The number of on-field incidents grew and after a particularly difficult game during 1935, newspaper cartoonist John Ludlow in The Age drew a picture of Dyer as a pirate and a journalist nicknamed him 'Captain Blood', after the Errol Flynn film Captain Blood.
Initially, Dyer was angry at the connotation and the implied slur on his sportsmanship.
Dyer preferred the 'hip and shoulder' method of meeting an opponent rather than grabbing him in a tackle.
The force of being hit by the athletic, 89 kg frame of Dyer was often enough to leave a player prostrate and not wanting to re-enter the fray for a while.
Occasionally, the hip and shoulder could go awry and Dyer's forearm would come into play, which was a reportable offence.
In a nineteen-year career, he was reported five times and suspended once.

Dyer was keen to take on a coaching role, and had reportedly been promised the position of playing coach by the Richmond committee at the end of 1939 before it reneged and re-appointed Percy Bentley.
As a consequence, Dyer announced that he would not play for Richmond in 1940.
He received a lucrative offer to become captain-coach of the Yarraville Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (which, at the time, was aggressively recruiting VFL stars to play under its new throw-pass rules), and he lodged a request with Richmond for a clearance to the VFA club.
Richmond rejected the clearance, and Dyer was unwilling to transfer without a clearance (even though one was not required at the time).
Dyer ultimately decided to remain with Richmond as a player in 1940, and he was appointed captain-coach in 1941.

He went on to play 312 games for Richmond, being voted the club's best and fairest player in 1932, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, and 1946.
He played in seven Grand Finals for two premierships in 1934 and 1943, one as captain and playing coach of the side.

Dyer was a ruckman; and, at 6'1" (185 cm), was not particularly tall for that position.

In 1947, Dyer crashed into Melbourne's Frank Hanna in round 15.
The umpire cleared him for rough conduct, though Hanna was knocked unconscious.
Don Cordner checked his pulse and Hanna was covered with a blanket, including his head, and was carried off on a stretcher.
Dyer thought he had killed Hanna.
By three-quarter time, he still believed he had killed him until he asked a Demon player about Hanna's condition, and Hanna had recovered.

He was selected as an interchange player in the AFL's 1996 Team of the Century".
He gradually played less as a ruckman and more as a forward later in his career.
He invented the drop punt, a kicking style that gradually gained popularity over the intervening decades and is now almost universal, and has now spread to Rugby union, rugby league and American Football.
He kicked 443 goals, fifth on Richmond's list of all-time goalkickers.

In 2009 The Australian nominated Dyer as one of the 25 greatest footballers never to win a Brownlow medal.

The "Jack Dyer Medal" is awarded each season to the winner of the Richmond Football Club's best and fairest count.
Since the 2000s, the Richmond captain has automatically switched to wearing guernsey number 17, the number worn by Dyer throughout his career.
But when Trent Cotchin took over the captaincy of the Tigers in 2013, he continued wearing his number 9.
The number of on-field incidents grew and after a particularly difficult game during 1935, newspaper cartoonist John Ludlow in The Age drew a picture of Dyer as a pirate and a journalist nicknamed him 'Captain Blood', after the Errol Flynn film Captain Blood. Initially, Dyer was angry at the connotation and the implied slur on his sportsmanship. Dyer preferred the 'hip and shoulder' method of meeting an opponent rather than grabbing him in a tackle. The force of being hit by the athletic, 89 kg frame of Dyer was often enough to leave a player prostrate and not wanting to re-enter the fray for a while. Occasionally, the hip and shoulder could go awry and Dyer's forearm would come into play, which was a reportable offence. In a nineteen-year career, he was reported five times and suspended once.
Dyer was keen to take on a coaching role, and had reportedly been promised the position of playing coach by the Richmond committee at the end of 1939 before it reneged and re-appointed Percy Bentley. As a consequence, Dyer announced that he would not play for Richmond in 1940. He received a lucrative offer to become captain-coach of the Yarraville Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (which, at the time, was aggressively recruiting VFL stars to play under its new throw-pass rules), and he lodged a request with Richmond for a clearance to the VFA club. Richmond rejected the clearance, and Dyer was unwilling to transfer without a clearance (even though one was not required at the time). Dyer ultimately decided to remain with Richmond as a player in 1940, and he was appointed captain-coach in 1941.
He went on to play 312 games for Richmond, being voted the club's best and fairest player in 1932, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, and 1946. He played in seven Grand Finals for two premierships in 1934 and 1943, one as captain and playing coach of the side.
Dyer was a ruckman; and, at 6'1" (185 cm), was not particularly tall for that position.
In 1947, Dyer crashed into Melbourne's Frank Hanna in round 15. The umpire cleared him for rough conduct, though Hanna was knocked unconscious. Don Cordner checked his pulse and Hanna was covered with a blanket, including his head, and was carried off on a stretcher. Dyer thought he had killed Hanna. By three-quarter time, he still believed he had killed him until he asked a Demon player about Hanna's condition, and Hanna had recovered.
He was selected as an interchange player in the AFL's 1996 Team of the Century". He gradually played less as a ruckman and more as a forward later in his career. He invented the drop punt, a kicking style that gradually gained popularity over the intervening decades and is now almost universal, and has now spread to Rugby union, rugby league and American Football. He kicked 443 goals, fifth on Richmond's list of all-time goalkickers.
In 2009 The Australian nominated Dyer as one of the 25 greatest footballers never to win a Brownlow medal.
The "Jack Dyer Medal" is awarded each season to the winner of the Richmond Football Club's best and fairest count. Since the 2000s, the Richmond captain has automatically switched to wearing guernsey number 17, the number worn by Dyer throughout his career. But when Trent Cotchin took over the captaincy of the Tigers in 2013, he continued wearing his number 9.
Jack Dyer