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Full name
John Raymond Dyer
Known as
Jack Dyer
Nickname
Captain Blood
Born
15 November 1913
Place of birth
Oakleigh, VIC (3166)
Died
23 August 2003 (aged 89)
Place of death
Box Hill, VIC (3128)
Occupation
Policeman, Publican, Milk Bar proprietor, Media
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 17y 175d
Last game: 35y 285d
Height and weight
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 89 kg
Senior clubs
Richmond
Jumper numbers
Richmond: 17
State of origin
VIC
Hall of fame
Australian Football Hall Of Fame (Inducted 1996), Legend (1996)
Family links
Jack Dyer Jnr (Son)
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Richmond | V/AFL | 1931-1949 | 311 | 443 | 1.42 | 66% | 20.16 | — | 8.52 | 86 |
Total | 1931-1949 | 311 | 443 | 1.42 | 66% | 20.16 | — | 8.52 | 86 |
Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only
AFL: 3,789th player to appear, 71st most games played, 86th most goals kickedRichmond: 326th player to appear, 3rd most games played, 7th most goals kicked
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The nickname 'Captain Blood' says almost everything which needs to be said: Richmond's Jack Dyer was the epitome of the tough, ruthless footballer who took no prisoners. However, the tiny amount which it doesn't say is also worthy of telling: Jack Dyer was a highly accomplished footballer who would have been a creditable performer even without the embellishment of brutality. Perhaps more to the point, had Dyer elected to sacrifice some of his team-orientated qualities in favour of the individualistic approach espoused by some of his contemporaries there are some (Melbourne super-coach Norm Smith - no mean judge of player talent, one ventures to suppose - among them) who suggest he might have become the greatest and most highly decorated footballer of all time.
Decorations were for Christmas trees as far as Jack Dyer was concerned, however. Football was - and is - a team game, and if the best way to help his team to victory was to intimidate and unsettle the opposition, then so be it. Moreover, if the needs of the team were best served by inflicting actual bodily harm on members of the opposition, then that was fine, too. Having been schooled by nuns and Christian brothers, Dyer was nothing if not pragmatic. "Anything goes," he once observed, "as long as you can get away with it." The fact that Jack Dyer was only suspended once during his nineteen season, 312 game, innumerable collarbone-breaking VFL career suggests that he was eminently capable of 'getting away with it'.
He was also a pretty good footy player, who played 312 VFL games and kicked 443 goals between 1931 and 1949, besides being a regular Victorian interstate representative. He also won the Richmond best and fairest player award no fewer than half a dozen times, a club record. Quite fittingly the award is now named after him.
Author - John Devaney