James Peter Stynes OAM (23 April 196620 March 2012) was an Irish footballer who converted from

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

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 ...

and the first international player to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Playing for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL), he was one of the game's most prominent figures, setting the record for most consecutive games of VFL/AFL football with 244 (until it was beaten by Jack Crisp in 2025) and winning the sport's highest individual honour, the

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 the f ...

, in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. Off the field, he was a notable AFL administrator,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, charity worker and writer.

Career

During his 264-game career playing for the

in the

(AFL) between

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, Stynes became the first and only non-Australian-born VFL/AFL player to win the Brownlow Medal, which he achieved in 1991. Stynes was quite famous in both Australia and Ireland as a result of his involvement in the Melbourne Football Club's international recruitment program (now known as the " Irish experiment"). Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland, where he was a promising

er at the Ballyboden St Enda's club, Stynes made a move to Australia at the age of 18 following his county team's victory in the 1984 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship. Debuting in the Australian Football League in 1987, he played 244 consecutive games between 1987 and 1998 as a mobile ruckman, a league record that was held for 27 years. Along with his Brownlow Medal, his Australian rules achievements included the Leigh Matthews Trophy, two-time

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

selection, a

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final 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. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

appearance in 1988, and a four-time winner of the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal for being judged Melbourne's best player throughout the course of a season. He also represented Victoria in interstate football matches, and he played for both

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in international rules football, a hybrid of Gaelic football and Australian rules football. Following his football career, Stynes focused on youth work, using his profile to launch The Reach Foundation, which he co-founded in 1994. As a result of his work with young people in Victoria, he was named Victorian of the Year twice, in 2001 and 2003, and with the expanded profile of Reach nationally, awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007. Stynes also served as president of the Melbourne Football Club from 2008 and was involved in fundraising efforts which brought the club out of debt. In 2009, Stynes was diagnosed with metastatic

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

and continued to work during his treatment for

brain metastasis A brain metastasis is a cancer that has metastasis, metastasized (spread) to the brain from another location in the body and is therefore considered a brain tumor, secondary brain tumor. The metastasis typically shares a Cancer cell, cancer cell ...

. He died in March 2012 and was honoured by a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

held at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in Melbourne on 27 March 2012.

Early life

Stynes was born in Dublin, Ireland, to a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family, the eldest son of Brian and Teresa Stynes, one of six siblings. He grew up in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

.Langmaid, Aaron (2012)
Favourite son Jim Stynes's last wish for homecoming
''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' online; published 22 March 2012 He attended Ballyroan Boys National School. He began playing

at the age of eight. From age nine, he played at Ballyboden St Enda's at under-11s level. He attended high school at De La Salle College, Churchtown, where he played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

while continuing to play Gaelic football for his club alongside his younger brother,

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

. His first exposure to Australian rules football was watching the 1980 film '' The Club'' on television. Stynes represented Dublin in 1984, at the age of eighteen, and was on Dublin's winning side in the

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it was replaced by an under ...

. Stynes aspired to a college education; however, he lacked the means and was earning just $10 a week delivering newspapers. Later in his life, he graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science degree and a Diploma in Youth Work from

RMIT University The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

; additionally, he earned a Bachelor of Education degree from Deakin University. He was later awarded with the honorary degree of Doctor of the University from the Australian Catholic University.

Switch to Australian rules football

In 1984, Stynes responded to an advertisement in his local paper placed by the

that offered two scholarships with all expenses paid to play Australian rules football and attend

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. Applicants were required to be under 18, over 183 cm and at county standard. Tall and slim, Stynes was selected, along with James Fahey, and brought to Victoria to undergo a crash course in Australian rules. He signed a two-year contract, hoping to use the money to fund his way through college. Stynes was promised accommodation with an additional $60 weekly

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

, clothing, and $50 a game. He arrived in Australia on 7 November 1984. Stynes debuted for the Melbourne under-19s team in 1985 and finished the season runner-up in the best and fairest. Ray Jordon, a coach who was experienced with talented juniors, worked intensively with Stynes, and he was sent to

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 ...

