Leahy, 73, has retired after being the club's property steward throughout its first 16 years in the AFL, and, fittingly, the tributes have flowed - with club life membership the crowning glory.
But Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto wasn't having anything to do with the sentimental stuff when asked about his genial mate, Rexie, whose meticulous methods were in keeping with his immaculate appearance.
“I'll be happy to see the back of him, actually,” the Roo said, trying to keep a straight face. “He's turned me into a pretty average punter over the years. He's given me a lot of bad tips and he's full of excuses. I sacked him and moved on to BJ (team manager Barrie Downs), who has been in career-best form this year. It's sad to see Rexie go but it'll definitely be a more profitable football club now he's gone.”
Ben Hart said: “He's an absolute ornament to the club - a legend, a champion - and we're going to miss him. Sometimes he can be like squeezing blood out of a stone when you need anything to wear. He's hard to get a pair of shoes or boots from at times but he generally does what you want and has bent over backwards for the players and the football club in general. He's been a great support to me and to the whole place. You can't say anything bad about him, although he likes to hide the milk when you're looking for a coffee. He keeps it for himself.”
Brett Burton said: “He's been a great club man. He always looked after you if you needed a pair of socks or jocks. You had to bargain with him but he'd give them to you eventually. I always threw my guernsey at him and he always threw it straight back at me. He spoke about Glenelg like they'd won the last 10 premierships - and I don't think they've won one for 50 years. He's kidding himself. But he's a good man, Rexie.”
Leahy's remarkable 58-year involvement with football has been well documented in the past but it needs to be mentioned here again to underline the extent of his varied contribution; one that led to his being honoured with playing life membership of Glenelg and the SANFL (1962), a SANFL merit award (1989), a National Australian Football Council merit award (1990), an Australian Sports Medal (2000) and now life membership of Adelaide.
He played with Glenelg's junior and senior colts (then under 16s and under 18s) from 1949-51, and went on to play 128 SANFL games for the Tigers from 1952-62 – as a half-forward, half-back and back pocket. He was an accomplished tennis player, too, as a member of the South Australian team in 1958-59 and ranked No. 4 in the state.
He was playing coach of Tanunda in 1963-64 (one premiership), playing coach of Marion from 1965-68 (another flag), chairman of Marion from 1969-73, a committeeman and treasurer of Glenelg's past players and officials association from 1974-82 and Glenelg's team manager from 1983-90 before joining Adelaide. He was team manager of SA Country in 1985 and property steward for the SANFL' s state team from 1986-90 and again in 1998.
His role with Adelaide, including that of courier for several years, became virtually full-time after he retired as sales supervisor from Dunlop and Olympic Tyres at the end of 1993 after 34 years with the company.
“Football has been my life for 58 years and I've been fortunate enough to be involved in so many different aspects of it,” Leahy said. “The best part of football, and probably any other team sport, is the great people you meet and the friendships you make. That's what I treasure most now.
“This is a great club with a lot of great people in it and it has been virtually my second home for a long time. I'm very grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity to be a part of it. It really has been a wonderful experience, and I'm lucky that my wife, Di, has supported me all the way through.
“Mixing with the players has helped keep me young. I'm going to miss the involvement and the interaction with the players and staff, and especially my great mate, Barrie Downs. I agonised for months over the decision but I thought at my age I must be getting close to the end of the road, and the travelling and the long working hours were starting to get to me. Training, particularly in the pre-season, has stepped up a notch in the past couple of years.
“We were training pre-season at the University (of Adelaide) gymnasium early on Saturdays in the last pre-season and I was getting up at 4am to be there at 5.30am. It was for only eight or nine weeks, but the whole thing was just getting harder and harder for me, and I thought the club would be better suited having someone younger do my job. Now I'm looking forward to watching our home games and being able to see more of Glenelg, particularly at the Bay Oval."
When asked to name his favourite Adelaide players, Leahy said: “For general friendliness and his courteous attitude, Benny Hart never changed from the time he came to us as a freckled-faced kid. He was never affected by all the success he had, but I could same the same about guys like Roo and Macca (Andrew McLeod), too, and all of them, the more I think about it.”
And when pressed to name the Adelaide players he had enjoyed watching the most, he said: “It's so hard to label one player because each had different attributes and skills, but Tony Modra and Andrew McLeod were pretty special.”
Leahy said he believed coach Neil Craig had bonded the players together by giving them more responsibility and he had bonded the staff, too, because of his “caring, all-inclusive ways”.
From the 2006 AFC Yearbook
