Kevin Bartlett

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Born
1947 (78 years old)
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Carlton, Victoria

Position
Utility Player

Status
Retired

Ethnicity
White

Team Number

Height
175 cm (5 ft 9 in)

Weight
71 kg (157 lb)

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Kit
Wage Year

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Sport

Australian Football

Team
_Retired Ozzy Rules

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No

Description

Kevin Charles Bartlett AM (born 6 March 1947) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Nicknamed "KB" or "Hungry" due to his appetite for kicking goals and apparent reluctance to handpass, Bartlett is a Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame and is the first VFL/AFL player to have reached the 400-game milestone, a feat since achieved by five other players as of 2024; he has played the fourth-most games of any player in VFL/AFL history. He is a key member of a golden era in Richmond's history, playing in five premiership teams and winning five Jack Dyer Medals, equalling Jack Dyer's tally.

Short and slender in stature, Bartlett possessed tremendous stamina, determination and a seemingly sixth sense to evade opposition players intent on negating his influence. He played much of his best football as Richmond's starting rover but adapted superbly when moved to the half-forward flank towards the end of his career, as demonstrated in the 1980 VFL finals series.

When Bartlett returned to the Tigers in 1988 as senior coach, the club were in a shambles as a result of a bitter trade feud with Collingwood. Although his record as coach appears disappointing, he nonetheless achieved some surprising results with very limited resources. After being sacked at the end of 1991, he distanced himself from Richmond for nearly two decades.

Following his retirement as a player, Bartlett developed a successful career as a sports commentator and broadcaster on both television and radio, currently working as a match caller for 3AW. He was a member of the AFL's rules committee for many years—until he retired on 4 March 2014—as well as the selection panel for the All-Australian Team and AFL Rising Star awards.

In 2008, Bartlett was listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as the ninth-greatest player of all time in the AFL-commissioned book The Australian Game of Football.

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