's Prahran Football Club to compete at senior level.

VFL/AFL career

Stynes made his senior debut for the Melbourne Demons in

against

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

at Kardinia Park. Two weeks later, he played in the Night Series Final against the Essendon Bombers. The Demons' thrilling 4-point victory over the Bombers gave the club its first silverware in 23 years. Later in 1987, Stynes was part of the senior side which won their last six matches of the home-and-away season to finish in 5th place and qualify for Melbourne's first finals series since 1964. The Demons were cast as a Cinderella team, winning their first two finals by huge margins in front of huge, frenzied crowds. They were just seconds away from an unlikely Grand Final appearance, leading Hawthorn in the Preliminary Final by 4 points when a free kick was awarded to Gary Buckenara fifty metres from goal. Stynes ran through the mark as the final siren sounded; it was an error which resulted in a 15-metre penalty and brought the Hawk forward within range. Buckenara scored the goal, giving his team a two-point win and ending Melbourne's fairytale charge to the premiership (n.b. the 15-metre penalty rule was increased to 50 metres in 1988). Stynes managed to put this costly mistake behind him. He cemented his position in Melbourne's senior team in 1988 and drew praise for his consistent play and for his innate skills and ability. He played in all 26 games, including the

versus Hawthorn. Despite his team losing to the Hawks by 96 points, Stynes performed admirably and he was judged to be Melbourne's best player that day. In 1991, Stynes enjoyed the finest individual season of his career. With his fitness level at an all-time high and four years of experience under his belt, he took his game to another level, dominating the season with a league-best 214 marks. Many of these were taken thanks to his canny reading of the play. He repeatedly intercepted the opposition's long kicks forward with towering marks across the half-back line. He was installed as a hot favourite to win the

after averaging an astounding 30.6 disposals and 11 marks per game over the final 8 rounds. Stynes polled 25 votes to win the 1991 Brownlow Medal, five votes clear of his nearest rivals. He remains the only non-Australian-born player to receive game's most prestigious individual honour. He was also awarded the AFL Players Association MVP trophy, was named the All-Australian ruckman, and won his first club best-and-fairest award for Melbourne. Media commentators noted that Stynes had used his extraordinary endurance to redefine the role of the professional ruckman. While many of his opponents were over 2 metres tall, Stynes played in the style of a tall ruck-rover. Instead of focusing on hitouts and playing in bursts, he ran the whole game and gained possession across the entire ground. This was a model of play which many other mid-sized ruckmen such as

and Essendon's

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...

were able to successfully follow. An exceptional run of consecutive games which had begun in Round 18 of 1987 almost ended with a severe rib injury in 1993 that Stynes sustained from a collision with teammate David Neitz in a match against the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

. He was treated at Epworth Hospital for a compound rib fracture. Despite being ruled out by medical officers for six weeks, he convinced his coach Neil Balme to pass him in the club fitness test and wore a chest guard in order to play the following Friday night. Stynes finished the season with his consecutive games record unblemished and achieved All-Australian selection for the second time. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he suffered a medial ligament tear but continued to play through it, going on to string together three fine seasons between

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

in which he won consecutive club champion awards. In Round 9, 1996, Stynes played his 205th consecutive game, breaking the 53-year record held by Jack Titus since 1943. Stynes broke his hand early in the 1998 season, effectively ending his streak of consecutive games finally at 244. He retired from professional football at the conclusion of the season, having played a total of 264 AFL games, all at Melbourne, placing him second on the club's all-time games tally at the time.

