Editing Essendon Football Club (section)

=== Dick Reynolds years (1933–1960) ===
[[File:Dick reynolds.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dick Reynolds]] is regarded as one of Essendon's greatest players.]]
After the malaise of the late 1920s and early 1930, the [[1933 VFL season|1933 season]] proved a turning point in morale despite no finals entries for the entire 1930s. Essendon saw the debut of the player regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players, [[Dick Reynolds]]. His impact was immediate. He won his first [[Brownlow Medal]] aged 19. His record of three Brownlow victories ([[1934 Brownlow Medal|1934]], [[1937 Brownlow Medal|1937]], [[1938 Brownlow Medal|1938]]), equalled [[Fitzroy Football Club|Fitzroy]]'s [[Haydn Bunton, Sr]] ([[1931 Brownlow Medal|1931]], [[1932 Brownlow Medal|1932]], [[1935 Brownlow Medal|1935]]), and later equalled by [[Bob Skilton]] (1959, 1963, 1968), and [[Ian Stewart (Australian rules footballer)|Ian Stewart]] ([[1965 Brownlow Medal|1965]], [[1966 Brownlow Medal|1966]], [[1971 Brownlow Medal|1971]]).

Reynolds went on to arguably even greater achievements as a coach, a position to which he was first appointed, jointly with Harry Hunter, in 1939 (this was while Reynolds was still a player). A year later he took the reins on a solo basis and was rewarded with immediate success (at least in terms of expectations at the time which, after so long in the wilderness, were somewhat modest). He was regarded as having a sound tactical knowledge of the game and being an inspirational leader, as he led the side into the finals in 1940 for the first time since 1926, when the side finished 3rd. Melbourne, which defeated Essendon by just 5 points in the preliminary final, later went on to trounce Richmond by 39 points in the grand final.

The Essendon Football Club adopted the nickname '''''The Bombers''''' in April 1940.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12444967| title = Bombing to Victory, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 10 April 1940), p.17.| newspaper = Argus| date = 10 April 1940}}</ref>

1941 brought Essendon's first grand final appearance since 1923, but the side again lowered its colours to Melbourne. While Australia had entered [[World War II]]{{snd}}located primarily in Europe and Africa{{snd}}in 1939, the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theatre]] opened in December 1941. Australian sports competition was considerably weakened, with Geelong being forced to pull out of the competition due petrol rationing. Attendances at games also declined dramatically, whilst some clubs had to move from their normal grounds due to them being used for military purposes. Many players were lost to football due to their military service. Nevertheless, Essendon went on to win the 1942 Premiership with Western Australian [[Wally Buttsworth]] in irrepressible form at centre half-back. Finally, the long-awaited premiership was Essendon's after comprehensively outclassing Richmond in the grand final, 19.18 (132) to 11.13 (79). The match was played at Carlton in front of 49,000 spectators.

In any case, there could be no such reservations about Essendon's next premiership, which came just four years later. Prior to that Essendon lost a hard-fought grand final to Richmond in [[1943 VFL grand final|1943]] by 5 points, finished 3rd in 1944, and dropped to 8th in 1945.

After World War II, Essendon enjoyed great success. In the five years immediately after the war, Essendon won 3 premierships ([[1946 VFL Grand Final|1946]], [[1949 VFL Grand Final|1949]], [[1950 VFL Grand Final|1950]]) and were runners up twice ([[1947 VFL Grand Final|1947]], [[1948 VFL Grand Final|1948]]). In [[1946 VFL season|1946]], Essendon were clearly the VFL's supreme force, topping the ladder after the home-and-away games and surviving a drawn second semi-final against Collingwood to make it through to the grand final a week later with a score of 10.16 (76) to 8.9 (57). Then, in the grand final against Melbourne, Essendon set a grand final record score of 22.18 (150) to Melbourne 13.9 (87), featuring a 7-goal performance by centre half-forward [[Gordon Lane]]. Rover Bill Hutchinson, and defenders Wally Buttsworth, [[Cec Ruddell]] and [[Harold Lambert (footballer)|Harold Lambert]] were among the best players.

The [[1947 VFL Grand Final|1947 Grand Final]] has to go down in the ledger as 'one of the ones that got away',{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} with Essendon losing to Carlton by a single point despite managing 30 scoring shots to 21. As if to prove that lightning does occasionally strike twice, the second of the 'ones that got away' came just a year later, the Dons finishing with a lamentable 7.27, to tie with Melbourne (who managed 10.9) in the 1948 grand final. A week later Essendon waved the premiership good-bye, as Melbourne raced to a 13.11 (89) to 7.8 (50) triumph. The club's Annual Report made an assessment that was at once restrained and, as was soon to emerge, tacitly and uncannily prophetic: "It is very apparent that no team is complete without a spearhead and your committee has high hopes of rectifying that fault this coming season."

