Graham Francis Arthur (9 June 1936 – 10 January 2021) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Career
Arthur played primarily as a half forward, debuting while still only 18 years old.
He was the captain of the first Hawthorn side to win the Grand Final and made a dozen appearances for the Victorian state team.
Following his career at Hawthorn, Arthur was appointed playing coach of Bendigo Football League club Echuca[1] and led them to the 1970 premiership.
Arthur was named captain of Hawthorn's official Team of the Century.[2]
Arthur supported the planned merger between Hawthorn and Melbourne in 1996.[3][4]
Arthur was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in the initial intake in 1996, his citation reading:[5]
- Hawthorn's first premiership captain was a brilliant half-forward flanker/centreman.
Arthur's father Alan Arthur played for Essendon.[6]
On 24 October 2000, Arthur was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australian football.[7]
Statistics
Coaching statistics
| Legend | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Wins | L | Losses | D | Draws | W% | Winning percentage | LP | Ladder position | LT | League teams | ||
| Season | Team | Games | W | L | D | W % | LP | LT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Hawthorn | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 72.2% | 5 | 12 |
| 1965 | Hawthorn | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 22.2% | 12 | 12 |
| Career totals | 36 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 47.2% | |||
Honours and achievements
Team
Individual
- VFL premiership captain: 1961
- 3× Hawthorn best and fairest: 1955, 1958, 1962
- Hawthorn captain: 1960–1968 (most games played as captain – 153)
- Australian Football Hall of Fame
- Hawthorn Hall of Fame – Legend status
- Hawthorn Team of the Century – Captain
- Hawthorn life member
References
- ↑ "Farewell to Departed Stars", The Football Record, 5 April 1969, p. 8.
- ↑ "AFL 2021: Graham Arthur dead at 84, Hawthorn legend, first premiership captain, Australian Football Hall of Fame member". Fox Sports. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ↑ Sheahan, Mike (16 September 1996). "MERGE – It's time to look ahead not back". hawkheadquarters.com. Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 16 March 2003. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
- ↑ Linnell, Stephen; Rielly, Stephen (17 September 1996). "Proposed Demons, Hawks merger sparks outrage". The Age. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ↑ "Hall of Fame Players". afl.com.au. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ↑ Hillier, Kevin (2004). Like Father Like Son. Melbourne: Pennon Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 1-877029-73-4.
- ↑ "Graham Francis Arthur". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
External links
- Graham Arthur's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Graham Arthur's coaching statistics from AFL Tables
- Graham Arthur at AustralianFootball.com
- AFL: Australian Football Hall of Fame at the Wayback Machine (archived 28 September 2007)
