View source for Peter Hudson

{{Other people}}
{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1946}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Peter Hudson
| image = 
| caption = Peter Hudson taking a [[spectacular mark]] for the Hawthorn Football Club
| fullname = Peter John Hudson <small>[[Order of Australia|AM]]</small>
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1946|2|19|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[New Norfolk, Tasmania]]
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| debutdate = Round 2, 22 April 1967
| debutteam = [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]]
| debutopponent = [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]]
| debutstadium = [[Princes Park (stadium)|Princes Park]]
| height = 188&nbsp;cm
| weight = 92&nbsp;kg
| position = 
| statsend = 1981
| years1 = 1963–66
| club1 = [[New Norfolk District Football Club|New Norfolk]]
| games_goals1 = {{0}}78 {{0}}(378)
| years2 = 1967–74; 1977
| club2 = {{AFL Haw}}
| games_goals2 = 129 {{0}}(727)
| years3 = 1975–76; 1978–82
| club3 = [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]]
| games_goals3 = {{0}}81 {{0}}(616)
| games_goalstotal = 288 (1721)
| sooteam1 = Tasmania
| soogames_goals1 = 19 {{0}}(92)
| sooteam2 = Victoria
| soogames_goals2 = {{0}}6 {{0}}(43)
| sooteam3 = Tasmanian FL
| soogames_goals3 = 26 (154)
| soogames_goalstotal = 51 (289)
| coachyears1 = 1975–76; 1981
| coachclub1 = [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]]
| coachgames_wins1 = {{0}}63 (40–23–0)
| coachyears2 = 1986–87
| coachclub2 = [[Hobart Football Club|Hobart]]
| coachgames_wins2 = {{0}}39 (24–15–0)
| coachgames_winstotal = 102 (64–38–0)
| careerhighlights = * [[List of VFL/AFL premiers|VFL Premiership player]]: [[1971 VFL Grand Final|1971]]
* 4× [[Coleman Medal]]: 1968, 1970, 1971, 1977
* 2× [[Peter Crimmins Medal|Hawthorn best and fairest]]: 1968, 1970
* 6× [[List of Hawthorn Football Club leading goalkickers|Hawthorn leading goalkicker]]: 1967–1971, 1977
* 2× [[All-Australian team]]: 1966, 1969
* [[List of Tasmanian Football League premierships|TANFL Premiership player]]: 1975
* 2× [[William Leitch Medal]]: 1978, 1979
* [[New Norfolk District Football Club|New Norfolk]] best and fairest: 1965
* 3× [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]] best and fairest: 1976, 1978, 1979
* 8× TFL leading goalkicker: 1963–1966, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979
* 4× [[New Norfolk District Football Club|New Norfolk]] leading goalkicker: 1963–1966
* 4× [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]] leading goalkicker: 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979
* [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] – Legend status
* [[Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame]] Icon
* [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]] Hall of Fame – Legend status
* [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]] Team of the Century
* Tasmanian Team of the Century
*  Most goals in a VFL/AFL Season (tied) 1971
}}

'''Peter John Hudson''' <small>[[Order of Australia|AM]]</small> (born 19 February 1946) is a former [[Australian rules football]]er who played for the [[Hawthorn Football Club]] in the [[Victorian Football League (1897–1989)|Victorian Football League]] (VFL) and for the [[New Norfolk Football Club]] and [[Glenorchy Football Club]] in the [[Tasmanian Australian National Football League]] (TANFL).

A legend in the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]], Hudson is considered one of the greatest [[full-forward]]s in the game's history. He holds the highest career goal-per-game average (5.64) in VFL/AFL history, and he is only one of two VFL/AFL footballers (the other being {{AFL Ess}}'s [[John Coleman (Australian footballer)|John Coleman]]) to average more than 5 goals per game. He was the first VFL/AFL player to kick 100 or more goals in a season five times, equalled [[Bob Pratt]]'s VFL/AFL record of 150 goals in a season in [[1971 VFL season|1971]] and, after the AFL decided to retrospectively recognise the leading VFL goalkickers during the home-and-away season back to 1955, won the [[Coleman Medal]] four times.   

