Richmond Football Club is mourning the passing of one of its all-time greats, Max Oppy.

The Club’s 1943 premiership hero, former coach and Hall of Fame inductee, died yesterday (November 25), aged 84, following a long illness.

Throughout a 185-game career at Richmond from 1942-54, Max Oppy earned a fearsome reputation due to his tough, hard-hitting, uncompromising style of play which, coupled with his utter devotion to the Yellow and Black cause, made him a formidable opponent indeed.

He was recruited to Richmond from Kew Amateurs and, as a teenager, played a pivotal role in the Tigers’ 1943 premiership triumph.  He had a tagging job as a rover on his cousin – Essendon’s captain-coach and triple Brownlow Medallist Dick Reynolds – and shut him right out of the game.

But it was as a back pocket, minding the opposition’s resting rovers, that Oppy was to establish himself as one of the game’s best, and a Tiger icon.  He was a fierce tackler, who thrived in dishing out bone-jarring bumps and, generally, making life miserable for his hapless opponents.

Oppy was a member of Richmond’s losing 1944 Grand Final side, won the Club’s Most Determined trophy that year, as well as in 1947, finished runner-up in the Best and Fairest award in 1953, and also represented Victoria in State football on four occasions.

He was awarded Life Membership of the Tigers in 1951 and then, after retiring as a player in 1954, returned to Punt Road as senior coach in 1956, before later serving on the Club’s Board.  In 2004, Oppy was inducted into Richmond’s Hall of Fame.

His son, Grant, was a dual under 19s premiership player at Richmond, who had one senior game with the Club, in 1970.

Tigerland sends its deepest sympathy to Max’s family and friends.