 Jim Stynes in
2008
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | 23 April 1966 , Dublin, Ireland |
| Recruited from | Ballyboden St. Enda's (Gaelic football) |
| Height and weight | 199cm / 99kg |
| Playing career¹ | |
| Debut | , Melbourne Demons vs. Geelong Football Club, at Waverley Park |
| Team(s) | Melbourne Demons (1987-1998)
264 games, 130 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 1998 season | |
| Career highlights | |
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James "Jim" Stynes OAM (born 23 April 1966) is a well known Irish Australian, a former professional Australian rules footballer who is currently a businessman, philanthropist, writer, youth worker, qualified teacher and chairman of Melbourne Football Club.
Stynes came to fame through the Irish Experiment - as both a pioneer and its most successful product. With no prior knowledge of the game, at the age of eighteen the gaelic footballer moved to Australia to play Australian rules football. Stynes went on to become one of Australian rules football's most celebrated players and a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame. During his 12-year career as a ruckman with the Melbourne Football Club from 1987 to 1998 in the Australian Football League he became the first (and to date only) player recruited from outside Australia to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal. He is also holder of the record for the most consecutive VFL/AFL games (244). His representative honours include Victorian and All-Australian selection as well as playing for Australia against Ireland in International Rules.
Stynes is an official legend of the Melbourne Football Club, being a member of the Team of the Century. He holds a number of club records including the record for the most successive Best & Fairest awards at the Melbourne Football Club (3) and is equal holder of the record (with Allan La Fontaine) for the most Best & Fairest awards (4) in the club's history. He became the chairman of the club in 2008.
The Jim Stynes legacy continued well beyond his much celebrated football career. Stynes maintained a high media profile through his work with youth and charity work. He was twice named Victorian of the Year (2001 and 2003) and has been honoured by the Queen of Australia with the Medal of the Order of Australia in (2007).
Contents |
James Stynes was born in Dublin, Ireland[1].
As a child Stynes first played the sport of rugby union.[2] He later adopted the native Irish code of gaelic football, playing with Dublin's Ballyboden club as a boy along with his brother and former captain of Dublin senior football team, Brian Stynes where they were both considered to be among the club's best[3].
In 1984, Stynes was on Dublin's winning side in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship.
Stynes' first contact with Australian Rules came in 1984 when he answered an ad in a local paper from the Melbourne Football Club seeking talented Gaelic footballers as possible recruits as part of what was later described as "The Irish experiment".
Stynes suitably impressed Melbourne officials and he was brought to Australia to undergo a crash course in Australian Rules. He arrived in Australia on November 7, 1984[4], before making his debut for the Melbourne under 19s team in 1985. Ray Jordon, a coach who was experienced with talented juniors, worked intensively with him. He was sent to Victorian Football Association's Prahran Football Club to compete at senior level. Stynes was a slow developer at first. His skills were raw, particularly his kicking of the oval ball, but he showed outstanding endurance and the height and leap of a potential ruckman.
At the beginning of 1987, he played in a night premiership side. The Melbourne coaching panel's perseverance with him paid off when Stynes made his senior debut for Melbourne in 1987 at Waverley Park against the Geelong Football Club.[5] He was dropped after a poor performance, however he returned to the senior side later in the season against the Brisbane Bears.
In the 1987 preliminary Final Melbourne were leading Hawthorn with a minute to go when the Dubliner made the mistake of running across a free for the opposition. His error resulted in a 15 metre penalty which Gary Buckenara goaled after the final siren for a two point win.
Styne's best year came in 1991 where he won the Brownlow medal. In a great year, he was highly favoured to win the event. In doing so he became the first (and so far only) overseas-born player to win the award.
Stynes had a record breaking run of consecutive games, however it almost ended with a severe rib injury in 1993 resulting from a collision with teammate David Neitz in a match against North Melbourne Football Club. He was rushed to Epworth Hospital with 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.[6] In 1994, he suffered a medial ligament tear, but continued to play through it. His streak of consecutive games finally ended at 244 (an Australian Football League record) when he broke his hand early in the 1998 season.
Stynes eventually played 264 games with Melbourne before his retirement in 1998, placing him second on Melbourne's all-time games tally.
The honours he achieved during his career included both main AFL "Best and Fairest" awards, the Brownlow Medal and AFL Players Association MVP award (now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy) in 1991, four club Best and Fairest awards with Melbourne and All-Australian honours in 1991 and 1993.
Following retirement in 1998, Stynes assumed the role of an anti-racism officer within the AFL, a cause close to his heart due to his declared astonishment at the level of racial abuse he (and players of non-white Australian background) had experienced throughout his career.
In 2008 Stynes began expressing an interest in becoming chairman. It was long speculated that the popular figure would assume at the end of Paul Gardner's term.[7]
In June 2008, Melbourne Chairman Paul Gardner stepped down as Melbourne President to make way for Stynes.[8] In Styne's press conference, he became emotional - openly showing his love for the struggling club. His early-stated main goal at this stage is to increase the Melbourne membership number - especially junior membership base as stated on The Footy Show on Thursday June 12 2008.
Shortly following his election he declared his staunch stance against any proposed relocation of the club to the Gold Coast or elsewhere.[9]
After finishing his AFL career, Stynes began to concentrate primarily on his youth charity, the[10] Reach Foundation. Reach looks to help teenagers at risk of suicide or depression, and has become a prominent youth worker in Victoria, Australia. The aim of Reach is to support young people on their journey to find their own truth, and to follow their dreams. Reach achieves this by creating a "safe space" for groups of young people to develop trust, openness and the freedom to express their concerns, perceptions, fears and aspirations and to recognise that they are not alone.
In 2003, Stynes was named Victorian of the Year[11] and has worked on government advisory boards including the 1997 Victorian Government Suicide Task Force and he currently sits on the Federal Minister For Youth's Youth Advisory Consultative Forum Committee.
Jim Stynes is the author of several books. His written works include an autobiography "Whatever It Takes" (1996)[12].
As part of his work with Reach Youth he also co-wrote children's self-help books with Dr Jon Carnegie including "Heroes" (2003)[13] and "Finding Heroes" (2006)[14][15].
In 2007, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia by the Queen of Australia for his work with youth and contribution to Australian rules football in 2007.[16]
On the 2nd of July 2009, Jim Stynes held a media conference to inform the public that he had developed cancer. A lump in his back was shown to be cancerous and tests revealed that it had spread to other parts of his body, including his brain.[17] Stynes intended to make clear that he is not stepping down from his role as President of the Melbourne Football Club but instead just taking a break to seek treatment.[18]
Stynes' brother Brian was a Gaelic Footballer who played for the Dublin GAA team. He played against Jim in the International Rules Series against Ireland many times. Brian also played 2 AFL games for the Melbourne Demons in 1992.
Another younger brother David played for Ireland's winning team in the inaugural Australian Football International Cup, an International Australian Rules competition held in Melbourne in 2002. He also played for the defending champions in the 2005 event.
Stynes is married to wife Samantha and he has a daughter Matisse and son Tiernan.[19] Samantha was outspoken against Sam Newman in June 2009 for his sexism on the AFL Footy Show.[20]
In 2003 Stynes was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
The Jim Stynes Medal is awarded by the AFL to the best Australian player in the International Rules series. Stynes' name was also used in the inaugural International Australian Football Youth Tournament.
A corporate function room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground bears his name.
| Preceded by Tony Liberatore |
Brownlow
Medallist 1991 |
Succeeded by Scott Wynd |
| Preceded by Darren Millane |
Leigh
Matthews Trophy 1991 |
Succeeded by Jason Dunstall |
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