Hudson was a superb reader of the play and knew how to use his body well in one-on-one contests. He had a safe pair of hands and although he was known for using the [[Punt (Australian football)|flat punt]] when kicking for goal, he was usually very accurate.  

Over his career, he kicked 1,721 goals in 288 premiership games between 1963 and 1979, and 1981. His final match was in the 1981 [[Tasmanian Football League|TANFL]] Preliminary Final for Glenorchy, where Hudson, who had made a brief comeback with two rounds remaining due to Glenorchy having a string of injuries, kicked 30 goals in three matches, including six in his team's Preliminary Final loss to New Norfolk. Hudson was kept goalless just four times during his career in premiership matches by Richmond's [[Barry Richardson (Australian rules footballer)|Barry Richardson]] in Round 7 of 1969, Collingwood's [[Ian Cooper (Australian footballer born 1946)|Ian Cooper]] in Round 2 of 1974, Carlton's [[Rod  Austin]] in Round 14 of 1977 and in the TANFL, Bruce Greenhill of [[Sandy Bay Football Club|Sandy Bay]] in 1978.

Some sources list Hudson as playing 107 games and kicking 769 goals for Glenorchy for a TANFL total of 185 games and 1,147 goals, and a career total of 314 games and 1,875 goals. These discrepancies arise from the TANFL including goals scored in intrastate matches representing the TANFL in TANFL player's career statistics at that time, a ruling that was later rescinded.<ref name="age1">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/29/1056825277701.html |title=Hudson the legend now a life member |date=30 June 2003 |work=The Age|access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

If the Tasmanian competitions, representative and night series games are considered, Hudson played an overall total of 372 matches and kicked 2,191 goals – an average of 5.89 goals a game over his entire career – making him the highest goalkicker in elite Australian rules football history.

Hudson also experienced success as a coach during and after his playing days, leading [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]] to a TANFL premiership as playing coach and later coaching [[Hobart Football Club|Hobart]] to successive finals appearances. He also became a respected club administrator, serving as CEO at {{AFL StK}} and {{AFL Haw}} during the 1990s.

== VFL career ==
Hudson's arrival in the VFL came at a period when full-forwards were beginning to experience a resurgence, most notable being [[Doug Wade]] of {{AFL Gee}} and [[Peter McKenna (Australian footballer)|Peter McKenna]] of {{AFL Col}}. After sitting out the first game of [[1967 VFL season|1967]], as he didn't meet the league's residential requirements, Hudson's first game was against {{AFL Car}}. Lining up against rugged full-back [[Wes Lofts]], he managed to kick four goals. 

In 1971, he equalled [[Bob Pratt]]'s [[List of VFL/AFL records|record]] of 150 goals in a season after kicking three goals in Hawthorn's winning [[1971 VFL Grand Final|Grand Final]] side. Hudson kicked into the man-on-the-mark Barry Lawrence ([[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]]) in one of his attempts to break the record during the grand final.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afls-150-greatest-moments-no73/story-e6frf9lx-1111116502629 |title=AFL's 150 greatest moments – No.73 |date=1 June 2008 |publisher=Sunday Herald Sun |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

In the first round of 1972, he seriously injured his knee just before half time. He had already kicked 8 goals and had just taken a mark within distance when he fell awkwardly. It was thought that his career had finished.<ref name=encyc>{{Ref AFL Encyc|5th|338}}</ref>

On 25 August 1973 he returned from [[Tasmania]] to kick eight goals against Collingwood at [[VFL Park]]. After playing Rounds 1 and 2 in 1974, he again injured his knee and returned to Tasmania.  Later that year, after hurting his knee playing netball, he decided to have knee surgery in the summer. He did not play another VFL game until lured back for the 1977 season, during which he kicked 110 goals for the season.<ref name="age2">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zgMQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UJIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5133,7252632&dq=peter-hudson+hawthorn&hl=en |title=Hawks – class of '76 |last=Beames |first=Percy |date=28 September 1976 |work=The Age |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="heraldsun2">{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/liberty-bell-has-a-hollow-ring/story-e6frf9lf-1111115906644 |title=Liberty Bell has a hollow ring |last=Ralph |first=Jon |date=28 March 2008 |publisher=Herald Sun |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

