Barry Ion

{{Short description|Australian footballer and radio personality}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}

{{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}}

{{Infobox AFL biography

| name = Barry Ion

| image =

| fullname = Barry Vincent Ion

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|10|9|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| originalteam = Carlton Rovers

| height = 178 cm

| weight = 76 kg

| position =

| statsend = 1965

| years1 = 1961–1965

| club1 = Footscray

| games_goals1 = 40 (5)

| careerhighlights =

}}

Barry Vincent Ion (born 9 October 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio personality. He played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL), Yarraville in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), and Woodville in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He became a well known radio personality in Adelaide and Sydney.

Ion started in radio early, commentating football matches for Melbourne radio in 1960, while also playing with the Carlton Rovers.[https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=xp5VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UrMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7043,3585892 Footscray May Still Get Barry Ion] The Age 22 March 1961 page 11 He joined his elder brother, Graham Ion, at Footscray in 1961 and played with him in the 1961 VFL Grand Final, as a half back flanker.{{cite book |last=Holmesby|first=Russell|last2=Main|first2=Jim |title=The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers | publisher=BAS Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-920910-78-5}} The grand final was just his sixth league game, having played just four home and away matches before the finals series.[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/B/Barry_Ion.html AFL Tables: Barry Ion] He made 29 appearances over the next two seasons, but then struggled with injuries, playing just five more games.

In 1966 he joined Yarraville in the Victorian Football Association; he wasn't able to play Saturday games as he was calling football for radio station 3KZ,[https://news.google.com.au/newspapers?id=cRZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XZMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3582,867609 Sunday games suit Yarraville] The Age 5 April 1966 page 14 but he still polled sufficient votes to finish third in the J. J. Liston Trophy for the year.{{cite news|newspaper=Sun News-Pictorial|date=1 September 1965|title=Liston for Poore, twice in a row|pages=64|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|author=Trevor Nash}} He moved to Adelaide in 1967 and spent two seasons playing for Woodville.

While in Adelaide, Ion began working for 5AD and formed a radio breakfast duo with Tony Pilkington called "Bazz and Pilko". They were the highest-rated radio show in Australia during the 1970s and early 1980s, commanding nearly 40% of the radio market in Adelaide. Ion voiced a character called "Peter Plus". He joined 5KA in 1983, where he continued to work with Pilkington. In 1985 the duo brought their breakfast show to Sydney station 2UW where they remained until late 1991.