Dick Reynolds

For the arranger, see Dick Reynolds (musician). For the American politician, see Dick Reynolds (politician).

Dick Reynolds
Personal information
Full name	Richard Sylvanus Reynolds
Nickname(s)	King Richard
Date of birth	(1915-06-20)20 June 1915
Date of death	2 September 2002(2002-09-02) (aged 87)
Original team(s)	Woodlands (EDFL)
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder/Small forward
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1933–1951	Essendon	320 (442)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
	Victoria	19 (19)
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1939–1960	Essendon (VFL)	415 (275–134–6)
1961–1963	West Torrens (SANFL)	58 (37–19–2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1951. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1963.
Career highlights
4× Essendon Premiership player: (1942, 1946, 1949, 1950) 3× Brownlow Medal: (1934, 1937, 1938) 7× W. S. Crichton Medal: (1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1943) Essendon captain: (1939–1950) Essendon leading goalkicker 1943 Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend 1996 AFL Team of the Century (half forward flank) Essendon Team of the Century (rover)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Richard Sylvannus Reynolds (20 June 1915 – 2 September 2002) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Reynolds is one of four footballers to have won three Brownlow Medals, with the others being Haydn Bunton Sr., Bob Skilton and Ian Stewart. Revered by Essendon supporters, he was often referred to simply as "King Richard".

Family

The son of William Meader Reynolds (1886–1940) and Mary James Reynolds, née Thompson (1885–1941), and one of seven children, Richard Sylvannus Reynolds was born on 20 June 1915. He died on 2 September 2002. He was the brother of Tom Reynolds, the cousin of Richmond champion player and coach Max Oppy, and the grandfather of Joel Reynolds.

Early life and career

Reynolds in action.

Reynolds grew up supporting Carlton and sold lollies outside Princes Park on match days.

When Reynolds won his first Brownlow Medal in 1934, Fitzroy champion Haydn Bunton Sr., whom Reynolds had narrowly beaten to win the award, was the first person to telegraph his congratulations, a sporting gesture that Reynolds deeply appreciated.

Reynolds would normally wear the number three guernsey throughout his playing career with Essendon, but had to wear the number four guernsey during one match of the 1937 VFL season when he left his uniform at home.

In June 1947, it was announced that Reynolds would start writing about football for the now-defunct Melbourne newspaper The Argus.

Like many footballers, Reynolds was also a noted cricketer. He was a successful medium-fast bowler for Essendon Cricket Club but gave up the game when it started to interfere with football. In January 1949, he made a return to district cricket when Essendon batsman Ken Meuleman was picked for State duty.

After being re-elected yet again as player-coach by the Essendon committee in February 1949, Reynolds guided the Bombers to the Grand Final against Carlton, which they won by 73 points. Reynolds, who was playing his 299th game, described it afterwards as "the best Essendon performance he could remember."

Off the field, Reynolds was a shy and private man, noted for his humility about his footballing achievements.

Champions of Essendon

In 2002, an Essendon panel ranked him first in their Champions of Essendon list of the 25 greatest players ever to have played for Essendon.

Just three days before his death, after being given a standing ovation by the crowd at the announcement dinner, at which he was named the greatest Essendon player of all time, Reynolds was visibly moved and stated: "I don't deserve this honour... Bill Hutchison was the best player I ever saw."

Death

Reynolds' funeral was held at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, on 6 September 2002. After the service, the hearse made its way to Windy Hill, where Essendon fans had gathered to farewell their greatest player one last time.

His family's link with Essendon continued when his grandson Joel Reynolds was selected by the club in the 2001 AFL Draft. He made his debut in Round 3, 2002, against Brisbane at the Gabba, with Dick watching from the stands.

A statue in his honour was erected in 2004 at the Parade of Champions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brownlow Medals

In July 2017, it was announced by Reynolds' family that his three Brownlow Medals were to be auctioned by Mosgreen.

Bibliography

• Maplestone, M. (1996). Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996. Essendon: Essendon Football Club. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8.
• Miller, W.; Petraitis, V.; Jeremiah, V. (1997). The Great John Coleman. Cheltenham: Nivar Press. ISBN 0-646-31616-8.
• Ross, John, ed. (1996). 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported. Ringwood: Viking. ISBN 0-670-86814-0.
• Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2002). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 546. ISBN 1-74095-001-1.

External links

• Eddy, Daniel (2013). 'Our Champion and Gentleman': Dick Reynolds and the Essendon Football Club, 1933-1951 (PDF) (MA). Victoria University. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
• AFL Hall of Fame Legends
• Dick Reynolds at AustralianFootball.com
• Profile at "Champions of Essendon"
• Profile at MCG website
• Profile at Sport Australia Hall of Fame