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01:42 Mins

A tribute to John Kennedy

Farewell to a true Hawthorn Legend. Your legacy will live on forever.

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John was a man of extraordinary humility and strong family values.

He is not only woven into every thread of Hawthorn Football Club’s fabric, but he underpins the values that our Family Club is built upon.

Vale John.

John’s impact on the Hawthorn Football Club will be eternal and his legacy will always live on at Hawthorn.

He set and lived the standards that are the culture of the Family Club.

So much of what Hawthorn is today, is because of the foundations John laid in yesteryears.

His booming voice will forever echo in the corridors of the football club and the legend of the man in the brown overcoat, with a heart of gold, will be passed down from generation to generation of the Hawthorn family.

- Jeff Kennett

  • John Kennedy's funeral details

  • 04:55

    John Kennedy addresses the Hawks ahead of round 1

    Goosebumps... John Kennedy spoke to the Hawks ahead of the beginning of the 2019 season.

    AFL
  • 17:21

    Clarkson speaks to John Kennedy Snr on the golden years of Hawthorn

    Alastair Clarkson speaks with John Kennedy Snr on the golden years of the Hawthorn football club.

    AFL
  • 01:28

    The story of John Kennedy Legends Guernsey

    The story in to which why the guernsey will forever be special to the hawthorn faithful

    AFL

  • Clarko: So many superlatives for Kanga

  • 01:42

    A tribute to John Kennedy

    Farewell to a true Hawthorn Legend. Your legacy will live on forever.

    AFL
  • 03:42

    Our legend, Kanga

    A month before he passed away, John Kennedy Snr experienced the honour of being named a Legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. Relive this fitting tribute to one of the game's greatest figures.

    AFL

  • Letter to members: the passing of a Legend

  • Vale John Kennedy Snr

    Hawthorn Football Club is incredibly saddened by the passing of John Kennedy Snr.

  • John Kennedy Snr and the birth of a winning culture

A legendary football timeline

1950-1959 - Hawthorn playing career (164 games, 29 goals)
1950, 1951, 1952, 1954 - Hawthorn best-and-fairest
1955-1959 - Hawthorn Captain
1957 - Captain-coached Hawthorn's first finals match
1957 - Commenced coaching Hawthorn, 299 games
1957 - State Captain of Victoria (played four state games for Victoria)
1959 - Hawthorn Life Member
1961 - Coached Hawthorn's first premiership
1971 - Coached Hawthorn's second premiership
1976 - Coached Hawthorn's third premiership
1979 - VFL/AFL Life Member
1981-1982 - Hawthorn Vice-President
1985-1989 - Coached North Melbourne (113 games)
1993-1997 - Chairman of the AFL Commission
1996 - Inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame (Coach)
2001 - Made coach of Hawthorn Team of the Century
2003 - 1st Hawthorn Hall of Fame Legend
2020 - 29th Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend

 

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Acknowledgement of Country

Hawthorn Football Club acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of the lands and water on which we live, learn, work and play. We pay respects to Elders both past and present and stand together with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders of today and tomorrow.