View source for Gordon Coventry

{{Short description|Australian rules footballer (1901–1968)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2012}}

{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Gordon Coventry
| image = Gordon Coventry – 1934 – I.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Coventry in 1934
| fullname = Gordon Richard James Coventry
| nickname = Nuts
| birth_date = {{birth date|1901|9|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Diamond Creek, Victoria]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1968|11|7|1901|9|25|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Diamond Creek, Victoria]]
| originalteam = [[Diamond Creek Football Club|Diamond Creek]]
| height = 183&nbsp;cm
| weight = 85&nbsp;kg
| position = [[Full forward]]
| statsend = 1937
| years1 = 1920–1937
| club1 = {{AFL Col}}
| games_goals1 = 306 (1299)
| sooteam1 = [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]]
| soogames_goals1 = 25 (100)
| careerhighlights = '''Club'''
*5× [[List of VFL/AFL premiers|VFL Premiership player]]: ([[1927 VFL Grand Final|1927]], [[1928 VFL Grand Final|1928]], [[1929 VFL Grand Final|1929]], [[1930 VFL Grand Final|1930]], [[1935 VFL Grand Final|1935]])
*16× {{AFL Col}} Leading Goalkicker: (1922–1937)
*6× [[Leading Goalkicker Medal]] (1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933)
* [[Copeland Trophy]]: (1933)
'''Honours'''
* [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] Legend
* {{AFL Col}} Team of the Century
* {{AFL Col}} Hall of Fame
}}
'''Gordon Richard James Coventry''' (25 September 1901 – 7 November 1968) was an [[Australian rules football]]er who played for [[Collingwood Football Club]] in the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]] (VFL).

Afforded 'Legend' status in the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]], Coventry was the first player in VFL history to achieve several significant milestones, including playing 300 career games, kicking 100 goals in a season, winning the leading goalkicker award in five consecutive years, and kicking 1000 career goals. Coventry's league total of 1299 career goals served as a competition record for over 60 seasons.

==Early life==
The eighth of the ten children of Henry Coventry (1862–1948)<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206898218 Deaths: Coventry, ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 6 July 1948), p.2]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206898293 Death of Mr. H. Coventry, ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 6 July 1948), p.5.]</ref> and Jane Henrietta Coventry (1863–1940), née Spencer,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206759683 Deaths: Coventry, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 23 May 1940), p.1.]</ref> Gordon Richard James Coventry—known as "Nuts" to his family (said, by some, due to his having a disproportionately large head as a child)<ref name="autogenerated1">Roberts (1991), pp.62–68.</ref>—was born on 25 September 1901 in [[Diamond Creek, Victoria]].<ref>The other nine children were: Richard George Spencer Coventry (1888-1893), Henry William Spencer Coventry (1890-1973), Herbert Thomas Coventry (1891-1972), John Thomas "Jack" Coventry (1893-1950), Hugh Norman "Oak" Coventry (1895-1916), Thomas Coventry (1897-1970), [[Syd Coventry|Sydney Andrew Coventry (1899-1976)]], Grace Helena Coventry (1904-1986), later Mrs. George Ernest Ryan, and Ellen Emma Coventry (1907-1985), later, Mrs. William Andrew McDowell.</ref>

Coventry and his siblings attended the Nillumbik State School (No.1003) at [[Diamond Creek, Victoria|Diamond Creek]].<ref>[https://discoverytrailscomau.wordpress.com/18-8-diamond-creek-and-district-formerly-nillumbik/ Cemetery Tours, 18.8 Diamond Creek and District (Formerly Nillumbik), ''discoverytrails.com.au''.]</ref> While still at school, he began working on his father's fruit orchard.<ref name="autogenerated2">Trembath (2005).</ref>

