Famous+Faces

= Famous Faces = MCG Home| History| Construction| Sports & Events| Famous Faces| MCG Reflection| [|Reflective Blog]| Mindmap| Bibliography  Feared for his incredible bowling ability, Dennis Lillee became one of the best fast bowlers of his time. He made his mark early on until injuries in his back forced him to slow down. But with Dennis Lillee’s patented “never say die” attitude he was able to fight back, return to his best and become an Australian legend.
 * __Dennis Lillee__-cricket**

Bill Ponsford made his name as an opening batsman and will be remembered as one of the best batsmen for Australia and possibly the world. One of the greatest honours he received is the huge stand at the MCG named after him. The W.H. Ponsford stand was completed in 2004
 * __Bill Ponsford__-cricket**

Dick Reynolds came from a family full of footballers, but he was easily the greatest. He won the Brownlow medal three times (equal most of any player). Apart from captaining the side he also spent several years coaching while he was still playing, this shows he was a true leader. He was very humble and private about his achievements such as at a dinner for Essendon champions when he was named greatest Essendon player of all time he didn’t say “thank you” or “I’m so pleased to receive this” all he said was “I don’t deserve this, Bill Hutchinson does.” This selfless act and others is what won the respect of Essendon and the entire footballing community. He won four premierships as player and coach. He is considered one of the best Essendon players ever and is referred to as “King Richard”.
 * __Dick Reynolds__-football**

Hayden Bunton only played 119 games, but in this short time he made a name as one of the best balanced and most agile players. He won three Brownlow medals, with two of them in his first two seasons. He kicked 209 goals and was club best and fairest twice. After his retirement he did some umpiring for the AFL.
 * __Hayden Bunton__-football**

Keith Miller wasn’t just one of the greatest all-rounders of all time; he was also a respected AFL player. He played 50 games for St Kilda in which he kicked eight goals in one game and represented Victoria. In cricket he was nicknamed the “golden boy” and “nugget”. He became a crowd favourite with not just being a top player, but with also great personality and good looks. He was forced to stop playing for a while during the war in which he was a pilot. During his service in the war he was a non-conformist often insulting his superior officers and getting in many fist fights. He is one of the ten members of the Australian cricket hall of fame.
 * __Keith R. Miller__-cricket/football**

Donald Bradman was easily the greatest cricketer for Australia and is thought to be for the world. His captain Bill Woodfull said “he is worth three batters to us” and the English thought so too with spending countless hours trying figure out and practise to limit Bradman’s score. Bradman’s average test batting score of 99.94 is thought to be the greatest effort in any sport. He was such a good crowd entertainer he could single handily pull a record crowd. John Howard (the then prime minister) said he was the greatest living Australian and was the only Australian to have a museum dedicated to him while he was alive.
 * __Sir Donald Bradman__-cricket 1908-2001**

"Lethal Leigh” Mathews earned his nickname from his severe aggressiveness and determination. He was voted the best player of the 20th century and was a vital part of Hawthorns domination of the 1980’s. In 2008 he was voted 2nd greatest player of all time behind Wayne Carey, but some still believe he is number one. He played 332 games for Hawthorn and scored 915 goals. He represented Victoria 14 times and won Hawthorns best and fairest 8 times. He was the only player to be charged by the police with assault during a match. This incident helped lead to his retirement. He won 8 premierships as a player and coach. In 1991 he coached Collingwood to a premiership and then coached Brisbane to three straight premierships. He was inducted as an AFL hall of fame legend and as part of the AFL team of the century. He now has a huge list of honours which are too many to list.
 * __Leigh Matthews__- football**

Ron Barrasi will be remembered as the greatest football personality ever. His coaching career has been spread over four clubs; Carlton, Melbourne, North Melbourne and Sydney Swans for a total of 514 games. He was a tough coach, often pushing his team too far and too hard. Although he went hard it paid off since as a player and coach he won 10 grand finals from 17. He has been about the most influential person in the football community for over 50 years and this has earned him a spot in the AFL hall fame legends. Barassi played for Melbourne and Carlton and was important in both clubs. Even though Barassi has been involved with so many clubs he is still more represented by Melbourne than any other.
 * __Ron Barassi__-football**

Shirley Strickland won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running. She won three gold medals, one silver medal and three bronze medals in three different Olympics. She was criticised in 2001 after she sold her gold medals in which to give her grandchildren better schooling and also to protect old growth trees. She was one of the torch bearers within the stadium for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She was also active in politics as a spokesperson for some environmental groups.
 * __Shirley Strickland__-athletics**

Australia’s golden girl Betty Cuthbert won four gold medals in two Olympics for the 100 metres, 200 metres, 100 metre relay and the 400 metres. She set several Olympic records and she had a great rivalry with Marlene Mathews. After her retirement she returned to racing competing in the 1962 commonwealth games where she won a gold medal. She carried the Olympic torch for the 2000 Olympic Games.
 * __Betty Cuthbert__ -athletics**

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