James Stynes OAM (23 April 196620 March 2012) was an Irish-born footballer who converted from Gaelic football to Australian rules football. Playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), he went on to become one of the game's most prominent figures, breaking the record for most consecutive games of VFL/AFL football (244) and winning the sport's highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal, in 1991. Off the field, he was a notable AFL administrator, philanthropist, charity worker and writer. Career During his 264-game career playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) between 1987 and 1998, Stynes became the first and only non-Australian-born VFL/AFL player to win the Brownlow Medal, which he achieved in 1991. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. Stynes was quite famous in both Australia and Ireland as a result of his involvement in the Melbourne Football Club's international recruitment program (now known as the "Irish experiment"). Born in Dublin, Ireland, where he was a promising Gaelic footballer at the Ballyboden St Enda's club, Stynes made a move to Australia at the age of 18 following his county team's victory in the 1984 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship. Debuting in the Australian Football League in 1987, he played an unbeaten league record of 244 consecutive games between 1987 and 1998 as a mobile ruckman. Along with his Brownlow Medal, his Australian Rules achievements included the Leigh Matthews Trophy, two-time All-Australian team selection, a Grand Final appearance in 1988, and a four-time winner of the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal for being judged Melbourne's best player throughout the course of a season. He also represented Victoria in interstate football matches, and he played for both Australia and Ireland in international rules football, a hybrid of Gaelic football and Australian rules football. Following his football career, Stynes focused on youth work, using his profile to launch The Reach Foundation, which he co-founded in 1994. As a result of his work with young people in Victoria, he was named Victorian of the Year twice, in 2001 and 2003, and with the expanded profile of Reach nationally, awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007. Stynes also served as president of the Melbourne Football Club from 2008 and was involved in fundraising efforts which brought the club out of debt. In 2009, Stynes was diagnosed with metastatic