Frank D. Hodgkin (20 June 1941 – 17 December 2017) 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 with
St Kilda 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).
Hodgkin, originally from
Kergunyah
Kergunyah is a locality in north eastern Victoria. The locality is on the Kiewa Valley Highway, north east of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2016 census Kergunyah had a population of 215.
The town is a centre for (mainly) dairy farms an ...
in the
Tallangatta & District Football League
The Tallangatta and District Football League (TDFL) is an Australian rules football competition in north-eastern Victoria (state), Victoria and the southern border area of the Riverina region of New South Wales. The clubs compete across four c ...
, debuting as a 14-year and playing in a premiership in 1955. Hodgkin started his
Ovens & Murray Football League
The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL or O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales ...
career at
Myrtleford
Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 282 km (175 miles) northeast of Melbourne and 47 km (29 miles) southeast of Wangaratta. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and in 20 ...
in 1957, aged 17 and represented the O&MFL against the
South West Football League
The South West Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the south-west of Western Australia. The league is affiliated to Country Football WA, formerly known as the West Australian Country Football League.
History
The i ...
.
['']The Border Mail
''The Border Mail'' is a daily newspaper and online news brand published in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, serving the twin cities and the surrounding region. It was originally published as ''The Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times'' and later ...
''
"Hall of Fame: Frank Hodgkin "
David Johnston Despite his young age, Hodgkin was chosen in the league's representative team in his debut season.
[ After winning Myrtleford's ]best and fairest
In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...
award in 1960, Hodgkin went to St Kilda for the 1961 VFL season
The 1961 VFL season was the 65th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 15 April until 23 September, and comprised an ...
.[
He made an instant impression in a pre-season practice match when he traded punches with captain ]Neil Roberts Neil Roberts may refer to:
*Neil Roberts (actor) (born 1964), English actor
* Neil Roberts (anarchist) (1960–1982), activist who killed himself when he bombed the New Zealand police database
* Neil Roberts (Australian footballer) (born 1933), Aus ...
, then later Eric Guy, the vice captain. He played 18 of a possible 19 games in 1961, including St Kilda's semi-final loss to Footscray. His performances that season earned him the "best first-year player" award.[ A ]centre half-forward
In Australian rules football, the centre half-forward is a position on the half-forward line of a football field. The directly opposing player is a centre half-back. Royce Hart of the Richmond Football Club and Wayne Carey of the North Melbou ...
, Hodgkin's spot in the team became less certain due to the emergence of Darrel Baldock
Darrel John Baldock (29 September 1938 – 2 February 2011) was an Australian sportsman and state politician. He played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), East Devonport Football C ...
.[ He won the league's best and fairest award in 1966.][
]Rutherglen
Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
secured him as coach in 1968 and he remained in that position for three years.[
Hodgkin played with North Albury from 1971 to 1974, then coached Mitta United to a premiership in the 1975 Tallangatta League season, in which he booted 120 goals.][ In 1976 he spent the year with ]Wodonga
Wodonga (pronounced ; ) is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury-Wodonga and is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga L ...
, before he had two season stints back at North Albury and Mitta United, retiring in 1980.[
Hodgkin kicked 238 goals during his time in the O&MFL.
Hodgkin played 426 games of senior football over a 25-year period.
His younger brother, ]Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
, played for Fitzroy.[
He died in 2017 at the age of 76.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgkin, Frank
1941 births
2017 deaths
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
St Kilda Football Club players
Myrtleford Football Club players
Rutherglen Football Club players
Rutherglen Football Club coaches
North Albury Football Club players
Wodonga Football Club players