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
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 ...
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