Born: August 11, 1985
- Died March 15, 1945
Played: MJFA, ESFA & Wednesday Trades Team 1902 - 1912
- No complete list exists that gives an accurate count of games or goals, other than Kennon’s name which appears often in the above listed teams.
Assistant Secretary: 1912
Club Committee: 1912 - 1931
President: 1921 - 1931
Life Member: 1924
Hall of Fame Inductee: 2010

J W Kennon is one of the most important personalities in the history of Hawthorn. He played in the very first year when the Club was formed in 1902. He then worked tirelessly as an official with the vision that a team representing the suburb of Hawthorn should be in the top football competition.   
He led a steering committee in conjunction with the local Council that saw Hawthorn graduate through the junior ranks of football, the Metropolitan Junior Football Association, then join the Victorian Football Association in 1914 and finally reach the pinnacle in 1925 when Hawthorn was accepted into The Victorian Football League.  
Kennon was forced to retire from serving the Club when he sustained a head injury when playing golf in 1931. For his services to Hawthorn, the original Grandstand at Glenferrie was named jointly in his honour with G W Owen. This grandstand was demolished in 1937 to make way for the Red Brick Stand, later named The Michael Tuck Stand. In more ways than one Kennon could be considered one of the inspirational spiritual leaders of today’s highly successful Club.