Arthur (Nugget) Hawking could never have dreamt what he was starting when he pulled on the Richmond jumper in 1904 to play his one and only VFL/FL game.
Nugget holds the honour of being the first footballer directly recruited from Kyabram to play at the highest level, albeit only the one appearance.
But he started a tradition that has made the Kyabram Football Club one of the most fruitful nurseries for VFL/ALF players in the 120 years since Nugget’s ground-breaking game.
Few country football clubs could boast the record Kyabram Football Club has in producing VFL/AFL players.
Apart from the 1940s, the Kyabram Football Club has produced one or more VFL/AFL players in every decade since the turn of the 20th century.
From my research I’ve compiled a list of 30 players directly recruited from the Kyabram Football Club.
Several others to reach the top level were born in Kyabram or played with Kyabram before being recruited from another club by an VFL/AFL club.
Kyabram boasts producing a multi-state and club captain in Melbourne’s legendary Garry Lyon and another club captain in the early 1900s in Carlton’s Charlie Fisher.
Lyon was recruited from the Kyabram Football Club as a schoolboy and debuted in 1986 with the Melbourne Football Club, playing in the 1988 VFL grand final.
He quickly became a dominant player, winning his first Melbourne best and fairest award in 1990.
He became Melbourne's captain in 1991 and eventually became the longest-serving Melbourne captain in the club’s history.
Lyon finished his career having won two Melbourne best and fairest awards and being named in three All-Australian teams.
He finished in 1999 with 226 VFL/AFL games and 426 goals.
Kyabram-Melbourne also produced another player, Ross Dillon, who holds the distinction of representing both the Big V and South Australia in interstate games.
Dillon was one of four players from Kyabram’s runners-up Goulburn Valley League side which fell to the Tom Hafey coached Shepparton in 1965 who made their VFL/AFL debuts the following season.
The others were Dick Clay, Frank Fanning (Footscray now Western Bulldogs), and Maurie Fowler (Carlton).
Another big feather in Kyabram’s cap is one of its best known products Richard (Dick) Clay was a member of four Richmond premiership sides in the 1960s and 1970s.
He was also made the ninth Immortal of the Richmond Football Netball Club last year, joining select small list of all-time greats of the club.
And like Lyon, he was named in his AFL club’s Team Of The Century.
Another piece of proud Kyabram Football Club memorabilia is that it produced the number one pick in the 2004 national AFL draft in Brett Deledio, who was also awarded the AFL Rising Star award in that year.
Deledio, a dual best and fairest winner with Richmond, also holds the distinction for a Kyabram player playing the most AFL/VFL games — 243 with Richmond and 32 with Greater Western Sydney for a total 275.
Lyon (226 games) and Clay (213) are the only two other Kyabram players to clock more than 200 VFL/AFL games.
And Kyabram boasts one of the biggest fairytale stories in VFL/AFL history with Billy James’ appearance in the winning Richmond grand final side of 1920 when it defeated Collingwood by 17 points — 7.10 to 5.5.
James was plucked from Kyabram in the week leading into the VFL grand final and kicked the goal that put Richmond in front against Collingwood in the grand final which landed him a VFL premiership medallion.
It was the Tigers’ inaugural VFL premiership and James was retrospectively awarded life membership of the club for his contribution.
It was the only game he played with Richmond, but he did play and also serve in club administrative positions for the Kyabram club for many years afterwards.
Nick Holman flies the Kyabram flag these days for the club at the highest level.
The teak tough utility has played a total of 120 games with Carlton and Gold Coast after debuting with Carlton in 2014 after playing in the David Williams-coached Kyabram side which broke a 17-year GVL flag drought in 2013.
Kyabram’s VFL-AFL honour roll
The following footballers were recruited from Kyabram to play VFL/AFL football, with the year indicating their debut season.
1904 – Arthur Hawking (1 game Richmond)
1909 – Bill Fischer (1 game Melbourne)
1914 – Charlie Fisher: (111 games Carlton)
1919 – George Parkinson: (12 games Richmond)
1920 – Billy James: ( 1 game Richmond)
1920 – Roy Outram: (12 games Collingwood and Richmond).