==Football career==

=== Diamond Creek (pre-1920) ===
Coventry played his early football for [[Diamond Creek Football Club]] in the new Heidelberg District Football League, a competition which began after [[World War I]], and had quickly established himself as a champion centre half-forward. In 1920, he was invited to train at [[Collingwood Magpies|Collingwood]]. The three significant officials involved with that invitation, who were anticipating Collingwood's need to find a suitable replacement for the at-the-time injured [[Dick Lee (Australian footballer)|Dick Lee]], who was nearing the end of his career,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10975386 'Old Boy', "Gordon Coventry 14 Years Ago", ''The Argus'', (Saturday, 8 September 1934), p.23.]</ref> were Ernest William Copeland (1868–1947),<ref>After whom the [[Copeland Trophy|E.W. Copeland Trophy]], awarded to the "best and fairest" Collingwood player was named. (See also: [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22416623 Deaths: Copeland, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 24 March 1947), p.2]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article254750647 Obituary: Ernest Copeland, ''The Mountain District Free Press'', (Friday, 28 March 1947), p.7.])</ref> John James "Jack" Joyce (1860–1945),<ref>After whom the J.J. Joyce Trophy, awarded to the third "best and fairest" Collingwood player was named. (See also: [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article184798020 H.O.B., "Sportsmen We Have Met: "Jack" Joyce, Father of Collingwood, Player Whom a Duke Congratulated", ''The Sporting Globe'',(Wednesday, 23 August 1922), p.1], and [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245338936 Death of Collingwood Sportsman, ''The Herald'', (Saturday, 20 January 1945), p.11])</ref> and John James "Jack" Peppard (1878–1940).<ref>The brother of former Fitzroy and Essendon footballer [[Mick Peppard]] (see also: [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244458743 Deaths: Peppard, ''The Herald'', (Saturday, 21 September 1940), p.6]).</ref> Although Lee had played in Collingwood's first eight matches in the 1920 season,<ref>Because there were only nine teams in the 18-round 1920 VFL Competition (Carlton, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, and South Melbourne), each team played 16 home-and-away matches and had 2 byes; and Collingwood had had its first bye on 12 June 1920, round 7.</ref> he had only scored 17 goals; and, also, due to an injury sustained in the round 9 match against [[Sydney Swans|South Melbourne]], he missed the next seven matches, returning in the season's last home-and-away match in round 18—in the interim, Collingwood tried various permutations of forward lines to cover for the loss of Lee, centred on the selection of [[Ern Utting]] (five matches), [[Tom Wraith]] (one match), and [[Tom Drummond (footballer)|Tom Drummond]] (one match) at full-forward over that time.

=== Collingwood (1920–1937) ===
[[Image:Gordon Coventry – unknown date – 1.jpg|thumb|270px|right|Gordon Coventry,<br/>at [[Victoria Park, Melbourne|Victoria Park]] (date unknown).]]

==== First season (1920) ====
Coventry played his first senior game for [[Collingwood Magpies|Collingwood]] at the age of 18 against [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]] in round 15, [[1920 VFL season|1920]]. He played on the half-forward flank, kicked one goal, and although "not particularly impressive … [he] showed that he can kick well".<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242304002 'Kickeroo', "Play and Players", ''The Herald'', (Friday, 20 August 1920), p.3.]</ref> As one of Collingwood's four inexperienced players given a run that day (the others were [[Les Lobb]], [[Len Ludbrooke]], and [[Roy Outram]]), Gordon played his second match—again on the half-forward flank—in what was also Lee's return match, the last home-and-away round of the season against South Melbourne.

Then, just 18, and in his third match, Gordon played at centre half-forward in the Collingwood team (with Lee at full-forward) that beat [[Fitzroy Football Club|Fitzroy]] 4.17 (41) to 3.5 (23), at a muddy, rain-sodden [[Melbourne Cricket Ground|MCG]], in the [[1920 VFL season#Semi finals|1920 semi-final]] . And then, once more at centre half-forward (with [[Harry Curtis (footballer)|Harry Curtis]] replacing the injured Lee at full-forward), in the Collingwood team that beat [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]] 12.11 (83) to 8.11 (59) in the [[1920 VFL season#Preliminary Final|1920 preliminary final]] on 25 September 1920, his nineteenth birthday. Coventry reprised his role at centre half-forward in the team that lost to Richmond 7.10 (52) to 5.5 (35) in the [[1920 VFL Grand Final|1920 grand final]], kicking 3 goals in the defeat.

==== A role at half-forward (1921–1922) ====
In [[1921 VFL season|1921]], his second VFL season, Coventry was selected in a representative VFL side to play against a combined [[Bendigo Football Netball League|Bendigo]] team on 6 August 1921, but did not play due to [[influenza]].<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206702792 Football Team Selections, ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 26 July 1921), p.8.]</ref><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4678147 'Old Boy', "Educational Football", ''The Argus'', (Monday, 8 August 1921), p.7.]</ref>

He was unable to play in the last home-and-away rounds of the 1921 season due to his illness, although he was able to resume training.

