By Grant Fraser
A Football Genius: The Peter Hudson Story
By Dan Eddy
HUDSON. TASMANIA. FOOTBALL.
TASMANIA. FOOTBALL. HUDSON.
FOOTBALL. HUDSON. TASMANIA.
CONCENTRATION. PRACTICE. POSITION.
PRACTICE. POSITION. CONCENTRATION.
POSITION. CONCENTRATION. PRACTICE.
The essence of Dan Eddy’s second book about remarkable and well-loved players for the Hawthorn Football Club (the first being his 2020 publication Crimmo: The Peter Crimmins Story) can be captured in six words, separated into two parts. Each word is fundamentally linked to the others in the chain – and each the lesser without its companions. But which word takes precedence? Impossible to say.
Some might see Daryl Baldock and Ian Stewart as the greatest Tasmanian footballers to play in the VFL/AFL, but reading A Football Genius: The Peter Hudson Story one cannot help but feel that no other footballer has been more closely synonymous with the Apple Isle than Peter Hudson. No matter upon which side of Bass Strait he played, there was never any doubt that first, foremost and always Huddo was a Tasmanian – and a brilliant Tasmanian footballer.
And to what ought one attribute his phenomenal footballing powers? In some ways it is as pointless as pondering about the chicken, the egg and the order of their creation. What one learns from the book is Hudson’s extraordinary powers of concentration and focus on the football. Rarely speaking to an opponent during a game, his focus was completely upon the Sherrin – allowing him to “know” where it was going to go…sometimes when the ball was at the other end of the field. This knowledge allowed him to position himself to best take advantage of where the ball was going to drop when in his area. Then, often through clever use of his powerful “rump” and core strength, he would deprive an opponent (or opponents) of the ability to cover that space…the end result being yet another miraculously simple (when you know how) Peter Hudson chest mark. Once the ball was in hand, the hours and hours spent practising kicking the ball, reducing the risk of error, maximising the chance of success, would come into play. A part of this was his reliance on the decidedly unsexy flat punt as his goal kicking method of choice – to borrow a phrase from the golfing world, it was not a matter of how, but how many. Hudson had you beaten through use of his mind before his physical attributes even came into play.
I met Huddo in 1971. He was, I must say, quite a good co-star in commercials for footy related denim products – “Anvil Footy Jeans”. Dad worked in marketing, so as a ten-year-old, Hawthorn-mad supporter I got the gig of overacting terribly when trying to convince a Channel 0 cameraman I was in the stands barracking whilst wearing the denim gear emblazoned with a Hawks logo. We even got to meet Huddo at Waverley one cold winter’s evening. I can’t remember saying a lot when he was chatting to Dad whilst standing in the tunnel leading from the dressing rooms onto the ground. No doubt he will not remember the event - had a bit on his mind in 1971, did Huddo…like winning a premiership, equalling Bob Pratt’s all time VFL/AFL goal kicking record of 150 goals in a season, and in the Grand Final performing a wonderful Vincent van Gogh impression care of Kevin “Cowboy” Neale’s left fist.
Years later I was working on St Kilda Road and liked to walk down to Flinders Street Station, occasionally seeing a slightly hunched bloke with grey hair and distinctive face walking in the opposite direction. I never quite got the courage up to stop him and ask whether he remembered me and that cold winter night at Waverley nearly 60 years earlier. After reading A Football Genius I think I should have, as Huddo is consistently remembered fondly as one who always had time for other people.
A Football Genius is a remarkable piece of writing due to its heavy reliance on anecdotes from the book’s myriad contributors. We hear first-hand from those sharing experiences across the breadth of Peter Hudson’s life – with focus upon football, yes, but also his time growing up in the small Tasmanian town of New Norfolk, family life and forays into the business world. We obtain insights into who Peter Hudson was, and remains…more than just the number 26 on a duffel coat or a woollen football jumper. We learn about what makes Huddo tick, and why it is that he has achieved seemingly universal respect from all those who have known him on and off the football field.
Dotted amongst the personal accounts, scrap book commentary and media reports (which must have taken a tremendous number of hours to compile) are the author’s insights and observations, which helps binds together the “bricks” of the mixture of recollections and published works and gently nudge along the story of Peter Hudson’s life.
Apart from being a must-read for scholars of the game, this book will have huge sentimental appeal for “silverbacks” such as myself who followed the Hawks in the 60s and 70s. Those who were there when he kicked eight before halftime in Round 1 against Melbourne in 1972 and held their breath as he left the ground on a stretcher, not wanting to believe what they were seeing. Who marvelled as he kicked eight in that famous “helicopter” return game in ’73 against Collingwood at Waverley Park. Who saw play for the brown and gold the man who still has the highest average goals per game (5.64) in VFL/AFL history.
As was the case with Crimmo, this book should also have appeal to those of the “Clarkson Era” of Hawks fans – those who never fronted up to training at Glenferrie Oval on Show Day the Tuesday before another Grand Final appearance. Who never smiled as the 3:42 to Auburn rattled past and tooted its horn on match day. When Hudson arrived we only had one piece of “silverware” and were on a downward path. In this new signing from New Norfolk we had someone who could win games for us off his own boot, and inspire mere football followers to become dedicated Hawthorn fans. Another of Kennedy’s Commandos who helped pave a pathway to success in the years to come.
Buy this book. Read it slowly. Appreciate that a true genius sportsman can also be a good human being. Learn about a man who dedicated his life to being the best he could be, and inspired others to do the same. A man who elevated #26 to become one of the sacred numbers at Hawthorn. Who should forever be remembered as Hawthorn’s greatest full forward (with Dunstall and Jesus in the forward pockets).
Grant Fraser is an avid Hawthorn supporter who cannot believe his good luck at having experienced two sets of “glory years” in the one lifetime.
