John Kennedy, Sr.
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John Kennedy Senior (born December 20, 1928) is a legendary Australian rules football coach and player.
Born in Camberwell, Kennedy's professional career began as a school principal. In 1950, he joined the Hawthorn Football Club as a player. Over the next ten years, he played 169 games for Hawthorn, serving as Captain from 1955 until his retirement, and winning the club's Best and Fairest award four times (in 1950, 51, 52 and 54).
In 1960, he took over as Hawthorn coach, and led the team to their first premiership in 1961. In 1963, he stepped down as coach, but Hawthorn's poor onfield performance over the next few years saw him recalled to the role in 1967. He coached Hawthorn to subsequent premierships in 1971 and 1976, when he again stepped down from the role.
In 1985, Kennedy became the coach of the Kangaroos Football Club, and coached them until 1989.
As a player, Kennedy was renowned for his toughness and skill. He was an inaugural induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. As a coach, Kennedy has a similar reputation for toughness, but also for oratory. Kennedy is notorious for borrowing ideas from any source he thinks will inspire the players, but it is his passion rather than his quotations that he is best known for. In the 1975 Grand Final, his exhortation to the Hawthorn players at half time was: "Don't think, don't hope, do! Do something! Come off the ground and say 'I did this, I shepherded, I played on. At least I did something.'"
He is famous for his battered brown overcoat, so much so that it has become a nickname for him.
In 2006, it was announced that his grandson Josh Kennedy would be recruited to Hawthorn under the father/son rule in the 2006 AFL Draft, and was part of the press conference. His son John Kennedy Jr. also played for the Hawks.
| Preceded by Col Austen |
Hawthorn Best and Fairest winner 1950-52 |
Succeeded by Ted Fletcher |
| Preceded by Ted Fletcher |
Hawthorn Best and Fairest winner 1954 |
Succeeded by Graham Arthur |
| Preceded by Jack Hale |
Hawthorn Football Club coach 1960-63 |
Succeeded by Graham Arthur |
| Preceded by Peter O'Donohue |
Hawthorn Football Club coach 1967-76 |
Succeeded by David Parkin |
| Preceded by Barry Cable |
North Melbourne Football Club coach 1985-89 |
Succeeded by Wayne Schimmelbusch |
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