Jack Dyer - RichmondFC article

[rfctigerarmy]

Jack Dyer passes away
afl.com.au
4:29:13 PM Sat 23 August, 2003


AFL legend Jack Dyer has passed away aged 89 after a long illness.

Dyer, nicknamed ‘Captain Blood’ for his fearless manner of playing the game, represented his beloved Richmond on 312 occasions in a career that spanned from 1931 to 1949, including premierships in 1934 and 1943.

In that time he won an astonishing six best and fairests at the club playing mainly in the ruck during what was regarded as the toughest years of the sport.

He was also a Victorian representative on many occasions and captained the state in 1941 and 1949.

Dyer also coached the Tigers in 225 games from 1941 to 1952 and was heavily involved in the football media after his retirement. He was a regular on both World of Sport and League Teams on Channel Seven and called football on 3KZ for more than 20 years alongside Ian Major. Together they were known as 'The Captain and the Major'.

He was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996 and received legend status in the same year.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Player Profile

Number: 17
Height: 185
Weight: 89
Previous Clubs: Yarra Juncton F.C, De La Salle College School Teams and St. Ignatius F.C.
Date of Birth: 13/11/1913


John Raymond “Jack” DYER was a ruckman who became one of the greatest legends the game has known. Born in Oakleigh, he played his early football at Yarra Junction before moving back to the city with his family in 1927. Jack then went to De La Salle College before finishing at St. Ignatius on Richmond Hill. After winning the Metropolitan League Best and Fairest he was invited to try out with Richmond. He made his senior debut as 19th man in Round 2 of 1931 against North Melbourne. On that day, he sat on the bench until late in the game while watching Richmond full-forward Doug STRANG kick a club record of 14 goals. Jack, however, went out as a success, kicking 6 goals in his final match against Geelong in Round 19 of 1949. Although known for his ruggedness, he was a fine player who moved well around the ground, was a strong mark and an accurate kick. He had fine anticipation, excellent judgment and was a great protector of his smaller teammates. An intelligent footballer, he was a fine palmer of the ball and he formed part of a great first ruck with Percy BENTLEY and Roy MARTIN. He was renowned for his bone jarring shirt=fronts which left many an opposition player bloodied, with broken bones or concussion. In 1935, sports journalist John LUDLOW dubbed him “Captain Blood” after the Hollywood Legend of the time Errol FLYNN who was starring in a movie of the same name. The journalist reasoned that while FLYNN was cutting a swathe through Hollywood, Jack was doing similar things on the football field. In 1931, he played in Richmond’s Grand Final team that was defeated by Geelong. He was playing excellent football in the early part of 1932 before being struck down by a knee injury that caused him to miss half a season and a chance to play in the Premiership side. After sustaining this injury, he always wore a bandage around his knee. He attributed this injury to the fact that he became a straight-ahead type of player because it took away some of his mobility. Surprisingly, during his long career, the most consecutive games he played was 60 between 1945 and 1948. A human battering ram he was reported five times during his career for one 4-week suspension. Ironically that was for striking the son of legendary Collingwood Coach Jock McHALE in Round 11 of 1944. Jack won the Club Best and Fairest award a record six times in 1932, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940 and 1946 as well as finishing third in 1943. The Richmond Football Club Best and Fairest award is named in honour of the service he gave to the club. Jack also won the “Champion of The Colony” award which comprised votes from newspaper sports journalists, in 1940, 1942 and 1943. He captained Richmond in 160 matches and he coached in a total of 225 games, for 134 wins, 2 draws and 89 losses. Richmond made the Finals five times during his reign, for one Premiership, two runners-up and two fourths. Jack was a member of the 1934 and 1943 Premiership sides as well as the 1931, 1933, 1949, 1942 and 1944 Grand Final teams. His tally of 312 games currently places him in second position behind Kevin BARTLETT’s 403 games and his 23 Finals games has him in third position. He played 16 state games and was Victorian captain in 1941 and 1949. He was awarded Life Membership in 1940 and is also a Life Member of the VFL/AFL. In the latter part of his career, Jack moved to a forward-pocket where he caused many headaches for opposing backmen. He won the Club Goalkicking award twice in his last three seasons and his career tally of 443 goals places him fifth on Richmond’s all-time greatest goalkickers’ list. Jack kicked 9 goals in the 1944 preliminary final against Essendon and this feat is still a club Finals’ record. The footballer image used at the start of Channel Nine’s Footy Show is taken from a photo of Jack as he was charging toward his ninth goal in that preliminary final. He scored 5 goals or more on 18 occasions. Amazingly the first time he kicked 5 goals was in Round 8 of 1943 against North Melbourne when he was into his thirteenth season. With the exception of 1945 he kicked 30 or more goals in every season between 1940 and 1949. It was his move to the forward line that saw him invent the drop punt kick after struggling for accuracy whilst kicking with the punt kick. Timing was always an important part of his game; however, in round 15 of 1946 this deserted him. Richmond were playing Footscray at the Punt Road Oval in a crucial match to decide a position in the four. By three quarter time Richmond trailed 7.17.59 to 13.13.91. A spirited rival saw the Tigers trial by seven points with only minutes remaining. Richmond went forward and the ball shot to Jack who ran into an apparently easy goal, but the ball slewed off the side of his boot for a point. Unbeknown to him the ball had been deflated after being punctured by a steel fence picket. Shortly after this “Mopsy” FRASER snapped a goal to level the scores, but Footscray’s Bill WOOD kicked their only goal of the last quarter to win the game, leaving Jack red faced and pondering what might have been. After retiring as a player and coach, he served on the Richmond Committee during the 1950s and 1960s as well as being heavily involved in recruiting. Away from football, Jack has had several different occupations including a policeman, milk bar proprietor and hotelier. On his retirement form football he also became involved in the media with Channel 7 and as a radio commentator on 3UZ and 3KZ, between 1953 and 1991. Jack was also a panelist on the old World of Sport and his verbal battles with Lou RICHARDS are well remembered by the football public. He still has a column in the Truth Newspaper. In 1966, he ran as the A.L.P candidate for the seat of Prahran, but was beaten by former St. Kilda footballer and champion Test Cricketer Sam LOXTON. Jack was also involved in writing a book that was recently updater and aptly entitled “The Wild Men of Football.” In 1996, he was inducted into the AFL’s Hall of Fame where he earned the status as one of only 12 “Legends of the Game.” He was awarded the Order of Australia, “O.A.M,” for his services to football. He now lives on the Mornington Peninsula and recently showed he had lost none of his sporting prowess by scoring a hole in one during a round of golf. Jack also had the pavilion at Citizens Park in Richmond named in honour of his services to the Richmond Football Club and as longtime owner operator of local businesses. He is the father of John DYER.

