Richmond great Kevin Bartlett will be immortalised with a bronze statue outside the MCG, as the latest addition to the Australia Post Avenue of Legends.

The statue of the Tigers’ five-time premiership hero and 403-game champion will be created by sculptor Lis Johnson, following her outstanding previous work on the Norm Smith, John Coleman, Neil Harvey and Jim Stynes statues in the Avenue of Legends. 

It is expected the Kevin Bartlett statue will be completed and unveiled before the start of the 2017 AFL season.

Bartlett made his senior league debut for Richmond in Round 3 of the 1965 season against St Kilda at the MCG, as a lightly-framed 18-year-old.

He ended up playing 14 games for the ’65 season and a further 14 in 1966, as the Tigers knocked on the door of the then final four.

In 1967, when Richmond swept all before it to break a 24-year premiership drought, Bartlett was a star.  He played all 20 games for the Tigers that season in the role of first rover, was one of the team’s best in an epic Grand Final victory over Geelong, and capped off a superb year by winning the first of five Club Best and Fairest awards.

The man who was to become known simply by his initials – KB – was first rover again in 1969, 1973 and 1974, when the Tigers won three more premierships. He was a driving force in all those glorious triumphs through his prolific ball-winning ability and goalkicking nous. 

Then, in 1980, when Richmond won the flag in record-breaking fashion against Collingwood, the then 33-year-old Bartlett turned football’s traditional graveyard – the half-forward flank – into a Yellow and Black oasis, booting 84 goals in a magical season.  Seven of those goals came in a devastating display in the Grand Final massacre of the Magpies, earning him the Norm Smith Medal for being best afield.

Kevin Bartlett and the MCG were made for each other.  It was as if he knew every blade of grass on the hallowed turf and, with his electrifying pace and cunning football brain, he consistently wreaked havoc on opposition teams.

Etched in the minds of Richmond supporters, fortunate enough to have lived through that greatest era in the Club’s history, are images of the little No. 29 strutting his stuff in front of packed stands at the ‘G’ . . . weaving through packs, leaving bewildered opponents in his wake as he sped away, spearing the ball through the goals, and then jubilantly pumping his fists skywards in celebration.

KB, in full flight at the MCG, was like a maestro conducting a symphony.  He was in total control out in the middle, making the seemingly impossible look relatively simple, and thrilling the Tiger Army with his brilliance.

Bartlett’s consistency over such a long career, on the game’s biggest stage, was truly remarkable.

No-one has played more games of football on the MCG – and no-one, arguably, has been a greater match-winner at the game’s mecca.

It was as if all the planets aligned for Richmond back in 1965, when Kevin Bartlett arrived on the scene at the same time as the Tigers shifted their home games to the MCG.

Over the best part of the next two decades, KB and the ‘G’ were to become an irresistible force in Richmond’s dominance of the league football competition.

Bartlett’s passion for the game has not waned since he hung up the playing boots. In addition to being a popular football media personality, he has served as an Australian Football Hall of Fame selector, an All Australian team selector, and was a long-time, passionate member of the AFL Laws of the Game committee.

“There are few individuals who had as much impact, or achieved as many remarkable feats, at the MCG as Kevin did during his extraordinary playing career,” said MCC president Steven Smith.

“Renowned for his dedication, passion and sportsmanship, it is only fitting that KB should be forever honoured outside the ground where so many of his on-field feats took place.”

Bartlett will be the 16th sportsperson to be honoured with a statue outside the MCG, and the sixth to feature in the Australia Post Avenue of Legends.

Selection criteria for the Australia Post Avenue of Legends dictates candidates must be Australian, renowned for their sportsmanship and that they or their sport played has a strong connection with the MCG.  The selection committee comprises MCC vice-president David Crow (chairman), MCC committee member Charles Sitch, MCC club manager Mark Anderson and respected journalists Greg Baum and Mike Sheahan.

Kevin Bartlett’s MCG record

  • Made his senior league debut with Richmond against St Kilda at the MCG in Round 3 of the 1965 season, aged 18 years and 56 days.
  • Reached the 300-game milestone against Footscray at the MCG, Round 8, 1979.
  • Reached the 350-game milestone against Melbourne at the MCG, Round 11, 1981.
  • Became the first player in the history of the competition to reach the 400-game milestone, against Collingwood at the MCG, Round 19, 1983.
  • Played his 403rd – and final – game of league football, against Fitzroy at the MCG, Round 22, 1983, aged 36 years and 174 days.
  • Played 200 games all-up at the MCG, which is the most by any player in league football history.
  • Played in 138 wins (and two draws) in his 200 games at the MCG, for an overall winning ratio of 69%.
  • Kicked 379 goals at the MCG, which is the fifth highest tally by a player at the ground.
  • His highest goal tally in a match at the MCG was seven, in the 1980 Grand Final against Collingwood.
  • He played in five premierships at the MCG (1967, 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1980) and two losing Grand Finals (1972 and 1982).
  • All-up, he played in 18 finals at the MCG, for 14 wins and 4 losses.
  • He was in Richmond’s best players for the overwhelming majority of those games.
  • Games coached at the MCG (1988-91): 41 (18 wins, 23 losses).

Kevin Bartlett’s overall league football record and honours list

  • Played 403 VFL games for Richmond (1965-1983) and kicked 778 goals.
  • Played 27 finals.
  • Five premierships – 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1980.
  • Five Best and Fairests – 1967, 1968, 1973, 1974 and 1977.
  • Richmond captain in 1979.
  • Norm Smith Medal winner in 1980.
  • Represented Victoria on 20 occasions.
  • Coached Richmond (1988-1991).
  • Australian Football Hall of Fame – Legend status.
  • Richmond Team of the Century member.
  • Richmond Hall of Fame inductee – Immortal status.
  • Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee.
  • Australian Football Hall of Fame selector (1996-2009).
  • All Australian team selector.
  • Long-time member of the AFL Laws of the Game committee.