Ronald Barry Evans AM (7 July 1939 – 9 March 2007) was an Australian rules footballer, Chairman of the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1998 to 2007, as well as President of the Essendon Football Club from 1988 to 1992.

Education

Evans was educated at Caulfield Grammar School 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 ...

, where he was a classmate of linguist Michael Clyne, businessman Ron Walker, and 1960

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

winner John Schultz. He played full-forward in Caulfield Grammar's First XVIII, a team which also contained two other future VFL players: Ron Cabble who played with

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 ...

and Western Bulldogs, Footscray's John Schultz. Evans later gained both a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

Football career

Although not solidly built (he weighed 78 kg), he was 6'2" (188 cm), and his very long arms gave him extra inches in marking contests. Recruited from Essendon Baptists in 1958 – he had broken the

Essendon District Football League The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition ...

's Essendon goalkicking record in 1957 – he played his first senior match for Essendon, as a reserve, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, against

on 10 May 1958. Altogether, he played 64 games for Essendon from 1958 to 1962, mostly at full-forward, kicking 210 goals. He played his best football under coach

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 Brownlow ...

. He missed a number of games through injury in 1961; but, in 1962, John Coleman's second year as coach, he only played six senior games for Essendon, having lost his regular place at full-forward to

Charlie Payne Charles James Payne (born 13 November 1944) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the VFL. Payne started his VFL career in 1962 as a forward, at the age of just 17, topping Essendon's goalkicking in his first two ...

. His brief senior record is impressive: *

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

: 10 games (2 as a reserve), 27 goals (including 7 goals in one match) — plus 1 night game, 1 goal. *

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

: 20 games, 78 goals (including 9 goals in a match on two occasions, and 6 goals in a match on another two occasions) **

: full-forward in losing Grand-Final team) 1959 VFL season#Grand Final Teams **

: Victorian State Team **

: VFL Leading Goalkicker at 19 years, 78 goals (including 5 goals from only 6 touches in the 1959 First Semi-Final against Collingwood, and 2 goals in the losing GrandFinal against

) *

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

: 18 games, 67 goals (including 10 goals in a match on one occasion, 8 goals in a match on one occasion, and 6 goals in a match on another) **

: Victorian State Team **

: VFL Leading Goalkicker 67 goals (despite being the competition's leading goalkicker, Evans was held goal-less in Essendon's 1960 First Semi-Final loss to Collingwood) *

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

: 10 games (1 as a reserve), 21 goals — plus 1 night game, 3 goals. *

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

: 6 games, 16 goals **

: Last game for Essendon (as a reserve) against St Kilda on 4 August 1962. In 1963, he moved to

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 ...

, got his form back, and played a total of 60 games at full-forward for the

West Perth Football Club The West Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club located in Joondalup, Western Australia. West Perth competes in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW) and is the oldest exi ...

in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL) over three seasons from 1963 to 1965. * 1963: 97 goals ** 1963: WANFL Leading goalkicker. * 1964: 84 goals ** 1964: West Perth's Leading goalkicker. * 1965: 90 goals ** 1965: West Perth's Leading goalkicker. He retired as a footballer at the end of the 1965 season at the age of 26.

Cricket career

He was a fine wicket-keeper whilst at Caulfield Grammar School; and, much to the distress of its headmaster, S. W. Kurrle, who wanted him to play for the school's First XI, Evans played his first District cricket match for North Melbourne Cricket Club whilst still at school, at 16 years of age. When he returned to Melbourne after his sojourn in Western Australia, he resumed his cricketing career with North Melbourne, and went on to play a total of 126 games for the North Melbourne First XI. He captained the First XI, and was made a life member of the club. His club record of five catches and three stumpings as a North Melbourne First XI wicketkeeper has never been surpassed.

Football administrator

He served on the committee of the Essendon Football Club from 1978 to 1987, having lost the 1981 election for president by a single vote to his former teammate Greg Sewell. In 1988 he stood for president once again; and, despite Sewell being a hot favourite for the position, Evans won the election. He served as President of the Essendon Football Club from 1988 to 1992. Evans unexpectedly announced his retirement as president of the Essendon F.C. at the end of 1992. As president he had been responsible for many significant events and changes, including engineering the 1992 move of Essendon's home matches to the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the 1991 retention of coach Kevin Sheedy when it seemed inevitable that Sheedy would move to New South Wales and coach the Sydney Swans. Soon after his surprise resignation it was revealed that he had been appointed to one of the new positions of AFL commissioner whose task it was to guide, influence and direct the future of the AFL competition. He served as an AFL commissioner from 1993 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2007 he was the chairman of the AFL (i.e., the governing body of the premier Australian rules football competition).

Business interests

Evans also became a very successful businessman, working as an executive for Spotless, and later as the company's managing director from 1992 to 2004. On 12 June 2006, in the

Queen's Birthday The King's Official Birthday (alternatively the Queen's Official Birthday when the monarch is female) is the selected day in the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those ...

Honours List, he was made a Member (AM) of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for service to business and Australian rules football.

Legacy

In 2006, the AFL announced that Evans was to have an

abdominal The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso ...

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

removed and that, due to his ill-health he was retirin

He died of abdominal cancer on 9 March 2007. He was posthumously awarded membership in the administrator's Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2007.Norm Smith officially an AFL legend – realfooty.com.au
/ref> The Ron Evans Medal was created in his name, awarded to the

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

of that year, beginning in 2007, when it was inaugurally presented to

Joel Selwood Joel Anthony Selwood (born 26 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a quadruple premiership player, a six-time All-Australian, and a three-ti ...

of the Geelong Football Club.

Footnotes

References

* Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

* *
Ronald Barry (Ron) Evans, at ''WAFL Footy Facts''.

* ttp://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21355036-12270,00.html Patrick Smith, "Dignified leader who always kicked straight and true", (''The Australian'', 10 March 2007)
Channel Nine ''Sunday'' Programme Chat Transcript: John Lyons on the AFL

Channel Nine ''Sunday'' Programme Transcript: Behind the Rules
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Ron (Footballer) 1939 births 2007 deaths VFL/AFL administrators People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Australian chief executives Coleman Medal winners Essendon Football Club administrators Essendon Football Club players Members of the Order of Australia Australian rules footballers from Melbourne West Perth Football Club players Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees