Richard Champion

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Richard Champion
Personal information
Full name Richard Champion
Date of birth (1968-04-14) 14 April 1968 (age 53)
Original team(s) Woodville (SANFL)
Draft No. 30, 1988 national draft
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 94 kg (207 lb)
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1991–1996 Brisbane Bears 119 (37)
1997–2000 Brisbane Lions 064 (43)
Total183 (80)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2000.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Richard Champion (born 14 April 1968 on Yorke Peninsula in Kadina, South Australia) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL) and South Australian National Football Leagues (SANFL). [1]

Contents

Originally from SANFL club Woodville, Champion was a high draft pick by the Brisbane Bears in 1988 VFL Draft, but he did not move to Brisbane until the 1991 AFL season. [1]

A solidly built and tough backman, Champion wore the number 1 guernsey for Brisbane and was a Bears stalwart through some of the club's darkest years, and he was a poster player in an era when the club had so few.

When the club moved from Carrara on the Gold Coast, growing their fanbase, Champion became a cult figure. He was endeared by Bears fans, was Best Clubman several times, and became a local celebrity with his Jimmy Barnes impressions. He was a media figure for the club. He even appeared with John Platten to represent the AFL on the television show Gladiators .

When it became apparent that the Bears would make the finals for the first time in 1995, Champion openly wept, a sign of his endurance as a player through tough times.

Platten competed in the Gladiator Team Sports Challenge in 1995.

Champion retired at the end of the 2000 AFL season after 183 AFL games. [1]

Post-football career

Champion is currently a television presenter and radio commentator in Brisbane and a local celebrity. In 2006, he appeared in the television show It Takes Two .

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2003). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (5th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 112. ISBN   1-74095-032-1 .






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