 

[Kid Dynamite!]

RIP.

Good luck to the Tiges tomorrow. I'll be wearing a black arm band in rememberance.

 

[Paralowiepower]

Good luck tomorrow

Jack Dyer Tiger legend R.I.P

Just like when Fos Williams died we know what its like to lose a legend of the game.

Hopefully the Tigers put in a performance that will do Jack Proud.

 

[kretchy]

Rest In Peace Jack.

A true tiger legend.

 

[mellowyellow]

Jack Dyer passes away
6:21:07 PM Sat 23 August, 2003
Paul Gough
afl.com.au
Related Content:

Jack Dyer: the tributes


AFL legend Jack Dyer, who passed away aged 89 on Saturday following a long illness, was not only the greatest name in Richmond’s long and proud history but one of the most famous names in the history of the game.

The man known as ‘Captain Blood’ for his ferocious playing style was a champion player, successful coach, legendary football caller and one of the funniest and most famous media personalities in the 100 plus years of the VFL/AFL all rolled into one.



Dyer began his playing career at Richmond in 1931 and soon emerged as one of the best and toughest players in one of football’s toughest eras.

It was the time of the great depression but Dyer soon became a hero to the legions of Richmond fans, who used to pack the club’s traditional home at Punt Road – where the sole surviving grandstand from that era is now named after the club’s greatest ever player.

In only his second season Dyer won the first of what would be a club record six best and fairest awards for Richmond – an achievement that would be recognised decades later by the Tigers renaming their club champion award ‘The Jack Dyer Medal.’

However he missed out on the Tigers’ premiership side of that season but played in the first of two premierships with his beloved Richmond in 1934.

Four successive best and fairest awards followed in succession from 1937-40 and then Dyer became captain and coach of the Tigers in 1941.

His greatest triumph came in 1943 when he captained and coached the Tigers to their first premiership in a decade and he would continue as coach through until 1952.

Dyer’s then playing record of 312 games from 1931-49, and he also coached the Tigers in 225 games, would stand until 1979 when broken by Kevin Bartlett and all these years later he still remains second on the Tigers’ games played list.

Renowned as one of the toughest players in the game’s history, Dyer – who was short by the standards of modern-day ruckman - also had plenty of skill as evidenced by his efforts to kick 443 goals during his long career.

Despite playing nearly all his career as ruckman, that effort has only been bettered at Richmond by specialist full-forwards Jack Dyer, Michael Roach and **** Harris as well as the freakish Bartlett.

Dyer was also a Victorian representative on many occasions and captained the state in 1941 and 1949.

He was one of the inaugural AFL legends when inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame in 1996 and would receive the same honour at Richmond when the Tigers launched their Hall of Fame in 2002.

But incredibly, that is just half the great story of Jack Dyer.

After his retirement Dyer was a natural for the media industry and soon became involved in the then formative years of television at Channel Seven.

One of the best football callers of his era, Dyer forged a legendary radio partnership with Ian Major with the pair known as ‘The Captain and the Major’ as they called together for more than 20 years on 3KZ.

However it was his television partnership with two of his former on-field sparring partners in Collingwood rover Lou Richards and Geelong flyer Bob Davis that made Dyer a household name in Victoria for the best part of three decades.

The trio’s highly successful League Teams show on Channel Seven was the forerunner to the highly successful The Footy Show of today and was the perfect recipe for Dyer’s quick wit and hilarious one-liners.

His partnership with Richards in particular was legendary and the pair’s long-running banter on the World of Sport footy panel on Sunday afternoons was the stuff of legend.

