In the summer of 1961, Barry Davis and a school friend were asked to train with Essendon in a bid to play in the Under-19s. Davis impressed observers and he was asked to participate in pre-season practice matches that included players from the main list. He played in the Reserves for round 1 of the 1961 season. Recruited from Essendon High School, Davis made his debut with Essendon Football Club in the VFL in the second round of 1961; Davis played off the half-back line and was quite a prolific ball-gathering player. Davis never played with the under-19s even though he was eligible.[1]
Davis went on to play 218 games and kick 65 goals for the club, winning the Bombers' best and fairest award three times – in 1968, 1969 and 1971. He captained the side in 1970 and 1971, and he also played in the team premierships in 1962 and 1965. He was named in Essendon's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.[2]
North Melbourne Football Club
Moving to North in 1973 under the VFL's short-lived "10-year rule", which allowed players with ten years' service at one club to move to another club without a clearance,[3] Davis won North Melbourne's best and fairest in his first year at North. He went on to captain the Roos' first-ever premiership side in 1975, his final VFL season. He had played 71 games and kicked 54 goals for North before retiring. He was also named in North Melbourne's Team of the Century.[4]
Coaching career
Essendon Football Club
Davis coached his original club Essendon as senior coach from 1978 to 1980; he replaced Bill Stephen, who was sacked as Essendon Football Club senior coach at the end of the 1977 season.[5] Davis coached Essendon with a 30-win, 36-loss and 1-draw record.[6] He resigned at the end of the 1980 season because Essendon under Davis did not make the top five on the ladder and therefore missed out of the finals.[7] He then made way for Kevin Sheedy, who replaced Davis as Essendon Football Club senior coach and coached the club until the end of the 2007 season, for a record total of 27 years.[8][9]
Champions of Essendon
In 2002, an Essendon panel ranked him at 15 in their Champions of Essendon list of the 25 greatest players ever to have played for Essendon.
^The 10-year rule was introduced by the VFL in August 1972, in order to render it immune from the sorts of "restraint of trade" difficulties that were being experienced, at the time, in New South Wales in relation to Rugby League footballers. Although twenty-two VFL players were eligible under the rule, only George Bisset, Davis, Carl Ditterich, John Rantall, Adrian Gallagher, and Doug Wade, took advantage of it — transferring to Collingwood, North Melbourne, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Footscray, and North Melbourne (respectively). The rule was rescinded in May 1973.
