Sydney Swans fans know 90-year-old birthday boy Kenny Williams as the insatiable supporter who cheers on the red and white from behind the M.A. Noble Stand goalposts, or as the man who’s long led the club song at the SCG with hysterical enthusiasm.

From being in the MCG stands as a four-year-old for South Melbourne’s 1933 premiership victory, to tucking the footy under his wing for a raucous rendition of the club song after Tony Lockett became the greatest goal-kicker in history, Williams has packed a lot into 90 years.

He led Paul Roos’ men in song and dance after their 2005 Grand Final victory broke a 72-year premiership drought, and he and his wife Yvonne regularly opened their home to some of the Swans’ favourite sons in history: Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton, Barry Hall and Leo Barry.

Williams struggled to find words to describe his passion for the Swans.

“Everyone’s always been very kind to me. The club has been enormous. I’ve been in the thick of things all the time,” Williams told Swans Media.

“I’ve always gone to training and I’ll never forget all the people I’ve met along the way.”

Williams grew up in South Melbourne and when he wasn’t decked out in red and white he was racing horses at Flemington.

He moved to Sydney in 1949 as he turned a new page in his career as a jockey, and in 1982 the Swans followed suit, relocating from South Melbourne to the Harbour City in a desperate ploy to avoid collapsing.

Then-coach Ron Barassi invited him to run water in the early 1990s, and he still parks himself beside the Gatorade tank for every training session.

It doesn’t matter if his beloved Swans are training at the SCG, Moore Park’s Bat and Ball Oval or Marrickville’s Henson Park, and even teeming rain is not enough to keep away his fluffy white hair, booming grin and frail pat on the back.

Sydney’s sole triple centurion, 321-game stalwart Jarrad McVeigh, spoke from the heart as the Swans celebrated Williams’ special day.

“It’s always exciting when we see him here at every single training session,” McVeigh told Swans Media.

“He’s part of the furniture and he gets around the players before training, he’s a great guy to have around the club and he’s been here longer than anyone.”