1925 – Percy Outram: (51 games Carlton and St Kilda)
1937 – Max McQueen (1 game Hawthorn)
1955 – Peter Aitken: (11 games Carlton)
1960 – Ian Howard: (16 games Footscray)
1961 – Barry Bryant: (14 games Carlton)
1961 – Graeme Haslem: (8 games Hawthorn)
1965 – Bryan Pleitner: (31 games Footscray and Hawthorn)
1966 – Richard (Dick) Clay: (213 games Richmond)
1966 – Ross Dillon: (85 games Melbourne)
1966 – Frank Fanning: (2 games Footscray)
1966 – Maurie Fowler: ( 8 games Carlton)
1969 – Paul Rowlands: (35 games Melbourne)
1973 – Shane Fitzsimmons: (63 games Melbourne)
1975 – John Sparks: (9 games Melbourne)
1976 – Maurice Wingate: (39 games Melbourne)
1979 – Kelly O'Donnell: (80 games Melbourne)
1982 – Trevor Castles: (1 game Melbourne)
1982 – Stuart McKenzie: (9 games Melbourne)
1985 – Daryl Bourke: (18 games Melbourne)
1986 – Garry Lyon: (226 games Melbourne)
1995 – Glen Coghlan: (29 games St. Kilda)
2001 – Kayne Pettifer: (113 games Richmond)
2005 – Brett Deledio: (275 games Richmond and Greater Western Sydney)
2014 – Nick Holman: (120 games Carlton and Gold Coast Suns)
Ky’s VFL/AFL players
I have been researching to find the Kyabram Football Club players recruited directly from the club to play VFL/AFL.
As the club is keen to recognise this list of players officially, I’m putting this up for scrutiny for any additions or deletions and to confirm or dispute what I have come up.
I would appreciate anyone who has any other information on what I’ve researched to get in contact.
VFL/AFL players via Kyabram
This is a list of some VFL/AFL players born in Kyabram or played with Kyabram but were not directly recruited from Kyabram by a VFL/AFL club.
Tom McCluskey: Born in Kyabram in 1889, McCluskey was recruited by Carlton from Shepparton Football Club. It had been alerted to his potential after a match between Tatura and Shepparton on Wednesday, August 24, 1910, and officials were so impressed that they immediately signed up McClusky and Tatura’ Archie Wilson.
Both made their debut for Carlton against Richmond, at Princes Park, on Saturday, August 27, 1910, and both played in the Carlton team that lost the 1910 grand final to Collingwood, which was the last of McCluskey's four senior games for Carlton.
In 1911, he transferred to Fitzroy, where he played five senior games and ended up with Footscray then competing in the Victorian Football Associatiin where he played 45 games. He died on action in the battle of Broodseinde on October 4, 1917, in World War I.
Charlie Stewart: Played in Kyabram’s 1958 premiership side and, in 1959, played in Cobram’s flag winning side in the Murray Football League. He was then a member of the Lemnos (Shepparton Swans) side which won the GVL flag in 1960.
In 1961, he was recruited by Footscray (Western Bulldogs). He played 20 games for Footscray in the 1961 season and was a member of its runner-up side to Hawthorn in that year.
Returning to the Goulburn Valley, he played with Kyabram in 1962 and then coached the club, for three years — 1963 to 1965 — winning the league’s Morrison Medal in 1964. He coached another GVL club Stanhope after Kyabram and is recognised as one of the league’s greatest ever players.
Ken Christie (Melbourne): From Echuca, Christie played 70 games with Melbourne from 1951 to 1955. He played in Kyabram’s 1948 premiership side and received the umpires votes for best on the ground.
Kevin Betson: Played 42 games with Richmond from 1952-1955. Originally from Echuca East, he played with Kyabram Imperials in 1948 when it was premier in the Kyabram and District Football League. Betson won the league’s McNamara Medal in that year.
Allan Bryce: Born in Kyabram in 1905 and recruited in 1927 from Mentone by St Kilda where he played two games.
Archie Shields: Born in Kyabram and recruited from Tongala in 1937 by Essendon where he played 19 games before a distinguished career in the air force in World War II.
Barrie Vagg: Born in Kyabram in 1943 and recruited by Melbourne in 1962 and was a member of Melbourne’s 1964 premiership side. From 1962 to 1969, he played 115 games with Melbourne.