Colin Edward 'Col' Austen (2 December 1920 – 3 October 1995) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawth ...

and

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or colloquially the Tiges, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Ric ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL). Austen made his senior VFL debut for Hawthorn in

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

and played until

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

and from 1946 to 1949. He then played for Richmond from 1950 to 1952. He served as a

signalman A signalman is a rank who makes signals using flags and light. The role has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed forces, or construction (to direct heavy equi ...

in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Austen tied with South Melbourne's

Ron Clegg Ron "Smokey" Clegg (17 November 192723 August 1990) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League. Clegg was recruited from the South Melbourne Under 19's after winning the 1944 Melbourne Boys Football League's bes ...

for the 1949

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

but was not awarded it based on the 'countback' system in place at that time. The

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

later changed the system for tied results and, in 1989, he was awarded the medal retrospectively.

started 1950 in turmoil, Col Austen had sided with outgoing captain-coach

Alec Albiston Alec Marsh Albiston (16 November 1917 – 13 April 1998) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and with North Melbourne for his final season. A goalkicking rover, he was captain and c ...

who was angry as he was told by a member of the board that he remain as captain. The club had appointed Bob McCaskill as coach and he wanted Kevin Curran to be captain. A huge internal split occurred, the board sided with the new coach and gave Albiston and Austen open clearances.Blair, p. 179. Austen was cleared to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and played 51 games from 1950 to

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. He was Captain/Coach of the

Seconds side from 1953 to 1955, winning the competition's best and fairest, the Gardiner Medal, in 1953. He led the Tigers' seconds to the 1954 and 1955 Seconds premierships. Finally he went to Box Hill in the VFA as Captain/Coach in 1956 and non-playing coach from 1957 to 1959. He coached Box Hill to its first two Finals appearances in the VFA, 3rd place in 1956 and 4th place in 1958. He also coached the VFA's representative side in 1958. Austen was made a Life Member of the

shortly before his death in 1995. The 'Col Austen Memorial Trophy' is awarded each year to the winning team in the first Hawthorn vs

match of the regular AFL season. Since 2001 the Box Hill Football Club, now a member of the Victorian Football League and aligned to AFL Club Hawthorn, has annual presented the 'Col Austen Trophy' to its best and fairest player.

Honours and achievements

Playing honours

Richmond * 2× VFL seconds premiership player: 1954, 1955 Individual *

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

* Hawthorn best and fairest: 1949 * 2× VFL seconds premiership captain: 1954, 1955 * Gardiner Medal: 1953 * Hawthorn Team of the Century

Coaching honours

Richmond * 2× VFL seconds premiership coach: 1954, 1955

Hall of Fame/Life memberships

* Hawthorn life member *

life member

Footnotes

References

* Blair, L. (2005) ''The Immortals'', John Wiley & Sons: Brisbane. . * * Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, (Melbourne), 1996.

External links

World War Two Service Record: Signalman Colin Edward Austen (VX138844).

World War Two Nominal Roll Record: Signalman Colin Edward Austen (VX138844).

''Boyles Football Photos'': Col Austen.

1920 births 1995 deaths Military personnel from Melbourne Hawthorn Football Club players Richmond Football Club players Brownlow Medal winners Peter Crimmins Medal winners Box Hill Football Club players Box Hill Football Club coaches Kew Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers People from Kew, Victoria {{AFL-bio-1920s-stub