The [[1949 VFL season|1949 season]] heralded the arrival on the VFL scene of [[John Coleman (Australian footballer)|John Coleman]], arguably the greatest player in Essendon's history, and, in the view of some,{{Who|date=July 2023}} the finest player the game has known. In his first ever appearance for the Dons, against [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]] in Round 1, 1949, he booted 12 of his side's 18 goals to create a round one record which was to endure for forty-five years. More importantly, however, he went on to maintain the same high level of performance throughout the season, kicking precisely 100 goals for the year to become the first player to kick 100 goals in a season since Richmond's [[Jack Titus]] in [[1940 VFL season|1940]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}

The Coleman factor was just what Essendon needed to enable them to take that vital final step to premiership glory, but even so it was not until the business end of the season that this became clear. Essendon struggled to make the finals in 4th place, but once there they suddenly ignited to put in one of the most consistently devastating September performances in VFL history.

[[File:742692-john-coleman.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John Coleman (Australian footballer)|John Coleman]] kicked 537 goals in 98 matches.]]
Collingwood succumbed first as the Dons powered their way to an 82-point first semi-final victory, and a fortnight later it was the turn of the [[North Melbourne Football Club]] as Essendon won the preliminary final a good deal more comfortably than the ultimate margin of 17 points suggested. In the grand final, Essendon were pitted against Carlton and in a match that was a total travesty as a contest they overwhelmed the Blues to the tune of 73 points, 18.17 (125) to 6.16 (52). Best for the Dons included pacy aboriginal half-back flanker [[Norm McDonald (footballer, born 1925)|Norm McDonald]], ruckman [[Bob McClure (footballer)|Bob McLure]], and rovers [[Bill Hutchison|Bill Hutchinson]] and [[Ron McEwin]]. John Coleman also did well, registering six goals.

A year later, in [[1950 VFL season|1950]], Essendon were—if anything—even more dominant, defeating the [[North Melbourne Football Club]] in both the Second Semi-Final and the Grand Final to secure consecutive VFL premierships for the third time. Best afield in the [[1950 VFL Grand Final|1950 Grand Final]], in what was officially his [[swan song]] as a player, was captain-coach [[Dick Reynolds]], who received sterling support from the likes of Norm McDonald, ruckman/back pocket [[Wally May]], back pocket [[Les Gardiner (Australian footballer)|Les Gardiner]], and ruckman McLure.

With Reynolds, aka 'King Richard', still holding court as coach in 1951, albeit now in a non-playing capacity, Essendon seemed on course for a third consecutive flag, but a controversial four-week suspension dished out to John Coleman on the eve of the finals effectively destroyed their chances. Coleman was reported for retaliation after twice being struck by his direct Carlton opponent, Harry Caspar, and without him the Dons were rated a four-goals-poorer team. Nevertheless, they still managed to battle their way to a 6th successive grand final with wins over Footscray by 8 points in the first semi-final and Collingwood by 2 points in the preliminary final.

The Dons sustained numerous injuries in the preliminary final, and the selectors sprang a surprise on [[1951 VFL grand final|Grand Final day]] by naming the officially retired Dick Reynolds as 20th man. Reynolds was powerless to prevent the inevitable; although leading at half-time, Geelong kicked five goals to Essendon's two points in the third quarter to set up victory by 11 points.

Essendon slumped to 8th in [[1952 VFL season|1952]], but Coleman was in blistering form, managing 103 goals for the year. Hugh Buggy noted in ''[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]]'': "It was the wettest season for twenty-two years and Coleman showed that since the war he was without peer in the art of goal kicking."

Two seasons later, Coleman's career was ended after he dislocated a knee during the Round 8 clash with the [[North Melbourne Football Club]] at Essendon. Aged just 25, he had kicked 537 goals in only 98 VFL games in what was generally a fairly low-scoring period for the game. His meteoric rise and fall were clearly the stuff of legend, and few (if any) players, either before or since, have had such an immense impact over so brief a period.

According to [[Alf Brown]], football writer for ''The Herald'':
::(Coleman) had all football's gifts. He was courageous, a long, straight kick, he had a shrewd football brain and, above all, he was a spectacular, thrilling mark.

Somewhat more colourfully, R.S. Whittington suggested:
::"Had he been a [[trapeze]] artist in a strolling circus, Coleman could have dispensed with the trapeze."

Without Coleman, Essendon's fortunes plummeted, and there were to be no further premierships in the 1950s. The nearest miss came in [[1957 VFL season|1957]] when the Bombers (as they were popularly known by this time) earned premiership favouritism after a superb 16-point Second Semi-Final defeat of Melbourne—only to lose by over 10 goals against the same side a [[1957 VFL Grand Final|fortnight later]].

[[1959 VFL season|1959]] saw another grand final loss to Melbourne, this time by 37 points, but the fact that the average age of the Essendon side was only 22 was seen as providing considerable cause for optimism. However, it was to take another three years, and a change of coach, before the team's obvious potential was translated into tangible success.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}}