Allen James Aylett

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(24 April 1934 – 16 September 2022) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

player and administrator. He was the chairman/president of the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...

from 1971 to 1976, and then again from 2001 to 2005. In between, he had been the chairman of the then

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) from 1977 to 1984. Aylett worked as a dentist throughout his career and into his eighties.

Early life

Aylett was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 24 April 1934. He attended University High School in his hometown. He made his debut for

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

at the age of 17 while he was still in secondary school, a rare feat at the time.

Playing career

It was as an

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

that Aylett first made his mark. He played 220 games and kicked 311 goals, in a career spanning 1952–1964. He won North Melbourne's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award from 1958 to 1960, was

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

in 1958 and 1961, won the

Tassie Medal The Tassie Medal was awarded to the outstanding player at each Australian rules football Interstate matches in Australian rules football, Interstate Carnival or Interstate matches in Australian rules football, Australian interstate championship se ...

in 1958 (the first player from Victoria to win), won the

Simpson Medal The Simpson Medal is an individual prize awarded for Australian rules football in Western Australia. The medal has been donated by Dr Fred Simpson and family since 1945. Simpson Medals are currently awarded to the following players: *The best pla ...

in 1960, and was captain of his side from 1961 to 1964. He was selected in the

Team of the Century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 ...

. Aylett also had a brief cricketing career that he never fully pursued due to his interest in

. He played as a batsman in 11 first-class matches in the 1950s for domestic cricket side

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

but was not successful, finishing with a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of just 16. He played district cricket for

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

(two seasons) and

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(six seasons), averaging 27.

Administration career

Aylett is best known for his career as an administrator in the 1970s and 1980s. He was elected to the position of

president in 1971, and his innovative off-field leadership in securing sponsorship and running corporate entertainment – including the rise of the

North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast The North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast is a breakfast function organised by the North Melbourne Football Club on the morning of the AFL Grand Final. The breakfast marks the traditional beginning to Grand Final day and is one of the biggest soci ...

as one of the Grand Final's most prominent events – followed by his aggressive recruitment of star players, particularly through the use of the short-lived "ten year rule" in 1973, turned North Melbourne from perennial also-rans to a professionally run powerhouse of the 1970s, and the club contested five consecutive

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

s between 1974 and 1978, winning the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

games. Aylett was elected president of the VFL in 1977. He continued his aggressive efforts to push the game's administration towards professional and business-driven success. His actions in setting up the VFL's Night Series in 1977, as a direct rival to the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

's Night Series, delivered both sponsorship opportunities and laid the platform for the VFL to supersede the NFL for control of football in Australia. Under his guidance, the league expanded into the Sydney market, making preparations for an expansion team before opted to relocate there; Aylett subsequently sat on the Swans' board of directors. Additionally, during his tenure, the VFL began to establish regular Sunday matches in Victoria; and he fought the

Melbourne Cricket Club The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia. The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground ...

and the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

to move the Grand Final to

VFL Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian-based Victorian Football Lea ...

, ultimately failing to make the move, but securing a better financial deal for the VFL and better ticket access for VFL members. Aylett stepped down in December 1984 following the establishment of the

VFL Commission The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), its subsidiaries and controlled entities. Richard Goyder has been chairman since 4 April 2017, replacing Mike Fitzpatrick. It was formed in 1985 ...

. Aylett also served as president of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

from 1978 until 1985. He subsequently returned for a second and final stint as North Melbourne Kangaroos president from 2001 to 2005.

Honours

In the

1979 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

, Aylett was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) for services to Australian Rules football. On 24 October 2000, he was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

for his contribution to Australian Football. On 1 January 2001, he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for service to Australian society through the sport of AFL football. He was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

as an administrator in 2006.

Later life

Aylett was married to Marjorie "Marj" Wapet for 71 years until his death. They met while studying at University High together. Together, they had four children: Tony, Rick, Julie and Sam. He continued working as a dentist into his eighties. Aylett died on 16 September 2022 at the age of 88.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aylett, Allen 1934 births 2022 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne North Melbourne Football Club players All-Australians (1953–1988) Syd Barker Medal winners VFL/AFL administrators North Melbourne Football Club administrators Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Victoria cricketers Australian cricketers Australian dentists Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Recipients of the Centenary Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Cricketers from Victoria (Australia)