Unexpectedly, he was selected as a last minute replacement for [[Mal Seddon]],<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4645514 The League: Collingwood v. Carlton, ''The Argus'', (Saturday, 1 October 1921), p.17.]</ref> who had declared himself unfit to play on the morning of the match, as a consequence of the injury to his thigh that he had sustained at the preceding Tuesday's training session in a collision with [[Percy Rowe]].<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206714883 Football, ''The Age'', (Friday, 30 September 1921), p.7.]</ref> Coventry played at centre half-forward (kicking 3 goals) in the team that lost to Carlton 9.11 (65) to 7.10 (52) in the [[1921 VFL season#Semi finals|1921 semi-final]].

Coventry played the entire 1922 season on one half-forward flank, scoring 42 goals, with his brother, [[Syd Coventry|Syd]], playing on the other.

==== The switch to full-forward (1923–1935) ====
In 1923, with Lee having retired at the end of the 1922 season, Coventry (by this stage a 34-game veteran) moved to full-forward and was the club's leading goal-kicker that season with 36 goals. He soon became one of the league's most prolific and consistent goal-kickers. He was [[List of Collingwood Football Club leading goalkickers|Collingwood's leading goal-kicker]] for 16 consecutive years, and the [[Coleman Medal|league's leading goal-kicker]] on six occasions (five of which were in consecutive years, 1927–1931). He kicked Collingwood's only two goals in the lowest-scores-ever grand final of [[1927 VFL grand final|1927]], with Collingwood, in atrocious conditions, defeating [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]] 2.13 (25) to 1.7 (13). He was the first player to kick 100 goals in a VFL season (which he did in 1929, 1930, 1933, and 1934), kicked a total of 1299 goals in VFL football, and 100 goals in VFL representative teams. Coventry was made a life member of the Collingwood Football Club in 1932,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205088181 'Forward', "Football: Collingwood Annual Meeting: Leading Players Honored", ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 8 March 1932), p.13.]</ref> and was also Collingwood's [[Copeland Trophy|best and fairest player]] in 1933.

====A shock suspension; retirement (1936–1937)====
Coventry missed Collingwood's [[1936 VFL Grand Final|1936 VFL grand final]] victory due to disqualification. It was the only time he had been reported in his entire VFL career. Coventry was found guilty of striking [[Richmond Tigers|Richmond]] defender [[Joe Murdoch]] in the torrid match against Richmond in round 13, 1936.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11898884 Football Brawl: Richmond Trouble: Players Reported, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 3 August 1936), p.9.]</ref> Coventry had a crop of painful [[Boil|boils]] on his neck, and when Murdoch repeatedly struck his neck, Coventry retaliated.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11898872 "Stop the Game!", ''The Argus'', (Monday, 3 August 1936), p.18.]</ref>

Coventry was suspended for eight matches, and Murdoch for four.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204914075 'Forward', "League Players Disqualified, ''The Age'', (Wednesday, 5 August 1936), p.18]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11899527 Disqualified for Long Terms: G. Coventry, Eight Games: Murdoch Out for Four Matches, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 5 August 1936), p.12.]</ref> An appeal by Coventry against the severity of the penalty was unsuccessful.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248554970 Barclay, Bert, "Coventry Plea to League: 'Last Game'", ''The Herald'', (Wednesday, 16 September 1936), p.1.]</ref> At the time, Coventry announced that he was retiring from VFL football.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223869803 Coventry Out: Great Forward Retires, ''The Weekly Times'', (Saturday, 15 August 1936), p.68.]</ref> He later relented, and, having served the eighth and last match of his suspension in the first week of the 1937 season, he played in 19 matches and kicked 72 goals in 1937, his final VFL season.

