John Vincent Regan (12 September 1912 – 11 August 1988) 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 ...

er who represented Collingwood in the

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) during the 1930s and 1940s.

Playing career

Recruited from Northcote, Regan struggled in his first few seasons and was tried in a variety of positions before he established himself at full-back. Taking on and matching full-forwards like

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

Bob Pratt Harold Robert Pratt Sr. (31 August 1912 – 6 January 2001) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football Asso ...

(whom Regan regarded as his most difficult opponent),

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 ...

Harry Vallence Henry Francis "Soapy" Vallence (4 June 1905 – 25 July 1991) was a champion Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Victorian Football Association (VFA). He played at full forward for the VFL's Carlton Footba ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Jack Titus Jack "Skinny" Titus (9 March 1908 – 19 April 1978) was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1926 and 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. In the golden era of the 1930s, Titus was one o ...

and St Kilda's

Bill Mohr Wilbur T. "Bill" Mohr (29 June 1909 – 29 March 1971) was an Australian rules footballer who represented St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1930s. Career Playing as a half-back flanker initially, Mohr later became ...

, Regan earned his title as the "Prince of Full-backs". He was a magnificent mark and a superb kick. Archival footage shows him using the now defunct drop kick for his kick-ins. In slow motion they demonstrate his perfect balance and timing. Regan was among the best players in the Magpies'

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

and

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

premiership victories, both against

. In May

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, during a match against

, Regan fell heavily and suffered a double dislocation of an elbow. He spent a week at St Vincent's Hospital, and ended up missing nine matches. He recovered in time to play a part in Collingwood's finals campaign, but again for the second successive year was on the losing end as Carlton emerged victorious with the

pennant. In January 1942 Regan announced his retirement from football to join the

Salesian , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

community at Sunbury as a lay brother. In February 1943, with Australia now involved heavily in the Second World War, Regan enlisted with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) and served as a

leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a junior rank in some air forces. It sits between aircraftman and senior aircraftman, and has a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller. The ra ...

. He returned in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

to captain Collingwood. In April 1946, shortly after being discharged from military service, Regan returned to Collingwood and trained so well that he was selected for their Round 1 match of the 1946 season against

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

. In March 1947, it was announced that Regan had been appointed coach of

Kalgoorlie City Football Club Kalgoorlie City Football Club is an Australian rules football club competing in the Goldfields Football League. The club is based at Sir Richard Moore Sports Complex in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated ...

Goldfields Football League The Goldfields Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Founded in 1896 as Hannans District Football Association, the league enjoyed a seat and full voting rights on the Australi ...

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

champion

Dick Reynolds 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 Brownl ...

considered Regan the best full-back he ever saw. In an article for Melbourne newspaper '' The Argus'' Reynolds recounted watching Regan play state football against the likes of

Ken Farmer Kenneth William George Farmer (25 July 1910 – 5 March 1982) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the North Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Dubbed the ' Bradman of football' in So ...

from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

George Doig George Ronald Doig (25 May 1913 – 27 November 2006) was an Australian rules footballer who played for and later coached the East Fremantle Football Club in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL). A member of the Doig sport ...

from

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and said:

'' made them earn every goal they kicked against him. It was great to see the way in which he shadowed them or marked or punched the ball away, and then, with great dash and a beautiful kick, sent the ball in the right position for an attack. His quick thinking and unruffled style at critical moments made him a star full-back.''

During his playing career, Regan had worked as a clerk for the Commonwealth Social Service in Melbourne. After returning to Melbourne from Kalgoorlie he continued to serve at Collingwood for many years, and was club secretary from 1969 to 1977.

Posthumous honours

Regan was among the first players inducted into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

in 1996, but was overlooked for the full-back position when 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 ...

was named. That honour went instead to

Stephen Silvagni Stephen Silvagni (born 31 May 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). As the second member of three generations of Silvagnis to represent the Blues, he is ...

, to the bewilderment of many in the Australian football community. In 1997, when the Collingwood Team of the Century was announced, Regan was named at full-back. In 2004, at the launch of the Collingwood Hall of Fame, Regan was one of 18 inducted players. The Collingwood player who finishes fifth in the club's best-and-fairest count is awarded the Jack Regan Trophy.

Notes

References

Renn, Ronald Percy, "Renn looks on Saturday's games", ''The Age'', (Monday, 26 April 1937), p.6.
* * * *

External links

Collingwood Team of the Century
*
Profile
at Australian Football
Jack Regan's Service Record
at the RAAF {{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Jack 1988 deaths 1912 births Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club Premiership players Copeland Trophy winners Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Northcote Football Club players Kalgoorlie City Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Northcote, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne