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Tribute to Jack Dyer |
What They Say About Jack Dyer |
What You Say About Jack Dyer |
Jack Dyerisms
What Mates Say About Jack Dyer
"He was a great man, and undoubtedly he is the greatest name and the
biggest name in the history of the Richmond Football Club. He was the man who embodied the spirit of the Richmond Football Club
and I think the catch cry 'Eat 'em Alive' and Captain Blood and the
whole history of the RFC is entwined around the legend of Jack Dyer.
I don't know whether there is a bigger legend than Jack Dyer. He
played through an era of depression, the Second World War and it was
at a time when people were looking for heroes, looking for people to
lift their spirits. Richmond itself was known as "Struggletown", it was working class and there was this man who went to school in Richmond, started playing at 17, led from the front playing brilliant football, he-man-style stuff as well, with catch cries of Captain Blood and Eat 'em Alive; it just built up an image of the Richmond Football Club that
has been sustained to this very day." -- Kevin Bartlett, former Richmond player (broke Dyer's record of games played)
"The name Captain Blood has been synonymous with football for
as long as it has been going. He put football on the map as far as
making it a great game. He was a great personality." --
Collingwood legend Lou Richards
"His name remains synonymous with Tigerland." -- Richmond president Clinton Casey
"A lot of people are legends at their own club, and we can
understand that, but there are a few that everybody's just taken to
their hearts and I'm quite certain that Jack Dyer was one of these. I remember him as a player and he was just a freak player. He was so
big and strong and fearless and courageous and he did all those
things, but he wasn't only that - he was very skilful as well. A lot of people probably only think that he was a big knock 'em down
man, but he really wasn't; he was as quick that he could have played
in any position." -- Tom Hafey, 4-time premiership coach for Richmond
"I think the most important thing, in all the years, Jack was a
thorough gentleman. I never heard him swear in front of a woman, he respected women, and
that's the thing I admire about him. If anyone got a bit blue in
front of a woman he'd pull them over the coals and that's a great
feature to have in your life." -- Collingwood legend Lou Richards
"Jack was just a beautiful person. Never having seen him play
football, it's almost hard to imagine that the rough and tough guy
that you hear about was the same guy, because there's no nicer person
than Jack Dyer. Jack would come out with some of the classic
sayings, such as, 'It's no good being where the ball ain't', or at
one stage he said he disliked Collingwood that much he wouldn't even
watch a black-and-white movie! Jack was just a fantastic person."
-- South Melbourne legend Bob Skilton
"It just seems to me that Richmond and Jack Dyer are the one. It is
hard to separate the two and what we like to think we are about. The
whole culture of the club seems to be built around Jack Dyer." -- Richmond premiership captain and coach Tony Jewell
"Jack's probably one of those blokes where words virtually mean very
little. What he'd done, and how he did it, and what he achieved, you
don't really have to say too much about him." -- Dale Weightman, Richmond captain between 1988 and 1992
"Jack Dyer was one of the great football legends, a captain, coach and premiership player. He was a rare breed of footballer who achieved just about every football accolade and honour." -- Premier Steve Bracks
"Captain Blood was a champion footballer and an outstanding character of a football era long gone. People of Victoria, regardless of who they barrack for, will always have fond memories of the legend of Captain Blood and the character that Jack Dyer was." -- Sports Minister and former Carlton ruckman Justin Madden
"Jack Dyer was one of the great legends of our game." -- AFL chief Andrew Demetriou
"This is an extremely sad day for the Richmond Football Club. Some of the finest footballers . . . have played for Richmond, but the greatest of them all was John Raymond Dyer." -- Richmond president Clinton Casey
"I just don't have words good enough for Jack. He was just solid gold. The Captain Blood image was not exactly true because, away from the field, he was a great family man and to me, he was like a father." -- Geelong legend and former World of Sport co-host Bob Davis
"He was one of the first multi-media superstars of VFL/AFL football." -- Collingwood president Eddie McGuire
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