Born: July 21, 1933
Recruited from: Hawthorn Colts
Jumper number: 22
Played: 1954-1959
First Game: Round 13, 1954
Last Game: Round 12, 1959
Total Games: 57
Total Goals: 0
Playing Achievements
Most Unselfish Player (1955)
Special Trophy Brown Brothers Award (1956)
Best Hawthorn Player in VFL Finals (1957)
Reserves Captain (1958,1959)
Hawthorn FC Reserves Premiership (1958,1959)
Reserves Best Player in Grand Final (1958)
Other
Hawthorn FC Board (1976-1993)
AFL Director (1988-1993)
Social Club Committee (1984-1993, 1996-2006)
Social Club President (1997-2001)
Brian Kann holds a unique playing record at Hawthorn. He is the only player to have started with the Under-15 side in 1948 then move through the ranks of the Under-17s, Under-19s, Hawthorn City Colts side, VFL Reserves and then, finally, play for the senior VFL side.
Kann was a strongly built defender, who played on the half-back line in the Hawk’s first VFL finals series in 1957.
He was captain of the Reserves back-to-back premiership sides of 1958 and 1959.
He retired after the 1959 season, having played 57 senior games.
In 1976, Kann was invited to join the Hawthorn Board, where he would sit for the next 17 years. Throughout the same time, he was an AFL Director (1988-93) and on the Hawthorn Social Club Committee (1984-93). He would later become Social Club President from 1997-2001.
Throughout his time in these roles, Kann played a major part in the development of the Social Club, as well as playing an important role throughout ‘Operation Payback’, disrupting the chance of a merger with Melbourne in the mid-1990s.
When Hawthorn began the task of building the Hawks Museum in 1992, Kann was the first former Hawk player to donate his guernsey, and hence is regarded as being a pivotal stepping stone in creating the special place that the Hawks Museum is today.
Kann has now been a paid-up member of Hawthorn for 69 years as well as a member of the Past Players and Officials Association for 57 years.
His service to the Hawthorn Football Club has been outstanding.