==Post-playing career==
Hudson supported the [[Melbourne Hawks|planned merger]] between {{AFL Haw}} and {{AFL Mel}} in [[1996 AFL season|1996]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sheahan |first1=Mike |title=MERGE - It's time to look ahead not back |url=http://www.hawkheadquarters.com/article.aspx?articleid=206 |website=hawkheadquarters.com |publisher=Herald Sun |access-date=19 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030316115040/http://www.hawkheadquarters.com/article.aspx?articleid=206 |archive-date=16 March 2003 |date=16 September 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Linnell |first1=Stephen |last2=Rielly |first2=Stephen |title=Proposed Demons, Hawks merger sparks outrage |url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/from-the-archives-1996-rival-factions-clash-over-demons-hawks-merger-20190913-p52r1o.html |publisher=The Age |access-date=13 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123234745/https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/from-the-archives-1996-rival-factions-clash-over-demons-hawks-merger-20190913-p52r1o.html |archive-date=23 January 2025 |date=17 September 1996}}</ref>

==VFL statistics==
:<ref>[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/P/Peter_Hudson.html Peter Hudson's player profile at AFL Tables]</ref>
{{Australian rules football statistics legend (pre-1987)|p=y|s=y}}
{{VFL player statistics start (pre-1987)}}
|-
| [[1967 VFL season|1967]] || | {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 17 || 57 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''55'''<sup>†</sup> || 179 || 29 || 208 || 90 || 3.4 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''3.2'''<sup>†</sup> || 10.5 || 1.7 || 12.2 || 5.3 ||  3
|-
| [[1968 VFL season|1968]] || | {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 19 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''125'''<sup>†</sup> || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''62'''<sup>†</sup> || 274 || 31 || 305 || 113 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''6.6'''<sup>†</sup> || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''3.3'''<sup>†</sup> || 14.4 || 1.6 || 16.1 || 5.9 ||  16
|-
| [[1969 VFL season|1969]] || | {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 19 || 120 || 40 || 217 || 16 || 233 || 111 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''6.3'''<sup>†</sup> || 2.1 || 11.4 || 0.8 || 12.3 || 5.8 || 8
|-
| [[1970 VFL season|1970]] || {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 22 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''146'''<sup>†</sup> || 44 || 282 || 19 || 301 || 140 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''6.6'''<sup>†</sup> || 2.0 || 12.8 || 0.9 || 13.7 || 6.4 || 14
|-
| bgcolor=F0E68C | '''[[1971 VFL season|1971]]'''<sup>#</sup> || {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 24 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''150'''<sup>†</sup> || 72 || 346 || 41 || 387 || 180 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''6.3'''<sup>†</sup> || 3.0 || 14.4 || 1.7 || 16.1 || 7.5 || 18
|-
| [[1972 VFL season|1972]] || {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 1 || 8 || 1 || 12 || 1 || 13 || 9 || 8.0 || 1.0 || 12.0 || 1.0 || 13.0 || 9.0 || 1 
|-
| [[1973 VFL season|1973]] || {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 1 || 8 || 3 || 15 || 0 || 15 || 10 || 8.0 || 3.0 || 15.0 || 0.0 || 15.0 || 10.0 || 2
|-
| [[1974 VFL season|1974]] || {{AFL Haw}} || 26
| 2 || 3 || 3 || 10 || 7 || 17 || 6 || 1.5 || 1.5 || 5.0 || 3.5 || 8.5 || 3.0 || 0
|-
| [[1977 VFL season|1977]] || {{AFL Haw}} || 1
| 24 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''110'''<sup>†</sup> || 50 || 243 || 32 || 275 || 123 || bgcolor=CAE1FF | '''4.6'''<sup>†</sup> || 2.3 || 10.1 || 1.3 || 11.5 || 5.1 || 16
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3 | Career
! 129 !! 727 !! 330 !! 1578 !! 176 !! 1754 !! 782 !! 5.6 !! 2.6 !! 12.2 !! 1.4 !! 13.6 !! 6.1 !! 78
|}

