Haydn Bunton Sr.

Haydn William Bunton (5 July 1911 – 5 September 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL), in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and 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.

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.

A brilliant runner and ball-winner, he was regarded by some historians and observers of Australian rules as its greatest-ever player.

The son of Victorians Ernest Edward Bunton, a brickmaker, and Matilda Caroline, née Luhrs, Bunton was born and raised in Albury, New South Wales.

As a young teenager, Bunton excelled in Australian rules football, cricket, swimming, and athletics, creating many records in a number of different sports.

Bunton began playing for the Albury Rovers Football Club as a 12-year-old in 1923 and twice won the league's best-and-fairest award.

After winning premierships with Albury Rovers in 1926 & 1927, he moved across to the Albury Football Club, although Bunton had earlier made his debut for the Albury Football Club in 1924 in the Ovens and Murray Football League as a 13-year-old boy.

He played for the Albury Rovers Football Club in 1926 and 1927 in the Albury and Border Football Association and kicked 4 goals in their 1926 grand final win as a 15-year-old and also played in their 1927 premiership win.

He also won the club's best-and-fairest award in both 1926 and 1927.

In June 1928, the Victorian Football League played a match against the Ovens and Murray Football League in Wangaratta, and 16-year-old Hayden Bunton was praised after the game by VFL captain Frank Maher as "being able to hold his own in any league team".

In 1928, Bunton was best on ground for the Albury Football Club in their Ovens and Murray Football League grand final win against St. Patrick's FC.

Bunton won the club's best and fairest award in 1928 too.

In 1929, there were two Albury based teams in the Ovens and Murray Football League (East Albury & West Albury) and Bunton played for the West Albury Football Club in their 1929 Ovens and Murray Football League premiership side against East Albury and once again he was best on ground in the grand final.

It was at this point after starring in four consecutive senior football premierships, that his natural Australian football ability attracted the attention of all twelve VFL clubs.

In early 1930, Bunton was treated to a farewell dinner in the Albury Town Hall, after signing with the Fitzroy Cricket Club and Fitzroy Football Club.

He was subsequently disqualified for 12 months by the Victorian Football League's Permit Committee and unable to play during the 1930 VFL season for the Fitzroy Football Club despite several appeals.

He resisted offers from clubs in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) to play for them during the 1930 season, one club even offering him a brand-new car.

After finally receiving a permit to play back in the Ovens and Murray Football League for West Albury Football Club in June 1930, Bunton was appointed captain/coach and later played in his fifth consecutive grand final.

The match was against the Hume Weir Football Club who proved too good and defeated West Albury for the premiership.

Bunton once again played a starring role up until just before half time when he injured his knee and took no further part in the match.

In April, 1931 Bunton was cleared to the Fitzroy Football Club from the West Albury Football Club and his clearance was finally approved by the Victorian Football League's Permit Committee.

Bunton finally made his much anticipated VFL debut in round one of the 1931 VFL season against Melbourne Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, kicking one goal in a losing team.

Bunton played as a rover/follower and achieved instant success, winning Brownlow Medals in his first two seasons (1931 and 1932) in the VFL.

He worked in a department store during the day, and practised baulking by weaving his way through crowds of shoppers.

One of his opponents, Dick Reynolds, spied on him during this activity in order to learn how to defeat his technique.

During his career at Fitzroy, Bunton won five club best-and-fairest awards, in addition to his Brownlows.

He was appointed captain of Fitzroy in 1932.

He was runner-up for the Brownlow Medal in 1934 before winning the award for a third and final time in 1935.

While playing, Bunton also spent the 1936 VFL season as senior coach at Fitzroy, but could only manage two wins.

He was also Fitzroy's leading goalkicker in 1936 and 1937.

In 1938, Bunton moved to Western Australia, taking the position of captain/coach of, while very competitive, they failed to play finals during his coaching stints of 1938, 1939 and 1941.

Bunton captained the Western Australian team to a victory against St.Kilda Football Club in July, 1938.

He won the Sandover Medal three times, in 1938, 1939 and 1941, Bunton polled 17 votes in the 1940 Sandover Medal, finishing in 6th position.

Altogether, Bunton had won six league best and fairest awards in only eleven seasons between the two states in which he had played.

Bunton later claimed in a 1950 newspaper article that he had received the money for a knee operation after he tore his cartilage in the 1930 Ovens and Murray Football League grand final.

Shortly after Fitzroy had won the race to secure his services, it was revealed that they had paid him £222 (A$18,750 in 2020 terms) to join, which was illegal under VFL rules.

His initial legal match payments were the modest sum of £2 (A$168 in 2020 terms) per week.