four wins all year and all against sides that would finish in the bottom six.

But this was a ‘new’ Bears. An emerging Bears side which included Marcus Ashcroft and Adrian Fletcher, the fathers of current Brisbane players Will and Levi Ashcroft and Jaspa Fletcher.

Ironically, among the non-playing Bears that day was one Ross Lyon, who had joined the Bears in 1995 after 10 years and 129 games at Fitzroy.

He’d originally been bound for Sydney with long-time Fitzroy teammate Paul Roos, but when the AFL ruled the Swans salary cap could not accommodate them both Lyon headed further north to play under Walls, his first coach at Fitzroy.

Only 28, Lyon had played the first two games of the 1995 season, and would later poll one Brownlow Medal vote for 22 possessions in a 27-point Round 2 win over Adelaide in which a young and skinny Craig McRae played his second AFL game for the Bears.

But a major knee problem which flared the following week which would end Lyon’s playing career meant that as history unfolded 14 weeks later in Round 16 against Hawthorn, the man who on Sunday coached St.Kilda’s record-breaking win over Melbourne found himself in the crowd.

He sat with close friend Alastair Lynch, a former Fitzroy teammate and boom Bears recruit of 1994 who had played Round 1 of 1995 with Lyon before succumbing to what was later diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

And as optimistic as they might have tried to be, there was not a chance they could have predicted what was to follow as the Bears headed with the wind to the East Brisbane State School end of the Gabba.

Michael Voss, 16 days beyond his 20^th birthday and in his 48^th game, kicked the first goal of the final term. Darryl White, two years and 13 games his senior, and Craig McRae, at 21 in his 16^th game, followed. White goaled again and the margin was back to 18 points.

A 24-year-old Shaun Hart, who six years later would win the Norm Smith Medal in the Brisbane Lions’ breakthrough grand final win of 2001, received a slick pass from Voss to make it 12 points.

The Hawks were feeling the pressure. Jason Taylor hit the post from 10m out for the Hawks. Bears captain Roger Merrett made the deficit six points and then Marcus Ashcroft, a veteran at 23 in  his 120^th game, snapped miraculously over his head, squared it up.

Steven Lawrence, son of St.Kilda great Barry Lawrence and in his 11^th game at 19, charging off half-back, spoiled, gathered, had a bounce and let fly from 70m. He jumped with glee as the ball bounced through. His very first AFL goal. The Bears led by six points.

Hawks skipper Jason Dunstall, a Queenslander who had rejected the 10-year offer eventually accepted by Lynch, out-bodied Bears fullback Richard Champion from behind to mark and kick his fifth goal. And his 1056^th all-time.

Scores were level again with two and a half minutes to play.

Adrian Fletcher, in his 100^th AFL game at 25, marked just inside the centre square. He let fly from long range. It went … and went .. and went. Full points. Brisbane were back in front.

And when Merrett hit the post moments later with a snap from in front of the old Cricketers Club it was all over. Brisbane by seven points.

By the numbers

The Brisbane side in notional positions was:

B: Andrew Bews, Richard Champion, Nathan Chapman
HB: Michael McLean, Scott McIvor, Chris Scott
C: Gilbert McAdam, Adrian Fletcher, Michael Voss
HF: Shaun Hart, Dion Scott, Jason Akermanis
F: Craig McRae, Roger Merrett (capt), Darryl White
INT: Matthew Clarke, Marcus Ashcroft, Craig Lambert.
IN: Steven Lawrence, Trent Bartlett.

Brisbane           0-6       2-12     5-13              14-20 (104)
Hawthorn         6-5       8-7       13-10            14-14 (97)

Possessions:
Bris: Lambert 29, Hart 27, Voss 24, Fletcher 23, Bews 23, Ashcroft 21, McLean 19, C Scott, D Scott 18.
Haw: D Jarman 28, Crawford 22, Barnard 19, Collins 19, Hudson 19, Harford 17.

Goals:
Bris: Voss 3, Ashcroft 2, Hart 2, Merrett 2, Fletcher, Lawrence, McRae, D Scott, White.
Haw: Dunstall 5, Hudson 3, Harford 2, D Jarman, Crawford, Barnard, Minton-Connell.

Brownlow Medal Votes:
D Jarman (Haw) 3, Voss (Bris) 2, Crawford (Haw) 1.

Attendance: 8209

What came next:

To ensure the magnitude of the record-breaking win was not lost on the Brisbane players Walls had the club produce a batch of commemorative plaques, listing the team and the match details. Each player received one. “We were making our own history and building pride in our club,” the coach said many years later.

Lyon, Hart and teammates Andrew Bews and Damian Bourke, recruited by the Bears from Geelong, spoke to the group at the presentation of the plaques before chairman Noel Gordon set them a goal to win four of their last six games.

After the chairman asked Bews if that was possible the ex-Geelong skipper said:  “Why would we want to win just four? We should be trying to win them all.”

They almost did, beating Adelaide by 30 points at Football Park and Sydney by 15 points at the SCG before pushing ladder leaders Carlton to 14 points at Princes Park. Then it was Richmond by 77 points and the Gabba and Essendon 32 points at the Gabba.

At Round 21, they had a 9-12 record and shared 8^th place with Melbourne, Collingwood and Adelaide. But they were 10^th on percentages.

In Round 22, Brisbane were to play Melbourne at the Gabba on the Friday night before Adelaide hosted third-placed Richmond at Football Park on the Saturday night, and 13^th-placed Sydney hosted Collingwood at the SCG on the Sunday.

It was a long shot, even when Brisbane beat Melbourne by 12 points and Richmond accounted for Adelaide by 37 points. They still needed Sydney to upset Collingwood.

The team gathered at Kelly’s Hotel, not far from the Gabba, to watch the game together. With a huge media contingent outside spirits tumbled as Collingwood led by 25 points at halftime.

It was still 12 points to the Pies at the last change, but the Swans piled out 8-1 to 2-2 in the final term to win by 23 points. Tony Lockett kicked seven goals as Leo Barry, who would later take one of the game’s greatest marks in the 2012 grand final, made his debut.

And a 27-year-old Andrew Dunkley, who 18 months later would father a certain Josh Dunkley, polled his first three-vote rating in the Brownlow Medal in his 75^th game.

Brisbane finished 8^th with a 10-12 record, a game clear of Melbourne, Collingwood and Adelaide, before they were eliminated by eventual premiers Carlton by 13 points at the MCG in the qualifying final the following week.

Still, there was an argument to say they were the second-best team of the year after they’d pushed Carlton to the limit before Carlton beat North Melbourne by 62 points in the preliminary final and Geelong by 61 points in the grand final.

And all on the back of an extraordinary come-from-behind win in Round 16.