Haydn Bunton Sr. | |||
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Personal information | |||
Full name | Haydn William Bunton | ||
Date of birth | 5 July 1911 | ||
Place of birth | Albury, New South Wales | ||
Date of death | 5 September 1955 | (aged 44)||
Place of death | Adelaide, South Australia | ||
Original team(s) | Albury Rovers, Albury, West Albury | ||
Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Weight | 73 kg (161 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Rover | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
1931–1937, 1942 | Fitzroy | 119 (207) | |
1938–1941 | Subiaco | 72 (190) | |
1945 | Port Adelaide | 17 (30) | |
Total | 208 (427) | ||
Representative team honours | |||
Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
1931–1937 | Victoria | 12 | |
1938–1939 | Western Australia | ||
Coaching career3 | |||
Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
1936 | Fitzroy | 18 (2–16–0) | |
1947–1948 | North Adelaide | 35 (13–21–0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1945. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1948. | |||
Career highlights | |||
VFL
WAFL
SANFL
Honours
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Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Haydn William Bunton (5 July 1911 – 5 September 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who represented Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL), Subiaco in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and Port Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) during the 1930s and 1940s.
Bunton is the only footballer to have won the Brownlow Medal and the Sandover Medal three times each. He is one of only four footballers to have won the Brownlow three times (the others being Ian Stewart, Dick Reynolds and Bob Skilton), and one of only five footballers to have won the Sandover at least three times (the others being Bill Walker, who won it four times; and Barry Cable, Graham Farmer and Merv McIntosh, who each won it three times). Bunton is also the only player to have averaged one Brownlow vote per game over his career, averaging 1.04 votes per game.[2][3]
Like cricketer Don Bradman and the racehorse Phar Lap, Bunton was a sporting champion who made life bearable for the Australian public during the dark days of the Great Depression.[4] A brilliant runner and ball-winner, he was regarded by some historians and observers of Australian rules as its greatest-ever player.[5]