== Playing style ==
Although a very reliable right-foot kick, Coventry was equally able to use his left foot accurately and effectively when needed – see, for example, his left-foot goal under pressure for Victoria at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] in the 7 August 1933 match against South Australia during the [[1933 Sydney Carnival|1933 ANFC Carnival]].<ref>[https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/afl-1933-wave-two-flags Smith, Simon, "AFL, 1933: Wave the two flags!: Rare footage of AFL Goal-kicking Legends", ''The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia'']; see {{YouTube|id=4SJV3RGWY5k|title=Victoria v South Australia, Australian Rules Carnival 1933 Newsreel}} – Gordon Coventry (Victoria, No.5) features in the passage of play that commences at '''0.50'''.</ref>

The "broad-backed and sticky-fingered" Coventry<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23181319 Taylor, P., "Games were Slow before the War", ''The Argus'', (friday, 15 August 1952), p.7.]</ref> did not possess the phenomenal skills of his predecessor at Collingwood, [[Dick Lee (Australian footballer)|Dick Lee]], or the aerial prowess of his successor, [[Ron Todd (footballer)|Ron Todd]], but relied on tremendous strength and a vice-like grip when marking the ball, a combination that made him almost unstoppable once he had front position.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
::"Once [Gordon "Nuts"] Coventry gets in front it seems that no defender can get round him.<br />His bulky body and his awkward gait seem to brook no interruption, and he never seems to drop a mark."<ref>Ross (1996), p.130, quoting from an otherwise unidentified press report that Ross states is dated 2 September 1929; however, given that the quoted article also contains a reference to [[Albert Collier]] winning the Brownlow Medal (which was not decided until the evening of Wednesday, 4 September, and not reported on in the press until Thursday, 5 September) it would seem that the date attribution is mistaken.</ref>

== Records ==
{{external media
| float  = right
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| width  =
| image1 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243628906 Gordon Coventry],<br>in ''The Herald'', 14 August 1925.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243628906 "Wells", Gordon Coventry, ''The Herald'', (Friday, 14 August 1925), p.12.]</ref>
| image2 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146462544 G. Coventry],<br>in ''Table Talk'', 25 August 1927.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146462544 Reynolds, L.F, "A Victorian Carnival Team Octette", ''Table Talk'', (Thursday, 25 August 1927), p.14.]</ref>
| image3 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243987753 G. Coventry],<br>in ''The Herald'', 30 April 1928.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243987753 "Wells", G. Coventry, ''The Herald'', (Monday, 30 April 1928), p.3.]</ref>
| image4 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150929679 G. Coventry],<br>in ''Table Talk'', 30 August 1928.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150929679 Reynolds, L.F, "Prominent Personalities: G. Coventry", ''Table Talk'', (Thursday, 30 August 1928), p.17.]</ref>
| image5 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243997286 "Nuts" Coventry],<br>in ''The Herald'', 2 August 1929.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243997286 "Wells", "The Record Breaker — Wells's Latest Movie", ''The Herald'', (Friday, 2 August 1929), p.15.]</ref>
| image6 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131171562 Gordon Coventry],<br>in ''The Referee'', 30 July 1930.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131171562 Richard Arthur "Dick" Ovenden, "Champion Goal-Kick", ''The Referee'', (Wednesday, 30 July 1930), p.18.]</ref>
| image7 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243253145 Gordon Coventry],<br>in ''The Herald'', 28 May 1934.<ref>[[Alexander George Gurney|Alex Gurney]], [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243253145 "Alex. Gurney at the Collingwood Match", ''The Herald'', (Monday, 28 May 1934), p.3.]</ref> 
| image8 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205579022 Gordon ("Nuts") Coventry],<br>in ''The Age'', 30 July 1937.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205579022 Renn, "Gordon ("Nuts") Coventry of Collingwood", ''The Age'', (Friday, 30 July 1937), p.14.]</ref>
| image9 = [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206728240 Gordon Coventry],<br>in ''The Age'', 27 September 1937.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206728240 Renn Winds Up the Football Season, ''The Age'', (Monday, 27 September 1937), p.7.]</ref>
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Coventry retired after the [[1937 VFL season|1937 season]], the first player to play 300 [[VFL/AFL]] games, winning his sixth [[Coleman Medal|league leading goal-kicker award]], and his 16th consecutive [[List of Collingwood Football Club leading goalkickers|club leading goal-kicker award]], a club record and five clear of Australian Football Legend and Collingwood predecessor [[Dick Lee (Australian footballer)|Dick Lee]]. Coventry also represented [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]] on 25 occasions for a total of 100 goals.