Statistics

: , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 37 , , 13 , , 15 , , 10 , , 116 , , 45 , , 161 , , 48 , , 8 , , 114 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 8.9 , , 3.5 , , 12.4 , , 3.7 , , 0.6 , , 8.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1988 , , 11 , , 26 , , 26 , , 13 , , 316 , , 107 , , 423 , , 135 , , 21 , , 196 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 12.2 , , 4.1 , , 16.3 , , 5.2 , , 0.8 , , 7.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, , 11 , , 24 , , 17 , , 14 , , 327 , , 112 , , 439 , , 119 , , 26 , , 254 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 13.6 , , 4.7 , , 18.3 , , 5.0 , , 1.1 , , 10.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1990 , , 11 , , 24 , , 11 , , 8 , , 306 , , 129 , , 435 , , 125 , , 25 , , 258 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 12.8 , , 5.4 , , 18.1 , , 5.2 , , 1.0 , , 10.8 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 11 , , 24 , , 15 , , 10 , , 382 , , 232 , , 614 , , style="background:#dd6e81;", 214 , , 11 , , 256 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 15.9 , , 9.7 , , 25.6 , , style="background:#dd6e81;", 8.9 , , 0.5 , , 10.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, , 11 , , 22 , , 9 , , 3 , , 334 , , 180 , , 514 , , 166 , , 13 , , 335 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 15.2 , , 8.2 , , 23.4 , , 7.5 , , 0.6 , , 15.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, , 11 , , 20 , , 6 , , 8 , , 265 , , 179 , , 444 , , 123 , , 6 , , 264 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 13.3 , , 9.0 , , 22.2 , , 6.2 , , 0.3 , , 13.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 11 , , 25 , , 10 , , 8 , , 241 , , 179 , , 420 , , 126 , , 16 , , 269 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 9.6 , , 7.2 , , 16.8 , , 5.0 , , 0.6 , , 10.8 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 11 , , 22 , , 9 , , 3 , , 264 , , 137 , , 401 , , 134 , , 15 , , 242 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 12.0 , , 6.2 , , 18.2 , , 6.1 , , 0.7 , , 11.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , 11 , , 22 , , 7 , , 10 , , 267 , , 182 , , 449 , , 144 , , 26 , , 349 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 12.1 , , 8.3 , , 20.4 , , 6.5 , , 1.2 , , 15.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 11 , , 22 , , 3 , , 4 , , 279 , , 172 , , 451 , , 126 , , 16 , , 320 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 12.7 , , 7.8 , , 20.5 , , 5.7 , , 0.7 , , 14.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 11 , , 20 , , 2 , , 6 , , 145 , , 89 , , 234 , , 56 , , 6 , , 253 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 7.3 , , 4.5 , , 11.7 , , 2.8 , , 0.3 , , 12.7 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 264 ! 130 ! 97 ! 3242 ! 1743 ! 4985 ! 1516 ! 189 ! 3110 ! 0.5 ! 0.4 ! 12.3 ! 6.6 ! 18.9 ! 5.7 ! 0.7 ! 11.8

Honours and achievements

*Team **

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football club championship trophy, awarded each year to the club with the best aggregate performance across the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) seasons. The trophy was inaugur ...

: (

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

) 1990 ** Night Series Premiership (

): 1987,1989 *Individual **

: 1991 ** Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal: 1991, 1995–1997 ** Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFLPA MVP Award): 1991 **

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

: 1991, 1993 ** Herald Sun Player of the Year Award: 1991 ** Melbourne F.C. Team of the Century ** Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2003

Youth work and founding of Reach

In 1994, Stynes co-founded (with film director Paul Currie) The Reach Foundation and became a prominent youth worker in Victoria. In addition to Reach, Stynes worked on government advisory boards, including the 1997 Victorian Government Suicide Task Force and the Federal Minister For Youth's Youth Advisory Consultative Forum Committee.

Writer

Stynes authored several books. His written works include two autobiographies: ''Whatever It Takes'' (1996) with Jim Main and ''My Journey'' (2012) with Warwick Green, along with children's self-help books co-written by Dr Jon Carnegie, including ''Heroes'' (2003) and ''Finding Heroes'' (2006).

