Kevin John Sheedy AO (born 24 December 1947) is a former Australian rules football coach and player in the Australian Football League. He played and coached in a combined total of 929 games over 47 years from 1967 until 2013, which is a VFL/AFL record. Sheedy was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and on 29 May 2018 was elevated to Legend status.
On the field, Sheedy played for Richmond in the Victorian Football League during the 1960s and 1970s, captaining the side in 1978 and winning three premierships. He then coached Essendon in the VFL/AFL for nearly three decades from 1981 until 2007, winning four premierships and earning acclaim for his unusual and creative approaches to promoting the club and the game. Sheedy conceived the first Anzac Day game in 1995 involving Collingwood and the club he coached at the time, Essendon. In 2009, Sheedy joined the newly formed Greater Western Sydney as its inaugural AFL coach, and he coached there from 2012 until 2013.
Sheedy was born in Melbourne to devout Catholic parents. He played junior football with the local Try Boys society team while attending De La Salle College, Malvern, where future teammate Kevin Bartlett also spent a brief time. In 1963, he joined Prahran in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and spent a year with the Under 19s. The next year, at the age of 16, he played senior football with the Two Blues and was soon a regular with the team. His home was in Melbourne's zone, so he took up an invitation to try out with the Demons, playing a few practice matches. But he did not feel comfortable there and returned to Prahran, playing in the club's Second Division premiership team in 1966.
Between 1969 and 1971, Sheedy undertook two years National Service with the Australian Army's 21 Construction Squadron, rising to the rank of corporal before discharge.
Richmond showed early interest in Sheedy and received permission from Melbourne to speak with him. Sheedy jumped at the chance to join the up-and-coming Tigers, but a problem emerged when he shifted to Punt Road: the VFA refused to endorse his clearance due to a wider disagreement with the VFL relating to transfer fees. The VFA had weeks earlier set a minimum transfer fee of $3,000 for any of its players crossing to the VFL, and Sheedy's transfer fee was set even higher at $5,000; but the VFL considered this price so exorbitant that it responded by terminating its player transfer reciprocity agreement with the VFA, allowing Sheedy to move to Richmond without a clearance and without the transfer fee being paid. For crossing without a transfer, Sheedy was suspended from VFA competition for five years, but he remained free to play in the VFL during this time.
Another hurdle to jump was Billy Barrot. Barrot, a star player loved by the Tiger fans, played in Sheedy's favoured position of centre. However, Barrot was somewhat temperamental and prone to miss some matches. When he was injured in the third game of the year, Sheedy was selected in his place for his debut. However, Sheedy struggled and, after six games in the seniors, found himself back in the reserves for the remainder of the year. His season was ended by a serious knee injury that further put his future into doubt. From the sidelines, he watched Richmond win the premiership against Geelong.
Returned to fitness, Sheedy faced an enormous challenge in 1968. Coach Tom Hafey saw something in Sheedy's willingness to listen, his determination, and fierce desire for the ball. Placed in a back pocket, Sheedy consolidated his place in the senior side and then began to emerge as key player in the team's defence. He won a Victorian guernsey in 1969 and was a stand-out in the Tigers' three finals games, which culminated in a second flag in three years. He finished runner-up best and fairest to claim a remarkable turnaround in just two years.
By now, Sheedy's onfield persona marked him as a "villain" to be watched. He enjoyed niggling his opponents—physically and verbally—and seemed to be at the centre of every melee on the ground. Occasionally, his teammates blanched at some of his more theatrical attempts to win free kicks or fifteen-metre penalties, and he had the ability to whip opposing supporters into a frenzy. Since his injury, Sheedy had lived on the edge knowing that if he failed at Richmond it would be the end of the line because of the impending five-year suspension; however, he seemed to have an innate ability to read how far he could push the envelope, and indeed he was never reported during his career, a fact that would surprise most who saw him play.
He was now acknowledged the best in his position in the VFL and a key personality at Punt Road. A turning point came in the 1972 season when Sheedy played in Richmond's losing Grand Final team. In an earlier final, Sheedy had ruffled Carlton's captain-coach, John Nicholls, suggesting that he was finished as a player and that Richmond had the wood on the Blues. Nicholls and his men, stung by media criticism and the attitude of the Richmond players, played a whirlwind first half in the Grand Final, booting eighteen goals to led by 45 points. Sheedy, caught embarrassingly out of position a number of times, was switched to the unfamiliar position of ruck rover for the last half. Although the Tigers lost, Sheedy was a revelation in his new role.
Now permanently playing on the ball, he set up Richmond's Grand Final win in 1973 with three goals in the first quarter. He was judged best afield in the 1974 Grand Final with 30 disposals, accentuated by an uncanny piece of play in the second quarter. Sheedy marked next to the goalpost, went back to apparently take his kick from the impossible angle surrounded by opposition players, and then casually ran in and handballed over the head of the man on the mark to lone teammate in the goal square who booted the easiest goal of his life. It was this mixture of flamboyance and cunning that attracted the media to him, and Sheedy was voted player of the year by journalists.
Sheedy made good copy; during the season, Richmond had appointed him as full-time promotions officer, effectively making him the first professional footballer in the VFL. In time, all of the clubs would copy this appointment, and, by the 1980s, most clubs had a half dozen or so players employed as promotions officers. It was a bridge between the casual Saturday afternoon era and the age of true professionalism in the 1990s.
After finishing third in 1975, Richmond began a slide down the ladder. Sheedy's standard, however, remained high—in 1976, he won the best and fairest for the only time and received life membership of the club. However, he was shocked when his mentor and idol Tom Hafey left the club due to a lack of support at committee level.
In 1978, he was made captain, but his game was now struggling. After just four games the following year in the 1979 season, Sheedy read the writing on the wall when he started all of the matches on the bench, He then announced his retirement from his playing career later on in the 1979 season.
Late in his football-playing career, Sheedy also played a handful of district cricket games. A leg spinner, he played for Richmond's minor grades in 1976/77 as well as playing five First XI games in 1977/78; having been appointed captain of the football club, the football club's committee barred him from participating in the cricket final. Sheedy has described his reluctance to fight the committee's decision as one of his greatest regrets.
Sheedy played for Richmond Football Club from 1967 until 1979 for a total of 251 games and kicked 91 goals, and a member of the club's premiership teams in 1969, 1973 and 1974.
After Sheedy's retirement from his playing career, Sheedy immediately became an assistant coach at Richmond Football Club under senior coach Tony Jewell during the 1980 season where Richmond ended up winning the premiership in the 1980 Grand Final. It was clear he was preparing for a senior coaching role. He examined every facet of the club as the team went on to take the premiership.