Dick Jones (Australian footballer)

Richard Henry Jones (5 June 1926 – 16 January 2013) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[2][3]

Dick Jones
Personal information
Full name Richard Henry Jones[1]
Date of birth (1926-06-05)5 June 1926
Place of birth Goomalling, Western Australia
Date of death 16 January 2013(2013-01-16) (aged 86)
Place of death Myrtle Bank, South Australia
Original team(s) East Fremantle
Height 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 72 kg (159 lb)
Position(s) Rover
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1949, 1951 South Melbourne 19 (28)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1957–1958 West Torrens 37 (18–17–2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1958.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Biography

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Jones, a rover, joined South Melbourne from East Fremantle, but hailed from rural Western Australia.

Jones kicked a goal in all but one of his 17 games and topped South Melbourne's goal-kicking with 27 majors.[4] During the year he was acting vice-captain.

In 1950 he returned to Western Australia and captain-coached Boulder City to a Goldfields National Football League premiership.

Jones resumed his VFL career in 1951 but only appeared in the opening two rounds of the season.[4]

The next stage of his career was spent in South Australia, starting at Glenelg in 1952. He stopped playing football at the end of the year and concentrated on his police career, before returning briefly in 1956.

In 1957 he was appointed captain-coach of West Torrens and guided them to a fourth-place finish that year. He retired as a player in 1958 but stayed on as coach and was then involved in controversy when he chose to delist aging club great Bob Hank.[5]

Jones was a television and radio commentator in the SANFL during the 1970s and 1980s.

Jones died in Myrtle Bank, South Australia on 16 January 2013, at the age of 86.[6]

References

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  1. ^ WW2 Nominal Roll: Richard Henry Jones
  2. ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-920910-78-5.
  3. ^ "Dick Jones". Australian Football. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b AFL Tables: Dick Jones
  5. ^ Police Journal Online - August 2008 Edition (PDF)
  6. ^ "Jones, Richard Henry (Dick)". Adelaide Advertiser. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2024.