Melbourne Football Club chairman

In 2008, Stynes began expressing an interest in becoming chairman. In June 2008, Melbourne's chairman, Paul Gardner, stepped down as president to make way for Stynes. His early-stated main goal at this stage was to increase the Melbourne membership total—especially the junior membership base as stated on '' The Footy Show'' on 12 June 2008. Shortly following his election, he declared his staunch stance against any proposed relocation of the club to the Gold Coast or elsewhere. In March 2011, Stynes met

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

, in Kerang, teaching him basic Australian rules football skills. In July 2011, Stynes, in his role as chairman, announced the sacking of Dean Bailey as Melbourne Football Club senior coach after a club board meeting due to an embarrassing 186-point loss to

in Round 19, 2011. Stynes said he found it extremely hard to tell Bailey of the club's decision, stating: "It wasn't something I was looking forward to," and "It makes it hard, because Dean Bailey is such a great man and a man of integrity". In December 2011, Stynes handed his #11 guernsey to new recruit Mitch Clark. In February 2012, Stynes stepped down from the presidency of Melbourne, citing a desire to devote his energies towards his family and wellbeing. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Don McLardy.

Honours and awards

The Jim Stynes Medal was named in Stynes' honour and first awarded in 1998 to the best Australian player in the International Rules series. The Jim Stynes Cup (also known as the Jim Stynes trophy) was named in Stynes' honour and awarded to the winner of the inaugural International Australian Football Youth Tournament. In 2000, Stynes received an Australian Sports Medal and was named in Melbourne Football Club's Team of the Century. In 2001, he received the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

"for establishing and leading a Reach organisation for youth development" and was named Victorian of the Year. In 2003, Stynes was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and was named Victorian of the Year. In 2006, during the redevelopment of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a new corporate dining and function room in level 2 of the Olympic Stand was named the "Jim Stynes Room" in honour of Stynes. In 2007, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his work with youth and contribution to Australian rules football. Stynes was named Melburnian of the Year for 2010 for his Reach Foundation work. He was named a Doctor of the University by the Australian Catholic University in recognition of his social work.

Illness

On 2 July 2009, Stynes held a media conference to inform the public that he had developed cancer. A lump in his back was shown to be

, and tests revealed that his cancer had metastasised, i.e. spread to other regions in his body. Stynes intended to make clear that he was not stepping down from his role as president of the Melbourne Football Club but instead just taking a break to seek treatment. On 4 April 2010, it was revealed that his condition had worsened, and three days later he had surgery for

. He continued to work during his treatment and participated in the filming of a television documentary about his life and his battle with cancer, ''Every Heart Beats True: The Jim Stynes Story'', produced by friends Jules Lund and Reach co-founder Paul Currie, which aired on 19 September 2010 on the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

Death

Stynes died at his home in St Kilda on 20 March 2012, aged 45. He was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

, and his ashes were scattered at a "treasured spot" he chose before he died.

Reactions to death and legacy

Ted Baillieu, the Premier of Victoria, described Stynes as "an exceptional Victorian", and he later offered a

to Stynes' family, which was accepted. The memorial was held at

(an Anglican cathedral, although Stynes was Roman Catholic) in central Melbourne on 27 March 2012, with the service shown on screen at Federation Square. Former teammate and captain Garry Lyon gave an emotional tribute to Stynes on '' The Footy Show'', saying: "Jimmy refused to let the game define who he was. It was just a part of him and it allowed us to marvel at his determination, unwavering self-belief, resilience, strength, skill, endurance and courage" and that his good friend "was secure enough to know that displaying vulnerability can be a strength and not a weakness". A moment of silence was observed at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

on the day of Stynes' death, and both the Melbourne Football Club and the Casey Scorpions unveiled its plan to commemorate Stynes at their first home games in 2012. At the launch of the 2012 Australian Football League season, both Stynes' replacement as president of the Melbourne Football Club, Don McLardy, and the AFL's

