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In the sanitised world of today’s football, it’s worth delving into the history books and remembering the career of one of Western Australian football’s most accomplished yet controversial players and coaches. The name Jack Sheedy(or Mr Football, as he was known)  is revered in Western Australian football. He is not only a legend as both player and coach, but he is a character and raconteur of the game, one of this state’s elite football identities.Jack Sheedy, the son of East Fremantle player, Barney Sheedy, was born on September 28, 1926.  He attended Fremantle Boys School, where he began playing football.  Joining East Fremantle in 1942, he made his debut with them as a back pocket player the same year, albeit in the under age competition, the league having been suspended due to World War Two.  After winning East Fremantle’s fairest and best in 1943, he joined the Navy, and at the age of seventeen,when stationed in Sydney,  he was the toast of the Sydney Naval team by kicking a freak goal to win them the 1944 premiership at Erskineville Oval.   His stint with the Navy then took him to Melbourne, where South Melbourne swooped, and Sheedy played eight games for the red and whites.Much to South’s dismay, the young Sheedy returned home in 1946. “It was too bloody cold in Melbourne,” Sheedy said, “and I didn’t like their grounds.”That was to be the start of a long and distinguished career of excellence for Sheedy, in which he carved a name for himself as one of the best players to play in the WANFL, and later one of the very best coaches.  At only five foot seven and thirteen stone three,  he was a brilliant rover, who could play in a variety of positions.He was credited as the man who brought handball into the game,  was an accurate and penetrating kick, especially the dropkick, and his competitiveness was legendary.  For a man of his size, he loved the physical stuff, and was a regular visitor to the  Protests and Disputes Board.This goes a long way to explaining his failure to win a Sandover  Medal.Sheedy was a welcome inclusion in an already imposing East Fremantle side of 1946, and they won the flag that year, on their way to a record breaking thirty five winning games in a row.  He went on to win a further three club fairest and bests(Lynn Medals), in 1948, 53, and 55, and was captain in 1949-50, 1952, and 1955. In 1949 and 52 Sheedy captain coached East Fremantle.In 1956, Jack Sheedy shocked the East Fremantle fraternity and risked excommunication from the City of Fremantle by accepting a playing coaching offer from East Perth.  East Perth had been suffering from a premiership drought. Out of the finals since winning an under age flag in 1944, it had been twenty years since their previous open premiership, in 1936.The move not only brought a dramatic change of fortune for East Perth, but started a new phase of Sheedy’s football life, and it would be equally, if not more, successful than his previous one.Jack had always enjoyed a colourful and controversial career and  was always in the spotlight with the press and radio swooping on his every action and utterance. His relations with authority, the umpires, and the P and D Board had suffered over the years.   It didn’t take long for his new fans at East Perth to see it for themselves.After his first game in the chair at the Royals, leading umpire Ray Montgomery, who had previously had “dealings” with Sheedy on the odd occasion, reported him for using abusive language and disputing an umpire’s decision.  At the hearing, Sheedy produced a bible and solemnly swore on it that he had not been the player responsible. The tribunal was not persuaded,  he copped four weeks, and so it was that his nickname of “Reverend Jack” was coined.Under the guidance of Sheedy, East Perth played in the next six grand finals, winning another two in 1958 and 59. Sheedy can claim credit for the blossoming of some great players in that period, such as Farmer, Kilmurray, Kennedy, Watts, Seal, Hunt, McGill, Langdon, Chadwick, Mose, and Graham.  He introduced a new style of play to the Royals, based on his use of the handball. His strategies to maximise the effectiveness of the star ruckman Polly Farmer were inspired, and paved the way for players like McGill, Seal, Kennedy, Kilmurray,  and Hunt to wreak havoc on the opposition.    Sheedy retired as a player in 1963. He had played 122 games with East Perth, 210 at East Fremantle, 8 for South Melbourne, and made 23 appearances for Western Australia. The total was a record for the major football States, but how many more would he have played but for his tribunal misdemeanours?Sheedy continued  as non playing coach of the Royals until 1964, but was to make a return in 1969. He coached the Western Australian State team throughout the early sixties, and was mentor of the much heralded Brisbane Carnival side of 1961.Jack Sheedy’s achievements  were recognised at AFL level when he was inducted into the AFL Hall Of Fame in 2001. This was duplicated by the WAFL in 2004.  He was honoured by both Western Australian clubs he played with, being named captain of the East Fremantle “Team Of The Century”, and coach of the East Perth 1945-2005 official “Team Of The Century”.Stories abound about Jack Sheedy. He was a larger than life character both on and off the field, who is equally as well known and respected on the racetrack, where he has been a member  for well over forty years.  But it is his football accomplishments that he is best remembered for.  The word “champion” is bestowed far too loosely these days, but in the case of Jack Sheedy it fits very well.

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