User:Pudgey/Sandbox/Jack Reedman

Jack "Dinny" Reedman

John Cole Reedman was born in Tanunda, South Australia, on the 9th October 1865. His parents, Edward John and Mary Ann Reedman had emigrated to Australia from England, arriving on the 17th March 1857. In 1867 they returned to Adelaide, and John's father settled down as a brickmaker in Gilberton.
 * from Cole Family History

John was baptised in the St Matthews Church of England Parish, Kensington Road, Marryatville on the 28th September 1868, and as a boy he attended the North Adelaide Primary School.

He was later employed by the Post Master General’s Department as a letter carrier and later as a letter sorter.

On the 8th December 1891 John married Mary Matilda Jane Redman in the Disciples of Christ Chapel, Kermode Street, North Adelaide. They had four children.

John (Dinny) had a passion for sport. In his earlier years he was a champion long distance swimmer, and won many trophies for his prowess in that area. He was a committee member for the Gilberton Amateur Swimming club when it was formed in 1915, and later served as a swimming instructor for the club. Later, his three sons worthily upheld their father’s name in this respect.

Living on the banks of the Torrens in Gilberton, one of his best and most loved hobbies was fishing, and he took many fine perch from the waters of the Torrens.

It was as a footballer and cricketer that John excelled, and he became well known among the sporting world:

John Cole Reedman (also known as J C Reedman and Dinny Reedman), the Australian football legendJohn began playing district football in 1885 with the Medindie club and later with South Adelaide, North Adelaide and West Adelaide. During his football career from 1885 - 1909 he captained South Adelaide for eleven years leading them to 5 premierships, North Adelaide for six years during which time that club won the 1902 and 1905 premierships. In 1908 he was appointed coach of the West Adelaide Football Club and coached them to the premiership and championship of Australia.

John's cricket career stretched from 1885 - 1913.

In 1885 he became a member of the old Triton club. During his career he played for South Adelaide, North Adelaide, State Cricket for South Australia and Test Cricket for Australia.

During John’s career of District Cricket with South Adelaide and North Adelaide he made a total of 7346 runs (average 38.06) and took 496 wickets (average 19.26). His highest score was 170 for South Adelaide against Hindmarsh.

In the season 1889 - 1890 he was the leading bowler in the State, with an average of 17.30.

John played in the first ever Sheffield Shield match, 16th - 21st December 1892, South Australia against New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval, taking the catch that dismissed Sammy Jones. This was the first catch and wicket to fall in Sheffield Shield Cricket.

In November 1894 John captained the South Australian team, which was the first Australian team to defeat Stoddard’s Picked Combination of English Cricketers, South Australia won by six wickets.

John played for Australia in the first test against England in the 1894 - 1895 series. His greatest disappointment was his non-inclusion in an Australian team to play in England.

The title of “Premier Bowler” in District Cricket was awarded to him on two occasions, viz 1901 - 1902 and 1907 - 1908 when his averages were 10.43 and 13.76 respectively.

At the annual meeting of the South Australian Cricketing Association in 1910, John was awarded life membership for his contribution to the sport and issued with medal no. 798.

John refused many tempting offers to leave the state, because he preferred to play the game for the game’s sake. He was always the friend of youth and felt that his talents would benefit the younger generation, so he took up coaching schools such as Prince Alfred and St Peters colleges.

John's ill health over a number of years put a stop to his sporting career. He was operated on in a private hospital in Gilberton, but he never recovered from the operation, passing away on the morning of the 29th March 1924, at the age of 58 years. He was survived by his widow, daughter, three sons, three grandsons and three grand-daughters, and was laid to rest at the North Road Cemetery, Collinswood.

When the news of his death reached the Adelaide Oval, the flags were lowered to half mast, and the cricket match between East Torrens and Sturt adjourned, with players and spectators standing for a few minutes of silence as a tribute to his memory.

The drinking fountain erected in honour of John Cole ReedmanIn John's honour the North Adelaide Football and Cricket clubs erected an ornamental drinking fountain in Creswell Gardens, near the eastern entrance to the Adelaide oval.

John's contribution to football was rewarded when he was chosen as one of the inaugural inductees into the Australian Football’s Hall of Fame.


 * from Australian Football HoF book, p.111
 * A figure from the early days of South Australian football, Jack "Dinnie"(stet) Reedman has the unique distinction of being captain and coach of both South Australia's cricket and football teams. His cricket career at the highest level was short and sweet, as he played in only one Test in 1894-95.  His football career was long and successful, as it spanned 23 years with four clubs.  Although there are no records to secure his claim, Reedman recalled that he missed only one game through injury.
 * Reedman was superbly fit - he was also a champion long distance swimmer - and he played as a ruckman and defender. He captained South Adelaide for eleven years, but he was forced to leave the club under a new system in which players had to turn out for the electorate in which they lived.  He took over the captaincy of North Adelaide for five years, winning two premierships, and then transferred to West Adelaide in 1906.   Here he gained anotehr distinction, being the first coach to take his team from bottom to top in one season.  In the same year West Adelaide won the Championship of Australia.  His teams won a total of eight Premierships in the SANFL.


 * from SANFL HoF
 * JOHN C (Dinny) REEDMAN (Deceased)
 * Inducted 2002
 * Captain of South Adelaide, 1889 - 1898, playing every game
 * Captain of North Adelaide, 1901 – 1905, 1907-1909
 * Member of 9 premiership teams for South Adelaide and North Adelaide
 * Coached West Adelaide to first premiership 1908 (from bottom to top)
 * 4 matches for South Australia, captain 1903
 * Member of AFL Hall of Fame


 * from Fullpointsfooty
 * Jack Reedman (South Adelaide, North Adelaide, West Adelaide)
 * 'Dinny' Reedman was a superb all round sportsman who, in addition to his football exploits, was a champion long distance swimmer, captained South Australia's Sheffield Shield cricket team, and played cricket at Test level against England in 1894-5.
 * As far as football was concerned, Reedman was involved at league level with three different clubs for a total of twenty-two years. He made his South Adelaide debut in 1884, and was a key member of the club's 1885 premiership side.  Lanky but lithe, Reedman was formidable in the air and like a terrier when the ball hit the ground; however, it was his leadership qualities and tactical acumen which marked him out from the crowd.  Captain of South Adelaide for eleven years, chief among his alleged innovations was a method for creating and then exploiting the loose man, a concept which, in some ways, could be regarded as the cornerstone of the modern game.
 * He was an extremely durable footballer, assiduously maintaining high standards of personal physical fitness, and between 1889 and 1898 he did not miss a single game for his club.
 * Reedman led South to a total of six premierships before being compelled, after the introduction of electorate football, to move to North Adelaide. In five seasons with North he oversaw another three premierships and later coached West Adelaide (as a non-player) to its first ever premiership in 1908.  The season after his success with West, he returned to North Adelaide for one last season as a player, but it was an inauspicious finale as the red and whites finished second from bottom.
 * Reedman's peak years as a player came during an era when intercolonial and interstate football was only intermittently played, but even so he represented South Australia 4 times.
 * 'Dinny' Reedman was selected as a back pocket and change ruckman in South Adelaide's official 'Greatest Team'.