==Honours and achievements==
'''Team'''
* [[List of VFL/AFL premiers|VFL Premiership player]] ({{AFL Haw}}): [[1971 VFL Grand Final|1971]]
* [[List of VFL/AFL minor premiers|Minor premiership]] ({{AFL Haw}}): [[1971 VFL season|1971]]
* [[List of Tasmanian Football League premierships|TANFL Premiership player]] ([[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]]): [[1975 TANFL season#Grand Final|1975]]

'''Individual'''
* 4× [[Coleman Medal]]: [[1968 VFL season|1968]], [[1970 VFL season|1970]], [[1971 VFL season|1971]], [[1977 VFL season|1977]]
* 2× [[Peter Crimmins Medal|J.J. Dennis Memorial Trophy]]: [[1968 VFL season|1968]], [[1970 VFL season|1970]]
* 6× [[List of Hawthorn Football Club leading goalkickers|Hawthorn leading goalkicker]]: [[1967 VFL season|1967]], [[1968 VFL season|1968]], [[1969 VFL season|1969]], [[1970 VFL season|1970]], [[1971 VFL season|1971]], [[1977 VFL season|1977]]
* 2× [[All-Australian team]]: [[All-Australian team#1966|1966]], [[All-Australian team#1969|1969]]
* 2× [[William Leitch Medal]]: [[1978 TANFL season|1978]], [[1979 TANFL season|1979]]
* [[New Norfolk District Football Club|New Norfolk]] best and fairest: 1965
* 3× [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]] best and fairest: 1976, 1978, 1979
* 8× TFL leading goalkicker: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979
* 4× [[New Norfolk District Football Club|New Norfolk]] leading goalkicker: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
* 4× [[Glenorchy Football Club|Glenorchy]] leading goalkicker: 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979
* [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] – Legend status
* [[Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame]] Icon
* [[Hawthorn Football Club#Hall of Fame|Hawthorn Hall of Fame]] – Legend status
* [[Hawthorn Football Club#Team of the Century|Hawthorn Team of the Century]]
* Tasmanian Team of the Century
* [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]] life member

== Post-VFL career ==
Hudson coached and played for Glenorchy Football Club in the TFL in 1975 and 1976, taking them to a premiership in his first year. Following his second return from the VFL, in 1978 he once again played for Glenorchy, kicking 153 goals and winning the highest individual honour in the TFL, the [[William Leitch Medal]]. In the next season he again topped the goalkicking with 179 goals, winning his second William Leitch medal. He retired as a player at the end of the season. He coached [[Hobart Football Club|Hobart]] in the TFL in 1986–1987 for consecutive unsuccessful finals campaigns.

In 1979, he was made a Member of the [[Order of Australia]] (AM) in the Australia Day Honours, for services to Australian football.<ref name="honour1">{{cite web |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/886410 |title=HUDSON, Peter John – AM |work=It's an honour |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="honour2">{{cite web |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/978152 |title=HUDSON, Peter John – ASM |work=It's an honour |publisher=Department of the Premier and Cabinet |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="honour3">{{cite web |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1122730 |title=HUDSON, Peter John – CM |work=It's an honour |publisher=Department of the Premier and Cabinet |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

He was inducted into the [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]] in 1996 and elevated to "Legend" status in 1999. His citation reads: "''A freakish full-forward who just kept accumulating goals. Made brilliant use of the body, was deadly accurate and had an amazing ability to read the play. Holds the best goals per game average (5.59) in VFL/AFL history and in 1971 matched Bob Pratt's record for most goals in a season with 150.''"<ref name="afl1">{{cite web |url=http://www.afl.com.au/aflhq/awards/halloffame/legends/tabid/855/default.aspx |title=Legends |publisher=AFL |access-date=25 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917040457/http://www.afl.com.au/aflhq/awards/halloffame/legends/tabid/855/default.aspx |archive-date=17 September 2009}}</ref>

Hudson is well respected for his business acumen. Since retirement he has had a stint as the Chief Executive Officer at Hawthorn and St Kilda. Currently he is a senior executive of insurance giant [[Bupa]].

