Edward Kevin O'Neill (20 March 1908 – 12 July 1985) 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 played in the VFL between 1930 and 1941 for the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...

. The son of a former

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, ...

player from its days in the VFA, O'Neill was a member of the Tigers' legendary "''Three Musketeers''" backline of Bolger,

Sheahan Sheahan is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bill Sheahan (umpire) (born 1953), Australian Test cricket match umpire * Bill Sheahan (politician) (1895–1975), Australian politician * Frank D. Sheahan (1901-1974), American polit ...

and O'Neill. He played in four straight senior

Grand Finals 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 ...

from 1931 to 1934, winning the premiership in 1932 and 1934. He also played in Richmond's losing

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 ...

side of 1940. O'Neill represented

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 ...

on ten occasions, as State vice-captain for an Interstate Carnival, and was awarded Life Membership of the

in 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

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

. He returned to the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

briefly in 1944 as Captain/Coach of the Seconds side.

References

External links

* * Richmond Football Club players Richmond Football Club Premiership players Echuca Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) 1908 births 1985 deaths Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Echuca Military personnel from Victoria (Australia) {{AFL-bio-1908-stub