Coventry played in 31 finals matches in his 18-year career, including [[1928 VFL season#Semi finals|the drawn Semi-Final match against Melbourne on 15 September 1928]] (the first drawn finals match in VFL history), and 10 grand finals, five of which were won by Collingwood (1927–1930, and 1935). In the [[1928 VFL Grand Final|1928 VFL grand final]] he kicked a league record 9 goals, in a match in which Collingwood beat Richmond 13.18 (96) to 9.9 (63).

He was the first player to kick 100 goals in a VFL season (which he did in 1929, 1930, 1933, and 1934), and he kicked a total of 1299 goals in VFL football: a record that stood for more than six decades until it was broken by Sydney Swans player [[Tony Lockett]] in the match against Coventry's former club, Collingwood, on [[1999 AFL season#Round 10|6 June 1999]].

His tallies included:
* '''9 goals in a Grand Final''': [[1928 VFL Grand Final|against Richmond, in the Grand Final, on 29 September 1928]].
**An unbeaten Grand Final record, only equalled on one occasion: by [[Gary Ablett Sr.]], [[1989 VFL Grand Final|against Hawthorn, in the Grand Final, on 30 September 1989]].
* '''10 goals in a match''': [[1929 VFL season#Round 17|against North Melbourne on 24 August 1929]], and [[1933 VFL season#Round 18|against Melbourne on 2 September 1933]].
* '''11 goals in a match''': [[1926 VFL season#Round 8|against Footscray on 19 June 1926]], [[1927 VFL season#Round 5|against Fitzroy on 28 May 1927]], [[1927 VFL season#Round 7|against St Kilda on 11 June 1927]], [[1929 VFL season#Round 3|against South Melbourne on 11 May 1929]], and [[1931 VFL season#Round 17|against St Kilda on 5 September 1931]].
* '''14 goals in a match''': [[1934 VFL season#Round 14|against Hawthorn on 18 August 1934]].
* '''15 goals in a match''': [[1933 VFL season#Round 11|against Essendon on 8 July 1933]].
* '''16 goals in a match''': [[1929 VFL season#Round 13|against Hawthorn on 27 July 1929]].
**This broke the previous league record of 14 goals, set by South Melbourne's [[Harold Robertson]] ten years earlier in the [[1919 VFL season#Round 12|match against St Kilda on 26 July 1919]].
* '''17 goals in a match''': [[1930 VFL season#Round 12|against Fitzroy on 19 July 1930]].
**A league record at the time,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202454290 G. Coventry's Great Performance: Seventeen Goals 4 Behinds from 21 Shots, ''The Age'', (Monday 21 July 1930), p.6.]</ref> Gordon Coventry's record score of 17 goals in a single match – 17.4 (106)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gordon Coventry |url=http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/gordon-coventry/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Collingwood Forever |language=en-US}}</ref> – has only ever been broken once, by Melbourne's [[Fred Fanning]], who kicked 18.1 (109) in his last-ever VFL match [[1947 VFL season#Round 19|against St Kilda on 30 August 1947]];<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22504562 New Record by Fanning, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 1 September 1947), p.18.]</ref> and, also, has only ever been equalled once, by Hawthorn's [[Jason Dunstall]], who kicked 17.5 (107) [[1992 AFL season#Round 7|against Richmond on 2 May 1992]].
* '''97 goals in a season''': 1927.
* '''105 goals in a season''': 1934.
* '''108 goals in a season''': 1933.
* '''118 goals in a season''': 1930.
* '''124 goals in a season''': 1929.
**1929 was the first time that any VFL player had scored 100 goals or more in a single season.
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== Coaching career ==
After leaving Collingwood, Coventry coached [[Collegians Football Club|Collegians]] in the [[VAFA]] for a number of years.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205932305 G. Coventry to Coach Collegians, ''The Age'', (Friday, 25 March 1938), p.6.]</ref>

