Bill Gunn
1952-1959
104 games
101 goals
Captain 1955
Leading Goalkicker 1956

Ahead of the 1952 football season, Swans Hall of Famer Billy Williams received a lucrative offer to join VFA powerhouse Williamstown as their new captain-coach. When he accepted that offer, South Melbourne supporters felt the loss of their 26-year-old triple best and fairest winner, deeply. However, Williamstown’s promising young centre half-forward Bill Gunn crossed to the Swans in a move that would delight for years to come.

Such was Gunn’s reputation, Swans captain-coach Gordon Lane said that the Newport product was the best half-forward prospect he had ever seen. When South officials visited Gunn, they inadvertently found future Swans Hall of Famer Fred Goldsmith playing on the street. Goldsmith took them to Gunn’s place, where club secretary Keith McLennan eventually signed them both.

The pair grew up kicking paper footys around the western suburbs, and in their early South Melbourne days, they’d catch the ferry from Newport to Port Melbourne to get to training, completing the rest of the trip to the Lake Oval by bike. Gunn was 19 when he joined, standing six feet tall, and some thought he needed to add some bulk to his relatively light frame.

But, after a handful of games in red and white, Victorian selectors chose Gunn to represent his state. His former club received the news with mixed feelings, as reported in The Williamstown Chronicle, “Last year, he showed at Williamstown that he had all the requirements of a star footballer. An excellent mark and kick, very fast and with the ability to turn both ways, Billy has proved a sensation in the League after only seven matches.”

Gunn’s quiet, humble manner endeared him to his teammates, and the energetic nature of his play made him an immediate crowd favourite. Two months into his League career, The Sporting Globe claimed, “South have produced the best first-year player in the League, in Bill Gunn. He’s a brilliant mover in the air. His anticipation, backed by his pace, gives him a will-o’-the-wisp complex with a defence. A half-back needs eyes in the back of his skull to watch him.”

South narrowly missed the finals in his first season, finishing two points below fourth-placed Carlton. Over the post-season Christmas break, Gunn fell from a horse, injuring his ankle. The club sent a ray lamp to his home so he could administer self-treatment, and the star half-forward recovered in time for the 1953 season’s opening match under new coach Laurie Nash.

Upon his appointment, Bloods Champion Nash told Alf Brown in The Herald, “We will have specialised training to bring out the best in players, and I want to play Bill Gunn at centre half-forward.” Until this point, Gunn had been used mainly on the half-forward flank. Under Nash, hopes of a resurgence were high, as Bloods Legend Ron Clegg returned from a severe knee injury sustained the previous year.

During the 1953 season, Gunn again won selection for Victoria. This time, state players were required to play the two-week national carnival in Adelaide. After missing a month of work after his horse riding accident, Gunn withdrew from the team, saying, “I’m not interested in interstate or carnival games when they are played away. It’s alright now, but football won’t look after my future. I didn’t want to jeopardise my future by taking another fortnight.”

The VFL selectors banned Gunn from playing with South for the duration of the carnival, and his absence at a critical time of the year contributed to South’s late-season form slump, which sent them spiralling out of finals contention. With a month left in the season, The Record declared, “Gunn is enjoying a grand season and looks a clear favourite for South’s best and fairest award of 1953.” Ultimately, that honour belonged to fellow Swans Hall of Famer Jim Taylor, but both displayed exceptional form.

In April 1954, Gunn married Miss Valma Currie in a service held at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Yarraville. Lifelong pal Fred Goldsmith was best man, and the newlyweds returned from their honeymoon just in time for the season’s opening match.

In his third season at the club, Gunn played under his third coach, with Bloods Legend Herbie Matthews replacing Nash for the ‘54 season. After establishing himself as a forward player of prestige, Gunn prepared for a positional switch. “I’m looking forward to spending more time in the centre,” he told The Record. “You have more room to move about, and that’s what I like.”

His remarkable consistency continued, gaining Victorian selection again despite the previous year’s dispute. However, after falling ill just before training one July night, Gunn was rushed to Footscray Hospital, suffering from acute appendicitis. The subsequent operation meant he’d only return to football for the Swans’ final match of the year.

At 23 years old, Gunn was appointed captain of South Melbourne for the 1955 season. Peter Banfield wrote in The Argus, “Gunn’s selection as captain caps a meteoric rise in the club. Since he came to the team from Williamstown in 1952, he has become one of its most valuable players and one of the best centre half-forwards in the VFL.”

It proved a frustrating year for Gunn, although he did lead South to a 134-point win over St Kilda, and his best mate Goldsmith won the Brownlow Medal. But, with Clegg and Taylor both spending a year interstate, the team finished ninth. At the end of the season, Gunn said he was “fed up” with the club over a wage dispute, and the committee suspended him indefinitely.

Before the commencement of the 1956 season, Gunn appeared before the committeemen, and all was forgiven. South secretary Joe White said, “Bill left the room feeling very happy with the way things had gone. He shook hands with everyone present. As he left, he said he was anxious to do his best this season for the club and the South supporters.”

Matthews moved Gunn to full-forward, with the move paying immediate dividends. Leading into the Round 12 clash with Geelong, he’d kicked the second-most goals in the VFL but sadly suffered a broken elbow in the Kardinia Park loss. South officials arranged a show in the clubrooms to raise funds for their star player, who’d be out of work for four months. Despite the injury, Gunn claimed the Swans’ leading goalkicker award for 1956.

After an injury-plagued 1957 season, Gunn returned to set the pace in the 1958 Brownlow Medal voting as the runaway leader early in the year. Eventually, he finished fifth in the coveted award, with 16 votes. As one of only five players with over 100 games experience, Gunn provided captain-coach Clegg with invaluable support and leadership throughout the 1959 season before retiring at 27.

In retirement, he maintained his association with the Swans, serving as a runner and assistant coach to Bill Faul. A fine footballer, Laurie Nash declared Gunn one of his champions of the era. “Billy Gunn is another natural star. He has shown out well wherever South Melbourne has tried him but has been particularly outstanding at centre half-forward.”

“Fast and vigorous, he is one of those players who never gives up. At the end of the match, he is still playing as hard as when it started, and he is still a dangerous opponent.”

Sadly, Bill Gunn passed away in 1991, aged just 59. Two decades later, he was inducted into the Sydney Swans Hall of Fame, recognising a fine career in red and white.

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