With the pair – one the greatest ruckman of his era and the other the greatest rover – regularly exchanged barbs on television it would have been easy to think they did not get along but in reality were the closest of friends.

Dyer’s hatred of Richards’ former club Collingwood was also legendary and was best summed up by the time he told Richards on television that he hated Collingwood so much ‘he wouldn’t even watch a black and white movie.’

Amongst Dyer’s many other famous one-liners – some of which were definitely true and some of which may be myth included:

- during his time as coach when he told his players to “pair off threes.”

- when told of the change to the AFL’s finals system in 1972: “Things won’t be the same now there are five teams in the four.”

- or when talking about a goal he kicked from a tight angle one day, he said the angle was so tight “the ball was wedged between the posts.”


- or when asked what was wrong with the modern-day players, he replied: “All they want to do is sit around and smoke marinara.”

Such famous one-liners made Dyer hugely popular throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s – even though that generation had never seen him play.

His thoughts on players also made for hilarious television such as when he described then boom Carlton recruit Peter Bosustow in the early 1980’s as “a good, ordinary player.”

Or when asked why a player was out of form – Dyer simply said “he keeps getting where the ball ain’t”.

Dyer also had another term for big-name recruits, who arrived with huge reputations before even playing a VFL game.

They were simply referred to as “March champions”.

Jack Dyer was no ‘March champion’ though.

He was quite simply the toughest and best ruckman of his era, a man who created much of what is Richmond’s proud history and a man who kept thousands of people entertained long after his playing days were over with his sense of humour and quick wit.

 

[CaptainCustard]

The Day I Had Brekkie With Jack

I am absolutely gutted – I didn’t think anything worse could happen to the Tiges this year – how wrong could I be.

I’ve posted this before on messageboards, but I will never forget the morning I spent with Jack at his home in Frankston. Had to go and get some footy jumpers signed for a RFC function that night and I was told the only chance I could get the jumpers signed was to get there early in the morning. Got there at 8.00am at agreed time, as Jack had to leave early to go and commentate on the Collingwood-Essendon game that was on that day at the “G”.

As nervous as hell as I was to meet him, his friend Dorothy?? invited me into the house and invited me for a cup of coffee over breakfast with Jack. I was absolutely shaking, but he was such a delightful person, I soon felt at ease in 5 mins flat. I am a great collector of everything Richmond, and I brought along all my articles of Jack that I had collected over the years and gave them to him as a pressie. We sat and went through them a bit and just chatted about the good old days at the Tiges.

I left at about 8.45 and he walked me over to my car where my mum was waiting, and for over an hour he chatted to us about the Tiges, his years playing for the Tiges, the suburb, everything Richmond. Told me who he had a huge crush on when he was younger – I’ll keep that a secret lol. And every time the word Collingwood came up his eyes would steel over and you could see the hate lol.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and Jack had to go. He apologised and said, that he had to write an article on the Essendon-Collingwood game – to put in his words: “if I have to write about the mongrels, I suppose I actually better be there”

After meeting him and seeing what a beautiful person and gentleman he was, I find it so very very hard to believe how he was on the field.

Anyway, that’s my memory of Jack – one I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.

Gonna go to the game tomorrow and I know there’s gonna be many tears. What a wonderful person he was.

RIP Jack

 

[kretchy]

Jack Dyer: The Tributes
afl.com.au
6:29:02 PM Sat 23 August, 2003


Tributes are flowing quickly for Richmond and AFL legend Jack Dyer, who died on Saturday, aged 89.


Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy:
"It will be a sad loss, but the best issue I always say to a lot of people is that your memory is a video, and I can always just move straight back onto somebody who is deceased and I love them because of the good times, I can always remember."

"And that’s one great thing about your mind, while you’ve got your mind and you’ve got your common sense and not too many coaches have sometimes. But I can relate back to Jack and have some beautiful memories of a guy called Jack Dyer. Tiger fans should celebrate a beautiful person. He meant a lot to a lot of people."


Four-time Richmond premiership coach, Tom Hafey:
"Commiserations of course to all his family, but he’s left a legacy that’s going to be hard for anybody to overtake as far as the Tigers are concerned. I’m quite certain that if you cut him in half, he would bleed black and yellow."

Richmond game record-holder, Kevin Bartlett:
"He was a person who led his troops into battle. He was famous for his courage. He was famous for how hard he attacked the ball. Sometimes, people forget that he was a brilliant player."

Former Collingwood captain and media personality, Lou Richards:
"Jack put Richmond on the map. Everyone knows that Jack was part of Richmond more than the Richmond Football Club."

 

[Asgardian]

Commiserations to "Captain Blood's" family and friends

The great game is poorer for his passing, RIP.

 

[carn_the_nmfc]

RIP Jack Dyer.



Condolences to the Dyer family and to Richmond Footy club

 

[TheFoxhat]

There's only one Jack Dyer.... the game in heaven can now start
because your captain has arrived...

R.I.P Jack ....From all the lads in the RICHMOND GROG SQUAD..
were all down here having a beer for you ...Cheers Tiger..