==Personal life==
Coventry married Christabel Violet Lawrey on 28 February 1925. They had four children:<ref>[https://collingwoodhs.org.au/resources/notable-people-2/collingwood-notables-database/entry/293 Collingwood Notables Database: Gordon Richard James ('Nuts') Coventry, 1901-1968, ''Collingwood Historical Society''.]</ref> two sons, George Gordon (b.1925)<ref>[https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=1037634&c=WW2#R World War Two Nominal Roll: Aircraftman George Gordon Coventry (450635), ''Department of Veterans' Affairs'']; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231711564 Rules Star's Son to Make Bow, ''The (Sydney) Sun'', (Thursday, 12 April 1945), p.10]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article178133356 Eager to Carry On, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday. 29 March 1947), p.3.]</ref> and Graham (b.1945),<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GTpVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZpUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6514%2C275917 Like Father . . ., ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 2 March 1965), p.24.]</ref> and two daughters, Betty Lois (b.1928), later Mrs. [[Alex Denney|Alexander David Denney]],<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22544461 Engagements: Coventry—Denney, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 24 May 1948), p.7.]</ref> and Margaret Shirley (1930–2006), later Mrs. Charles James Banks.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article189474258 They are Engaged: Coventry—Banks, ''The Age'', (Saturday, 5 November 1949), p.6.]</ref><ref>[https://billiongraves.com/grave/Margaret-Shirley-Coventry-Banks/6952322 Photograph of the plaque attached to the grave of Gordon and Christabel].</ref>

Three of Coventry's brothers served in the [[First Australian Imperial Force|First AIF]]:<ref>[https://victoriancollections.net.au/media/collectors/4f729f5697f83e03086015b8/items/5a0ce06321ea6f10a0da5a6a/item-media/5a1677c121ea7603408d96ed/original.docx "The Coventry Boys", ''victoriancollections.net.au''.]</ref> John Thomas "Jack" Coventry,<ref>[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ViewPDF.aspx?B=3433254&D=D World War One Service Record: Private John Thomas Coventry (172), ''National Archives of Australia'']; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22807064 Deaths: Coventry, ''The Argus'', (Friday, 27 January 1950), p.11.]</ref> Hugh Norman "Oak" Coventry, who was (posthumously) [[mentioned in dispatches]] for "gallant devotion to duty as volunteer stretcher bearer, carrying the wounded" on 9 August 1916,<ref>[https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1068452/document/5504359.PDF Army Form W.3121, dated 9 August 1916, collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.]</ref> and had been killed in action while serving with the First AIF in Pozieres,<ref>[https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1729140 Roll of Honour: Private Hugh Norman Coventry (3787), ''Australian War Memorial'']; [https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ViewPDF.aspx?B=3433239&D=D World War One Service Record: Private Hugh Norman Coventry (3787), ''National Archives of Australia'']; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155171190 Deaths: On Active Service: Coventry, ''The Age'', (Saturday, 23 September 1916), p.7.]</ref> and Thomas Coventry, who was wounded in the arm and foot in action in France in 1916.<ref>[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ViewPDF.aspx?B=3433271&D=D World War One Service Record: Private Thomas (3786), ''National Archives of Australia'']; [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Lu5XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zpADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7320%2C4835889 Deaths: Coventry, ''The Age'', (Monday, 23 March 1970), p.15.]</ref>[[Image:Len Reynolds The Coventrys of Collingwood.jpg|thumb|270px|right|"The Coventrys of Collingwood" (L: [[Syd Coventry|Syd]]; R: Gordon)&nbsp;[[Leonard Frank Reynolds|Len Reynolds]], ''Table Talk'', 9 October 1930.]]
Another older brother, [[Syd Coventry|Sydney Andrew Coventry (1899–1976)]], also played for Collingwood at the same time as Gordon.

