Don McKenzie

Donald "Don" McKenzie, the Essendon Football Club Hall of Fame ruckman who played 266 senior games for the Bombers between 1960 and 1974, died on Wednesday 23 September 2026 at the age of 87. Essendon announced his death the following day, remembering a fierce athletic leader from the club's powerhouse 1960s sides and a long-serving administrator who later spent 15 years as vice-president.

Born on 23 March 1939, McKenzie had only three years of Australian rules behind him when he debuted for Essendon in round 7 of 1960 against Melbourne at Windy Hill. A knock ruckman with an extraordinary vertical leap, he regularly punched the ball from centre bounces and outplayed taller and heavier opponents including Carlton's John Nicholls and Peter Jones, St Kilda's Carl Ditterich and Collingwood's Len Thompson. He won VFL premierships with Essendon in 1962 and 1965, finishing among the best afield in the latter Grand Final, and took the Crichton Medal as club best and fairest in 1966. Between 1965 and 1969 he played 94 consecutive senior games. He represented Victoria against Tasmania in 1967, captained Essendon in 1969, and was vice-captain in the narrow 1968 Grand Final loss. In 1968 he also joined the second international tour of "The Galahs", taking Australian football to Croke Park and Wembley against Irish sides.

Off the field he was ahead of his time. In 1970 McKenzie and four teammates (Geoff Gosper, Darryl Gerlach, Geoff Pryor and Barry Davis) stood out of training and matches to demand better VFL player payments and conditions. After a brief crisis the dispute was settled; Davis became captain and McKenzie vice-captain for the season. The episode, paralleled by a Collingwood strike involving Len Thompson and Des Tuddenham, helped push the League toward higher minimum payments. McKenzie played on until 1974, returned to play a full reserves season in 1978 at age 39, and remained woven into club life as a life member (1969), committee man and vice-president (1981-1996). He was named among Champions of Essendon in 2002 (43rd greatest player) and inducted into the Essendon Hall of Fame in 2013.

Away from football he worked as a Country Roads Board inspector of interstate transport and later co-founded Sunbury Bus Service with Richard Baird in 1980. Essendon president Andrew Welsh called him "a true giant of our Club" and "one of footy's quintessential hard men". McKenzie is survived by his wife Jill and children Sue, Peter and Jenny.