GVL Hall of Fame Honour Roll inductee John Ryan (centre) alongside son Travis Ryan (left) and friend Angie Serra (right).
How does it feel to have the spotlight swivelled toward you after turning it on local footy for so many decades?
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Bloody good, according to John ‘‘JR’’ Ryan.
Ryan, one half of the iconic football calling/panel duo Foxy and JR, was tickled pink to see his and David Fox’s name up in lights at Sunday’s Goulburn Valley League Hall of Fame night.
The pair was inducted into the Hall of Fame’s Honour Roll media category, with Ryan graciously accepting the nod on behalf of his fallen friend.
Fox sadly died in 2020, but his legacy will live on for years to come, in large part due to his and Ryan's recent acknowledgement of countless hours of ribbing and ripping calls.
“It’s a great honour to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the media side of it,” Ryan said.
“If you look at the other blokes that are inducted in there, there are some pretty big names in there, so it’s a great honour for me and for Foxy.
“Our biggest thing when we were on One FM and doing live streaming and the footy shows, we were taking footy to people that couldn’t be there, in nursing homes, hospitals and that sort of stuff.”
David “Foxy” Fox and John “JR” Ryan had a long-lasting impact on football in the Goulburn Valley and beyond.
Photo by
Bethanie Sessions
Ryan and Fox join the Honour Roll alongside the likes of legendary Kyabram Free Press journalist Gus Underwood, former News sports editor and 1964 Stawell Gift winner Noel Hussey, and 3SR, Win TV and One FM stalwart Don Kilgour.
The latter had the honour of calling the duo’s names out on Sunday night.
You can bet it was met by a loud reception of cheers.
And a big old smile from Ryan, too.
When he found out about his and Fox’s recognition, Ryan got on the phone straight away and thanked Graeme McCartney, Haig Lindsay and Damian Trezise for opening the doors to their respective radio, live stream and footy show opportunities.
“Without those sorts of people, we’d have never been in the game and I just thought on behalf of Foxy and myself, I rang them up and thanked them very much for what they did for us,” he said.
Whether they were gilding the GVL lily, perusing the Picola District Football League, meandering the Murray Football League or cruising the Kyabram District League, no-one packaged and presented local footy quite like Foxy and JR.
The pair masterfully balanced seriousness with shenanigans in their caper, putting smiles on the faces of everyone who listened or watched throughout the years.
And that’s exactly what “JR” will remember about his and Fox’s time in the sun.
“All the people you met over the years, all the people from different clubs — you become lifelong friends with them,” he said.
“Being at the show the other night and seeing some of the old blokes there, you realise how long you’ve been calling footy.
“I’ve been in the game since 1962 to 2023, so over that period of time you’ve met a lot of people and made a lot of friends.
“If we’ve brought joy to people through our calling of footy or playing footy or coaching and all of that stuff, that’s been the most enjoyable part of it.”
