Michael Humphris died September 12, 2026 from cancer, his wife Anne advised the Former Players and Officials.

Over the decades he was also club sponsor, Assistant Treasurer, coterie member, Board Member for 9 years, and fittingly received Life Membership in 1997.

From 1986 to 1991 Humphris was Treasurer under Presidents Bill Durham, Alan Bond, and Neville Crowe during the period where the club teetered on extinction from the League.

(Durham spoke to him a week before his death, reminiscing about the tough times and the club’s recent premiership successes).

In the late 1980s Humphris steered the club through a financial obstacle course of growing debt, litigation from former players and coaches over outstanding salaries, rock-bottom membership, lack of marketing revenue and a major sponsor, talks of a public float, Alan Bond’s controversial vision for home games in Brisbane, and the impending National Competition.

While volunteers, players, and supporters were raising in excess of 1.13 million dollars in just six weeks, through rallies, raffles and rattling tins - Humphris was hidden behind the paperwork in his city office, documenting all the donations and renegotiating bank overdraft dates, as he meticulously oversaw the Club’s finances.

The campaign achieved its monumental target on deadline day. All those who donated $50 or more to the Club were recognised in the Annual Report. Over 4,000 names were listed.

“We therefore owe an enormous amount to all who contributed in any way to the success of the event,” Humphris wrote to the members at the end of the season.

“If one was to assess the impact this campaign (Save our Skin) has had on the financial viability of the Richmond Football Club, it can be said simply that the monies raised have in fact saved the Club. If not for the campaign, this particular report could well be stating the reasons why this famous Club cannot continue to exist in its present form.”

Born February 14^th 1950, Humphris began working in the Finance Industry in 1968 with Parkhill Lithgow & Gibson in their auditing department before progressing to the Income Tax Division.

In 1977 he joined Duesburys as Tax Manager and later in their Insolvency and Corporate Recovery Division. That company merged with Ernst & Whinney, where he was appointed Melbourne Divisional Director, and National Director of Corporate Recovery Services.  
A further merger with Arthur Young created Ernst & Young.

A lifelong Richmond supporter, he was a club sponsor from 1981-1983 while at Duesburys, and arranged various lucrative sponsorship agreements well into the 1990s.

Figure 1: 1983 Annual Report, Corporate Sponsors.

He was appointed club Treasurer on September 11^th 1986, taking over from John McCormack who retired for business reasons.

As documented in the club’s Minute Book in mid-1987, Humphris was the official who recommended that Neville Crowe take over the Presidency from Alan Bond, who had quit.

The Crowe appointment was a masterstroke. Along with coach Kevin Bartlett, and General Manager Cameron Schwab they now had in place the key figures to battle the debt.

The night before the Save Our Skin campaign was launched to the public, Humphris joined Bartlett and Crowe in addressing the entire playing group at a post-training meeting at Punt Road.

Without any introduction Crowe played a VHS tape, to those assembled, that unveiled the now famous television advertisement.

“Great credit must be afforded to Mike Humphris,” Schwab wrote in 1989, “who has been able to work the necessary miracles to ensure the Club was able to firstly survive, and secondly, prosper in a national competition.”

To highlight how times were tough back then, Humphris oversaw the complete re-fit of the club’s miserable gymnasium for $8,000, using equipment entirely purchased at a liquidation sale.

Humphris is survived by his wife Anne, daughter Megan, son Sam, and granddaughters Rose and Mia.

His funeral will be held at 2pm on Friday September 18^th at Kings Funeral Chapel, 130 Bellarine Highway, Newcomb (Geelong).