A Football Genius: The Peter Hudson Story
By Dan Eddy
HUDSON. TASMANIA. FOOTBALL.
TASMANIA. FOOTBALL. HUDSON.
FOOTBALL. HUDSON. TASMANIA.
CONCENTRATION. PRACTICE. POSITION.
PRACTICE. POSITION. CONCENTRATION.
POSITION. CONCENTRATION. PRACTICE.
The essence of Dan Eddy’s second book about remarkable and well-loved players for the Hawthorn Football Club (the first being his 2020 publication Crimmo: The Peter Crimmins Story) can be captured in six words, separated into two parts. Each word is fundamentally linked to the others in the chain – and each the lesser without its companions. But which word takes precedence? Impossible to say.
Some might see Daryl Baldock and Ian Stewart as the greatest Tasmanian footballers to play in the VFL/AFL, but reading A Football Genius: The Peter Hudson Story one cannot help but feel that no other footballer has been more closely synonymous with the Apple Isle than Peter Hudson. No matter upon which side of Bass Strait he played, there was never any doubt that first, foremost and always Huddo was a Tasmanian – and a brilliant Tasmanian footballer.
And to what ought one attribute his phenomenal footballing powers? In some ways it is as pointless as pondering about the chicken, the egg and the order of their creation. What one learns from the book is Hudson’s extraordinary powers of concentration and focus on the football. Rarely speaking to an opponent during a game, his focus was completely upon the Sherrin – allowing him to “know” where it was going to go…sometimes when the ball was at the other end of the field. This knowledge allowed him to position himself to best take advantage of where the ball was going to drop when in his area. Then, often through clever use of his powerful “rump” and core strength, he would deprive an opponent (or opponents) of the ability to cover that space…the end result being yet another miraculously simple (when you know how) Peter Hudson chest mark. Once the ball was in hand, the hours and hours spent practising kicking the ball, reducing the risk of error, maximising the chance of success, would come into play. A part of this was his reliance on the decidedly unsexy flat punt as his goal kicking method of choice – to borrow a phrase from the golfing world, it was not a matter of how, but how many. Hudson had you beaten through use of his mind before his physical attributes even came into play.
I met Huddo in 1971. He was, I must say, quite a good co-star in commercials for footy related denim products – “Anvil Footy Jeans”. Dad worked in marketing, so as a ten-year-old, Hawthorn-mad supporter I got the gig of overacting terribly when trying to convince a Channel 0 cameraman I was in the stands barracking whilst wearing the denim gear emblazoned with a Hawks logo. We even got to meet Huddo at Waverley one cold winter’s evening. I can’t remember saying a lot when he was chatting to Dad whilst standing in the tunnel leading from the dressing rooms onto the ground. No doubt he will not remember the event - had a bit on his mind in 1971, did Huddo…like winning a premiership, equalling Bob Pratt’s all time VFL/AFL goal kicking record of 150 goals in a season, and in the Grand Final performing a wonderful Vincent van Gogh impression care of Kevin “Cowboy” Neale’s left fist.
Years later I was working on St Kilda Road and liked to walk down to Flinders Street Station, occasionally seeing a slightly hunched bloke with grey hair and distinctive face walking in the opposite direction. I never quite got the courage up to stop him and ask whether he remembered me and that cold winter night at Waverley nearly 60 years earlier. After reading A Football Genius I think I should have, as Huddo is consistently remembered fondly as one who always had time for other people.
A Football Genius is a remarkable piece of writing due to its heavy reliance on anecdotes from the book’s myriad contributors. We hear first-hand from those sharing experiences across the breadth of Peter Hudson’s life – with focus upon football, yes, but also his time growing up in the small Tasmanian town of New Norfolk, family life and forays into the business world. We obtain insights into who Peter Hudson was, and remains…more than just the number 26 on a duffel coat or a woollen football jumper. We learn about what makes Huddo tick, and why it is that he has achieved seemingly universal respect from all those who have known him on and off the football field.
Dotted amongst the personal accounts, scrap book commentary and media reports (which must have taken a tremendous number of hours to compile) are the author’s insights and observations, which helps binds together the “bricks” of the mixture of recollections and published works and gently nudge along the story of Peter Hudson’s life.
Apart from being a must-read for scholars of the game, this book will have huge sentimental appeal for “silverbacks” such as myself who followed the Hawks in the 60s and 70s. Those who were there when he kicked eight before halftime in Round 1 against Melbourne in 1972 and held their breath as he left the ground on a stretcher, not wanting to believe what they were seeing. Who marvelled as he kicked eight in that famous “helicopter” return game in ’73 against Collingwood at Waverley Park. Who saw play for the brown and gold the man who still has the highest average goals per game (5.64) in VFL/AFL history.
As was the case with Crimmo, this book should also have appeal to those of the “Clarkson Era” of Hawks fans – those who never fronted up to training at Glenferrie Oval on Show Day the Tuesday before another Grand Final appearance. Who never smiled as the 3:42 to Auburn rattled past and tooted its horn on match day. When Hudson arrived we only had one piece of “silverware” and were on a downward path. In this new signing from New Norfolk we had someone who could win games for us off his own boot, and inspire mere football followers to become dedicated Hawthorn fans. Another of Kennedy’s Commandos who helped pave a pathway to success in the years to come.
Buy this book. Read it slowly. Appreciate that a true genius sportsman can also be a good human being. Learn about a man who dedicated his life to being the best he could be, and inspired others to do the same. A man who elevated #26 to become one of the sacred numbers at Hawthorn. Who should forever be remembered as Hawthorn’s greatest full forward (with Dunstall and Jesus in the forward pockets).
Grant Fraser is an avid Hawthorn supporter who cannot believe his good luck at having experienced two sets of “glory years” in the one lifetime.