While working as a miner at [[Queenstown, Tasmania]], and playing football for the Miners' Football Team (as its captain), in [[Gormanston, Tasmania]], in 1920,<ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/footy-at-the-gravel-is-cutting-edge-stuff-20020707-gdudbx.html Footy at the Gravel is cutting edge stuff, ''The Age'', 7 July 2002]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24864829 The Miners' Football Team, Gormanston, Thirteen Years Ago, ''The Mercury'', (14 July 1933), p.5]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68031032 Early Football: Syd. Coventry's Days at Lyell, ''The (Burnie) Advocate'', (12 July 1933), p.8.]</ref> Syd was approached by [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]] and invited to play for them in 1921. Syd moved to Victoria, and influenced by Gordon, began training with Collingwood (rather than St Kilda) in the 1921 pre-season;<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article171057432 Merrick, C., "Athletics: Sport an Pastimes: Football: Collingwood, ''The Advocate'', (14 April 1921), p.26.]</ref> however, in May 1921, "an application by S.A. Coventry for transfer from Miners' (Tasmania) to Collingwood was refused [by the Victorian Football League Permit Committee]".<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1754620 Football: Permits Granted, ''The Argus'', (7 May 1921), p.20]: In the evidence he gave to the committee, Syd admitted that he had "signed an interstate clearance form" to play with St Kilda in January 1921, and that, because the promised (by St Kilda) employment had not eventuated, he had returned to his family in Diamond Creek (rather than, that is, residing in St Kilda) – and, because Diamond Creek was in Collingwood's district, he wanted to play for Collingwood ([http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242496443 Shock for Collingwood, ''The Herald'', (6 May 1921), p.3]).</ref><ref>It is also obvious that, with [[Diamond Creek railway station|Diamond Creek station]] and [[Victoria Park railway station, Melbourne|Victoria Park station]] on the same train-line, Collingwood's location at [[Victoria Park, Melbourne|Victoria Park]] was much more convenient than St Kilda's location at the [[Junction Oval|St Kilda Cricket Ground]], the travel to-and-from which would involve a far longer journey – from Diamond Creek to [[Flinders Street railway station|Flinders Street station]], and then, another train to the [[St Kilda railway station|St Kilda station]], or a tram along [[St Kilda Road]] to [[St Kilda Junction]].</ref>

Having served 12 months out of football, Syd was cleared "from Tasmania to Collingwood" on 26 April 1922.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4658841 Football: League Permits, ''The Argus'', (27 April 1922), p.5.]</ref> He went on play in 227 VFL games for Collingwood (1922–1934) and 27 representative games for the VFL (1922–1934), captain Collingwood for 144 games (1927–1934), win the [[Brownlow Medal]] in 1927, and serve for three years as the non-playing coach of Footscray (1935–1937) before returning to Collingwood as an administrator, serving as its vice-president for 11 years (1939–1949), its president for 13 years (1950–1962), and its patron from 1963 until his death in 1976.

==Death==
Coventry died of [[Cardiovascular disease|heart disease]] on 7 November 1968 at his property in [[Diamond Creek]], survived by his wife and four children.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3dIQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eZMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4221%2C1884259 Deaths: Coventry, ''The Age'', (Saturday, 9 November 1968), p.47.]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3dIQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eZMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6516%2C1629741 Gordon Coventry dies, 67, ''The Age'', (Friday, 8 November 1968), p.28.]</ref>

==Legacy==
In 1996, Coventry was an inaugural inductee of the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] and was elevated to "[[Australian Football Hall of Fame#Legends|Legend]]" status (as the fourteenth "Legend") two years later.<ref>[https://afllegends.com.au/2019/01/04/gordon-coventry ''AFL Legends''.]</ref>

In 1998, he was named at full-forward in [[Collingwood Football Club#Team of the Century|Collingwood's "Team of the Century"]].

On 24 November 1999, he was inducted into the [[Sport Australia Hall of Fame Awards|Sport Australia Hall of Fame]].<ref>[https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/gordon-coventry Gordon Coventry: Australian Rules, ''Sport Australia Hall of Fame''.]</ref>

In 2009, ''[[The Australian]]'' nominated Coventry as one of the 25 greatest footballers never to win a [[Brownlow Medal]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090927012106/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/gallery/0,26637,5060661-601-20,00.html The Australian], 22 September 2009, retrieved 2009-09-22</ref>

The [[List of Collingwood Football Club leading goalkickers|Gordon Coventry Trophy]] is awarded to Collingwood's leading goalkicker each year.<ref>[http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5085/Default.aspx?newsId=52496 AFL End of season report, 2007]{{dead link|date=September 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The southern end of the [[Docklands Stadium]] is named the "Coventry end". When the Southern Stand at the MCG was built, a gate/entrance was jointly named after Coventry and brother Syd.

