Denis ‘Dinny’ McKay
1886-1891; 1894-1897
171 games
139 goals
Captain 1895
Premiership Player 1888, 1889 & 1890
Leading Goalkicker 1887, 1888, 1891, 1897
Champion of the Colony 1888

Across South Melbourne’s 18 seasons in the VFA competition, it featured in the top four an incredible 16 times. The Southerners won five premierships and finished runners-up on four more occasions.

In a 1940 edition of The Australasian, football writer Reg ‘Old Boy’ Wilmott said, “I do not think there has ever been a better side than that which represented South Melbourne in 1888, 1889 and 1890. Led by that forceful personality ‘Sonny’ Elms, it was a wonderful combination. Was there a weak man among them? Did you ever see a better side, and what fine fellows they were!”

One of the finest was Denis McKay. Nicknamed ‘Dinny’, recruited from South Ballarat in 1886, McKay debuted for the Southerners aged 20. Standing 182cm and weighing 76kg, he was considered lanky. McKay used his height to tremendous effect, displaying superb marking power and agility not often seen in a player his size.

According to Mark Pennings and Robert Pascoe in Watching Football in Marvellous Melbourne: spectators, barrackers and working-class rituals, “Nineteenth century Melbourne was a progressive, ambitious and entrepreneurial city with a booming free enterprise economy. The colony of Victoria attracted skilled, ambitious and independently minded citizens (mostly from Britain), and by the end of the gold rushes, these were arguably some of the richest people in the world.”

When McKay joined the South Melbourne Football Club, he did so after fielding interest from most VFA clubs. South’s standing as defending premiers undoubtedly helped his decision, as would have the town’s booming economy. During the 1886 season, club officials sanctioned the construction of a picket fence, an embankment, and a new members stand to increase comfort and capacity at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The men in red and white, having claimed the 1881 and 1885 premierships, were a formidable outfit, and McKay brought his point of difference to the side. In a crucial match against Carlton, in front of the season’s biggest home crowd of 16,000, he kicked a magnificent long-range goal in a victory that kept their season’s hopes alive.

However, despite only losing once, South finished runners-up to the undefeated Geelong. The club’s disappointment triggered a recruitment strategy that would become the envy of its competitors. However, the following season, 1887, saw them finish with three losses from the final five matches, ending the year in third place. McKay claimed his first South Melbourne leading goalkicker title in his second season with a reliable place-kicking technique.

In 1888, McKay emerged as one of the competition’s brightest stars. Playing on a half-forward flank, he formed a skilful, attacking combination with Bloods Legend Peter ‘The Great’ Burns, veteran forward Tom Bushell, and goalsneak Tom McShane, who’d arrived from the rival powerhouse Geelong. By season’s end, McKay was the competition’s leading goalkicker with 50 goals, an outstanding effort in a low-scoring era, and he also claimed the coveted ‘Champion of the Colony’ award.

South played outstanding football, winning the club’s third premiership with 15 wins and two losses. In the third edition of Origins of Australian Football: Victoria’s Early History, Mark Pennings says, “Traditionally, South Melbourne preferred heavy players for it preferred a scrimmaging-type game, but it also blended skill and pace to create new standards in football history.” McKay’s class and dash proved critical in securing the 1888 flag.

At the club’s annual meeting, chairman Mr A.G. Major presented McKay and his teammates with the VFA’s first premiership caps, featuring navy blue and orange silk velvet, and each player received a trophy worth 10 guineas. According to The Australasian, “Mr Major accompanied the presentation of each cap with a few appropriate remarks and trusted in all cases the recipients would value the recognition of their prowess in the field.”

South’s ruthless ambition fuelled successive premierships, and they won the 1889 flag as the competition’s standout team. Under the astute and uncompromising leadership of ‘Sonny’ Elms, they featured champions on every line. McKay’s reputation as a forward player of repute only grew, and in tandem with Edgar Barrett—the VFA’s leading goalkicker in his first season—created headaches for all opposition.

Ahead of the 1890 season, many were concerned about the increase of ‘amateur professionalism’ within the game. In this aspect, South revolutionised the sport, with their lure of cash, employment, health insurance and travel expenses attracting many of the game’s foremost footballers.

McKay continued on his merry way, and in an early season match against North Melbourne, he showed his array of all-round talent, with The Herald describing one of his trademark highlights, “he leaped head and shoulders above all the others.” During this period, intercolonial matches were introduced, with McKay chosen to represent Victoria four times, kicking seven goals for his state.

South completed an impressive hattrick of premierships when they defeated Richmond in the final match of 1890, with McKay performing superbly in kicking four goals in front of an adoring home crowd. The club’s fifth premiership resulted from a concerted effort to raise standards across all areas of its operations.

In The Referee, ‘Onlooker’ wrote, “Every man was an absolute star; some were reared in South Melbourne, but others were chosen because of high excellence displayed by them in other teams in particular sections where South had been weak. They were big, fast men, and each was an artist of the first water.”

“The Southern executive never hesitated to employ tactics nearly approaching American baseball methods in forming championship combinations.”

Sustaining such success is virtually impossible, and the discontent of the 1891 season brought South’s empire crashing down. The strong sense of togetherness forged through a rigorous training regime that delivered the ultimate success had all but disappeared. It was a sad end to an incredible era. McKay’s own dispute with club officials resulted in his departure for Richmond, where he played in 1892-1893.

After two relatively unhappy seasons, McKay returned and, in 1895, took over South’s captaincy when Elms retired. Under his leadership, the team improved, but inconsistency marred their campaign. McKay reverted to his playing role the following year, and the Southerners returned to premiership-contending form.

In what is considered the first Grand Final played in Victoria, South Melbourne played Collingwood for the 1896 premiership. Played in stifling conditions at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, South lost the inaugural decider by a goal. McKay booted two of their five majors, and match reports declared him the Southerners’ best.

In 1897, South joined seven other clubs to form the breakaway Victorian Football League. In their first match, against Melbourne at the Lake Oval, McKay kicked South Melbourne’s first VFL goal with a clever snap that bounced through the sticks. He finished the year as South’s leading goalkicker for the fourth time but suffered a heavy knock in the final match against Fitzroy.

Ten days later, McKay tragically passed away, aged 29, due to an unrelated internal complaint, later revealed as peritonitis from a burst appendix. His funeral was one of the largest in South Melbourne, with nearly 150 vehicles following the hearse as the procession passed through the city. Sadly, he left behind a wife and two young children.

The Sydney Swans remember Denis ‘Dinny’ McKay as one of its first champion players, who will forever remain the club’s leading goalkicker of the highly prosperous VFA era.