Hudson was inducted into the [[Sport Australia Hall of Fame]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/peter-hudson/|title=Peter Hudson|publisher=Sport Australia Hall of Fame |access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref>

Hudson is depicted in a Tasmanian state guernsey taking a mark against South Australia in [[Jamie Cooper]]'s painting ''The Game That Made Australia'', commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.<ref>Australian Football League, [http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/150MomentsArticle/tabid/11382/Default.aspx?newsId=55972# The Game That Made Australia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419120046/http://www.150years.com.au/150Moments/150MomentsArticle/tabid/11382/Default.aspx?newsId=55972 |date=19 April 2013 }}, Retrieved 19 September 2010</ref>

In 2010, Hudson became the eleventh player to feature in a Toyota Memorable Moments advertisement with [[Stephen Curry (comedian)|Stephen Curry]] and [[Dave Lawson]], comically re-enacting his unsuccessful attempt to break [[Bob Pratt]]'s season [[List of VFL/AFL records#Most goals in a game|goalkicking record]] in the [[1971 VFL grand final|1971 VFL Grand Final]].<ref>Kelly Ryan, [http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/flying-hawk-hero-peter-hudson-relives-his-glory-days-in-toyota-ad/story-e6frf7kx-1225905129082 Herald Sun] "Flying Hawk hero Peter Hudson relives his glory days in Toyota ad", 14 August 2010, Retrieved 4 September 2010.</ref>

==Family==
His son [[Paul Hudson (Australian rules footballer)|Paul]] also played for the [[Hawthorn Football Club]], [[Western Bulldogs]] and [[Richmond Football Club]], and nephew [[Simon Minton-Connell]] also played AFL football for the [[Carlton Football Club]], [[Sydney Swans]], [[Hawthorn Football Club]] and [[Western Bulldogs]].

== See also ==
* [[List of Australian rules football families]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* {{Cite book |last=Eddy |first=Dan |title=A Football Genius: The Peter Hudson Story. |date=2022 |publisher=Hardie Grant Books |isbn=9781743798232 |location=AUS |oclc=1303729897}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{AustralianFootball|ref=peter%2Bhudson/9982}}
*{{AFL Tables|ref=P/Peter_Hudson.html}}
* [https://www.afl.com.au/hall-of-fame/legends AFL Hall of Fame - Legends section]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061106185917/http://stats.afl.com.au/public/home.shtml AFL official statistics]

{{1971 Hawthorn premiership players}}
{{AFL Coleman Medallists}}
{{Peter Crimmins Medal}}
{{Hawthorn leading goalkickers}}
{{1966 All-Australian team}}
{{1969 All-Australian team}}
{{1966 Tasmania State Football Team}}
{{Australian Football Hall of Fame Legends}}
{{Hawthorn Football Club Hall of Fame Legends}}
{{Hawthorn Team of The Century}}
{{Tasmanian Team Of The Century}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Peter}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Tasmania]]
[[Category:Hawthorn Football Club players]]
[[Category:Hawthorn Football Club premiership players]]
[[Category:Hawthorn Football Club administrators]]
[[Category:Peter Crimmins Medal winners]]
[[Category:Coleman Medal winners]]
[[Category:All-Australians (1953–1988)]]
[[Category:Tasmanian State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Glenorchy Football Club players]]
[[Category:New Norfolk Football Club players]]
[[Category:Hobart Football Club coaches]]
[[Category:Glenorchy Football Club coaches]]
[[Category:William Leitch Medal winners]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:VFL/AFL premiership players]]
[[Category:People from New Norfolk]]