Shinboner number: 31
Guernsey numbers: 19, 10, 3
Born: May 9, 1907
Died: November 11, 1995
Occupation: General clerk
North Melbourne games: 71 (1925-29, 1934-35)
Goals: 3
The patriarch of the North Melbourne FC Dwyer dynasty, Leo was one of six children born in Murchison, Victoria to Catherine (nee O'Brien) and Thomas Dwyer.
Leo, a wingman, debuted for North in Round 10, 1925, at Arden St against Richmond ,where the Age newspaper noted "Dwyer did well" and the following week against Collingwood "Dwyer was reliable".
He had a stellar year in 1928, coming equal third in the Brownlow Medal. He was a solid team member over the next four years, playing another 59 games and representing Victoria four times.
Upon playing only seven games in 1929 for North, he moved to VFA team Yarraville in 1930 without a clearance, where he played 37 games, kicking five goals over two years. He returned to North Melbourne but only played four games in 1934 and 1935.
Returning to Murchison in the Goulburn Valley Football League, he was in a losing grand final in 1936, which was the year he won the GVFL's Morrison Medal for the best and fairest player.
Aged 34, he enlisted in the Army in World War Two in January 1942 ranked as a Private, serving mainly in Victoria until his discharge in October 1945.
His son Laurie Dwyer went on to become a North Melbourne Legend in 2012, and was named in the Kangaroos Team of the Century. His grandsons Anthony and David also played for the Kangaroos. Adding to the family dynasty, his nephews Keith and Roy Harper both won Simpson Medals in Western Australia.
Leo Dwyer is buried with his wife Margaret, whom he had married in 1932, in Murchison Cemetery, Victoria. They had four children.
