Edward Kevin O'Neill (20 March 1908 – 12 July 1985) was an

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 who played in the VFL between 1930 and 1941 for the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or colloquially the Tiges, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Ric ...

. The son of a former

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

player from its days in the VFA, O'Neill was a member of the Tigers' legendary "''Three Musketeers''" backline of Bolger, Sheahan and O'Neill. He played in four straight senior

Grand Finals 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 ...

from 1931 to 1934, winning the premiership in 1932 and 1934. He also played in Richmond's losing

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 ...

side of 1940. O'Neill represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

on ten occasions, as State vice-captain for an Interstate Carnival, and was awarded Life Membership of the

in 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...

. He returned to the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

briefly in 1944 as Captain/Coach of the Seconds side.

References

External links

* * Richmond Football Club players Richmond Football Club premiership players Echuca Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) 1908 births 1985 deaths Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II VFL/AFL premiership players Sportspeople from Echuca Military personnel from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1908-stub