Barry Vincent Ion (born 9 October 1941) is a former

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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er and radio personality. He played with Footscray in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL), Yarraville in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFA), and Woodville in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

(SANFL). He became a well known radio personality in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Ion started in radio early, commentating football matches for Melbourne radio in 1960, while also playing with the Carlton Rovers. He joined his elder brother, Graham Ion, at Footscray in 1961 and played with him in the 1961 VFL Grand Final, as a half back flanker. The grand final was just his sixth league game, having played just four home and away matches before the finals series.AFL Tables: Barry Ion
/ref> He made 29 appearances over the next two seasons, but then struggled with injuries, playing just five more games. In 1966 he joined Yarraville in the

; he wasn't able to play Saturday games as he was calling football for radio station

3KZ GOLD104.3 (call sign: 3KKZ) is a radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of ARN Media's Gold Network and broadcasts on the 104.3 MHz frequency. History 3KZ 3KZ commenced operations on 8 December 1930. The radio station ...

, but he still polled sufficient votes to finish third in the

J. J. Liston Trophy The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded annually to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League (VFL), which was formerly known as the Victorian Football Association (VFA). It is named after J. J. Liston, J.J. Liston, a busine ...

for the year. He moved to Adelaide in 1967 and spent two seasons playing for Woodville. While in Adelaide, Ion began working for 5AD and formed a radio breakfast duo with

Tony Pilkington Tony Pilkington is a South Australian radio personality. He is best known for "Bazz and Pilko", his long running breakfast show partnership with Barry Ion. Their show aired in Adelaide from 1976 to 1984, then Sydney from 1985 to 1991, then back ...

called "Bazz and Pilko". They were the highest-rated radio show in Australia during the 1970s and early 1980s, commanding nearly 40% of the radio market in Adelaide. Ion voiced a character called "Peter Plus". He joined 5KA in 1983, where he continued to work with Pilkington. In 1985 the duo brought their breakfast show to Sydney station 2UW where they remained until late 1991.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ion, Barry 1941 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Western Bulldogs players Yarraville Football Club players Woodville Football Club players Australian radio personalities Living people