== See also ==
* [[List of Australian rules football families]]
* [[1927 Melbourne Carnival]]
* [[Collingwood Football Club#Team of the Century|Collingwood Team of the Century]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
===General===
* {{cite book | last1 = Atkinson | first1 = Graeme |title = The Complete Book of AFL Finals | publisher = The Five Mile Press | year = 1996 | isbn = 1-875971-47-5}}
* [[Hector de Lacy|de Lacy, H.A.]], [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180871938 "Coventrys Tell of Premiership Battles", ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 24 September 1938), p.5.]
* [[Hector de Lacy|de Lacy, H.A.]], [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article181707620 "Gordon Coventry and . . . Brother Syd", ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 5 July 1941), p.6.]
* {{Cite book  | last1 = Holmesby | first1 = Russell  | last2 = Main   | first2 = Jim  | title = The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers  | publisher = Bas Publishing  | year = 2004  | isbn = 1-920910-32-8 }}
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180858678 Rohan, J. M., "Greatest Goal-kicker of All Time", ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 9 April 1938), p.8.]
* {{cite book | last = Roberts | first = Michael | author-link = Michael Roberts (footballer) | title = A Century of the Best | publisher = [[Collingwood Football Club]] | year = 1991 | isbn = 0-646-05886-X }}
* Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. {{ISBN|0-670-86814-0}}
* [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/coventry-gordon-richard-13267 Trembath, Richard, "Coventry, Gordon Richard (1901–1968)", in Cunneen, C. (ed.), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography: Supplement 1580—1980, with a name index to the '''Australian Dictionary of Biography''' to 1980'', Melbourne University Press, (Carlton), 2005.]

==="Gordon Coventry: as told to J. M. Rohan"===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180859267 Gordon Coventry, Champion Goalkicker, tells when his Knees Knocked with Stage Fright!, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 16 April 1938), p.8.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180859675 Gordon Coventry tells when he Scored Five Goals and Lost Five Teeth, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 23 April 1938), p.8.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180860305 Backs That Bumped, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 30 April 1938), p.8.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180860766 Gordon Coventry Names Jimmy Freake as the Greatest Forward, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 7 May 1938), p.8.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180861225 Gordon Coventry Discloses Secret of Collingwood's Success, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 14 May 1938), p.8.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180861823 Gordon Coventry Declares Gorringe was Best of Those Bust Rovers, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 21 May 1938), p.8.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180862155 Gordon Coventry on Ruck Combinations, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 28 May 1938), p.8.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180862819 Gordon Coventry's Memoirs: Those Dear Old Boots of Mine, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 4 June 1938), p.5.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180863261 Gordon Coventry's Memoirs: A Game of Hard Bumps, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 11 June 1938), p.5.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180864168 Gordon Coventry Discusses Great Centre Line Men, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 18 June 1938), p.5.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180864722 Gordon Coventry Names Champion of His Time: Why Bunton is not Named in First Six Players, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 25 June 1938), p.5.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180865639 Gordon Coventry tells how One Man Won a Premiership, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 2 July 1938), p.5.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180866093 Gordon Coventry Discusses Star Half-Forwards, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 9 July 1938), p.5.]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180867041 Gordon Coventry tells of the Greatest Flare-Up Ever Seen, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 16 July 1938), p.5.] (Wednesday is the clearer copy)
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180867234 Gordon Coventry tells of Happy Days at Collingwood, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 23 July 1938), p.5.]
{{div col end}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{AFL Tables|ref=G/Gordon_Coventry.html}}
* {{AustralianFootball|ref=gordon%2Bcoventry/3755}}
* [http://www.boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Gordon+Coventry Gordon Coventry, at ''Boyles Football Photos''.]
* [https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/players/gordon-coventry Gordon Coventry, at ''Collingwood Forever''.]
* [https://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-gordon-coventry  "10 things you might not know about Gordon Coventry", at ''Collingwood Forever''.]

{{Australian Football Hall of Fame Legends}}
{{Australian rules football players with 1000 goals}}
{{Collingwood Team of The Century}}
{{1927–30 Collingwood premiership players}}
{{1935 Collingwood premiership players}}
{{VFL Leading Goalkicker Medal winners}}
{{Copeland Trophy}}
{{Collingwood leading goalkickers}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coventry, Gordon}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Melbourne]]
[[Category:Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents]]
[[Category:Collingwood Football Club players]]
[[Category:Collingwood Football Club premiership players]]
[[Category:VFL Leading Goalkicker Medal winners]]
[[Category:Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Copeland Trophy winners]]
[[Category:VFL/AFL premiership players]]
[[Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:People from Diamond Creek, Victoria]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]