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, Andrew Demetriou, acknowledged his contribution to football in Australia. A minute's silence was observed before the season-opening Sydney Derby between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and Sydney Swans. A commemoration was held prior to

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

match against Donegal, both of which were held on the Saturday after Stynes' death. Melbourne ruckman and captain

Max Gawn Max Gawn (born 30 December 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A Ruckman (Australian rules football), ruckman, 209 cm tall and weighing 111 kg, Gaw ...

paid tribute to Stynes, among other deceased club identities, in a post-match interview upon the club winning the

2021 AFL Grand Final The 2021 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between and the at Perth Stadium, Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday 25 September 2021. It was the 126th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the ...

, which had been 57 years in the making. Stynes presented Gawn with his number 37 before Gawn's debut in 2011, and Gawn later switched to the number 11 jumper just as Stynes had done.

The Jim Stynes Achievement Scholarships

An A$3 million 5-year partnership with the Australian government, Reach Foundation and Australian Football League for children of indigenous or multicultural backgrounds—or from disadvantaged backgrounds—was announced following Stynes' death.

Jim Stynes Foundation

The Jim Stynes Foundation is a nonprofit founded in 2015 to "continue developing programs and initiatives that embody resilience, prioritizes mental health and shapes our future".

Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award

Established in 2012, the year of Stynes' passing, the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award is an A$20,000 awarded annually to "current AFL and AFLW players who demonstrate a commitment to the community and helping others" to be given to the charity or community program of the winner's choosing. The award is given at the ceremony for the

, and it has been awarded to Daniel Jackson (2012), Zac Smith (2013), Beau Waters (2014), Dennis Armfield (2015), Jimmy Bartel (2016), Jack Hombsch (2017), Neville Jetta (2018), Stephen Coniglio (2019), Bachar Houli (2020), Travis Boak (2021), Joel Selwood (2022), Sam Docherty (2023), and Reilly O'Brien (2024; AFL) and Madi Scanlon (2024; AFLW). The Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award is currently a joint venture between the AFL and the Jim Stynes Foundation. As of 2023, A$220,000 has been distributed among various charities and community programs.

Personal life

Stynes' family has a strong history in

. His uncle Joe Stynes was an All-Ireland Gaelic footballer with Dublin (1923). His younger brother

won an All-Ireland with Dublin (

). Jim played against Brian in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team ...

against Ireland many times. Brian followed Jim to play professional Australian rules at Melbourne; however, he returned to Ireland having played just two senior games in 1992. Another younger brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, also played both Gaelic football and Australian rules, albeit at an amateur level, having played in the Ireland national Australian rules football team. He was the first player to win the cup twice, being a member of the winning team in the 2002 International Cup and 2011 International Cup. His cousin

Chris Stynes Christopher Desmond Stynes (born January 19, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball utility player.Pete Palmer; Gary Gillette; Stuart Shea. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'. Sterling Publishing Company; 1 February 2006. . p. 680. Early ...

is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

Family

Jim Stynes and his wife, Samantha, had a daughter, Matisse, and a son, Tiernan.

References

External links

Melbourne Football Club profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stynes, Jim 1966 births 2012 deaths All-Australians (AFL) Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees VFL/AFL players born outside Australia Australia international rules football team players Ballyboden St Enda's Gaelic footballers Brownlow Medal winners Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) Deaths from melanoma in Australia Gaelic footballers who switched code Gaelic games players from County Dublin Irish emigrants to Australia Irish players of Australian rules football Irish rugby union players Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners Leigh Matthews Trophy winners Melbourne Football Club players Melbourne Football Club presidents Melbourne Football Club administrators People from Rathfarnham Sportspeople from South Dublin (county) Prahran Football Club players Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia RMIT University alumni Jim Victorian State of Origin players 20th-century Irish sportsmen