Shelton played 95 games for the Bombers across six seasons between 1959 and 1965 after joining the club from Avenel.
Despite interest from several Victorian Football League sides, the opportunity to play alongside club greats Ken Fraser and Ron Evans was too hard to resist.
It proved to be the correct decision as Shelton went on to win premierships in 1962 and 1965, in which he was the vice-captain.
But Shelton admitted his place in the hall of fame was among his biggest honours.
“It’s given me a great lift because I’ve had some health problems recently, so it couldn’t have come at a better time,” he said.
“Having all of my mates coming around and saying you deserve it certainly has given me a good feeling.
“Our friendship was the secret of our success. We had a lot of good young blokes who came together between 1959 and 1960.
“We still enjoy each other’s company every couple of months with a day out and it’s great to still have that special bond.”
“Minus the who’s who of football in those days, Geoff Leek, Jack Clarke, Ken Fraser, Reg Burgess and Greg Sewell were the guys who took me under their wing.
“They were all just champion people who just helped me a lot in life.”
Shelton couldn’t have timed his arrival at Bomberland any better, with Dick Reynolds in charge for his first two seasons at the club, before John Coleman took over.
Coleman’s ability on the ground carried over to his coaching role, according to Shelton.
“Obviously he (Coleman) was a champion player, but he also understood the game so well,” he said.
“He recognised that we just needed to be a little bit more aggressive as a team if we wanted to get to the top of the tree.
“John kept introducing more aggressive players and success quickly followed. We had so many brilliant footballers in the side. Coleman just wanted people to protect our ball players.
“He pushed me into that role, which I didn’t mind because I enjoyed the physical side of the game.
“Obviously it worked fairly well for me because everyone who spoke to me after the induction said they would never forget the role I played in our success.”
The chance to play in a second premiership almost eluded Shelton after he missed the entire 1964 season with a serious eye injury suffered on his family farm.
“I was devastated because I was only 23 and missed the complete year with operations and recovery,” he said.
“The doctors advised me not to play but the love of the game was too much for me, so I decided to give it a go.
“I played 1965 with no vision in my right eye and when we won the flag, I thought I had a pretty good go at it and thought it was time to give it away, even though I was 25.
“So I pulled the pin and came back and coached Seymour.”
Despite finishing his career with clubs from across the region, Essendon is where Shelton’s heart will always lie.
“For six decades, whenever I needed a pick-me-up I would always get it from the Essendon footy club,” he said.
“For one, being introduced into a wonderful group of people which taught me a lot about respect for the game and what a team needs you to be - it will always a hold a special place in my life.”
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