LARGER-than-life AFL icon Lou Richards has been named the inaugural recipient of the John Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

The 91-year-old Collingwood legend received the honour on Thursday morning, at a ceremony which also saw the Magpies unveil a statue of Richards at the Westpac Centre.

 

The lifetime achievement award – established by the AFL Commission in late 2012 - recognises an individual's extraordinary contribution to the game in multiple fields.

"To do this for me is unbelievable and I'm so honoured ... it's a great thrill," Richards said after his statue was unveiled in front of friends, family and Collingwood players and staff.

 

In announcing the John Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award, AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick highlighted Richards' remarkable contribution to football as a player and media pioneer.

 

"Lou Richards has had a profound and enduring influence on our code, both with a football in his hands and also, at the end of his playing career, with a microphone and a pen," Fitzpatrick said.

"In each of these guises, he became synonymous with Australian football and the larrikin streak that often characterises our game.

 

"He never took himself too seriously and revelled in the opportunity to have some fun and to add some colour to the debates of the day.

 

"Lou has enriched our enjoyment and love of the game in so many ways, over such a long period of time."

 

Kennedy presented Richards with his award at the Westpac Centre before Collingwood president Eddie McGuire thanked the AFL for making Richards the inaugural recipient. 

McGuire said without the Magpie legend the VFL would not have grown and "no one would have a job in the sports media".

"Let's not forget football was almost dead in the 80s and it's people like Lou Richards who have helped motivate and inspire whole generations of footballers and football media," he said.

"Without Lou Richards this industry would just be a local football competition going nowhere.

"This guy turned it into big-time entertainment ... He invented football as entertainment."

Richards began playing for his beloved Magpies in 1941 and went on to notch 250 games across 15 seasons.

 

One of Collingwood's favourite sons, he captained the club from 1952-55 and led the Pies to their 12th premiership in 1953.

 

His extensive family connections with Collingwood spanned three generations, with grandfather Charlie Pannam, uncles Charles and Alby Pannam, and brother Ron all pulling on the black and white guernsey.

 

They are the only family in VFL/AFL history to have three generations captain a club.

 

Following his retirement from playing, Richards embarked on a media career that inspired and entertained across more than five decades.

 

Richards began his media career as a sports journalist at The Argus and Sun News Pictorial, later moving into radio with 3DB and also television for channels 7 and 9.

 

"Working across radio, television and print, Lou became a larger-than-life character who helped to bring football to life for millions of fans in their lounge rooms throughout an extraordinary post-playing career involved with the game," Fitzpatrick said.

 

The John Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented periodically to an individual who has made an extraordinary and positive contribution to the AFL competition and/or the game of Australian Football as an administrator, media representative, player, coach or field umpire, or any combination thereof.

 

John Kennedy Senior played 164 games for the Hawthorn Football Club and coached both the Hawks and North Melbourne in 412 games, including three premierships, before serving on the Kangaroos' board and then on the AFL Commission.