Don McKenzie (born 23 March 1939) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 266 senior games for the Essendon Bombers from 1960 to 1974.
He played his first match in round 7 of the 1960 season, against Melbourne, at Essendon's home ground, Windy Hill.
Mckenzie was a talented "knock" ruckman (who would regularly punch the ball from the centre bounce to centre-half forward), with an extraordinarily high vertical leap.
According to Maplestone, [there was a] sensational beginning to the [1970] season when a group of five senior players—Don McKenzie (the previous year's captain), Geoff Pryor, Darryl Gerlach, Barry Davis (the year before's vice-captain) and Geoff Gosper—requested an increase in match payments much higher than allowed by the League.The players wanted three dollars for each training session instead of one dollar, and a basic forty dollars per match until fifty games with increments coming each twenty-five games after that.
They were not considered for the first match against Carlton.During a sensational five hours at Essendon on Thursday the 2nd of April, the club threatened to split wide open.
"Club president Allan Hird, while admitting that Essendon could have afforded more, was understandably not prepared to break the League rules.
During his playing career McKenzie was employed as an inspector of interstate transport vehicles and their drivers by Victoria's Country Roads Board.