Bill Hutchison Explained

Bill Hutchison
Fullname:	William Henry Hutchison
Birth Date:	28 April 1923
Birth Place:	Kensington, Victoria
Originalteam:	Westmeadows
Height:	174 cm
Weight:	70 kg
Statsend:	1957
Years1:	1942–1957
Club1:	Essendon
Games Goals1:	290 (496)
Careerhighlights:	Essendon premiership side: 1942, 1946, 1949–1950 Essendon captain: 1951–1957 Brownlow Medal winner: 1952 and 1953 Essendon best and fairest: 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952-1953, 1955–1956 Essendon Team of the century Australian Football Hall of Fame member (legend status) All-Australian Team 1953 and 1956

William Henry Hutchison (28 April 1923 – 18 June 1982), often referred to as "Hutchy", was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL) with the Essendon Football Club, who played 290 VFL games, from 1942 to 1957, and kicked 496 goals.

Generally considered one of the finest rovers ever to play the game, he captained Essendon from 1951 to 1957, and was a vital part of Essendon's premiership sides in 1942, 1946, 1949 and 1950.

Family

The son of Scottish parents, Henry Kearton Hutchison (1884–1962) and Agnes Caskie Hutchison (1889–1977), née Brown, William Henry Hutchison was born at Kensington on 28 April 1923.^[1] He married Helen Isabel "Nell" Giles (1923–2011) in 1947.

Football career

Hutchison played with Essendon from 1942 to 1957.

Debut

He made his First XVIII debut on 16 May 1942 as a wingman, against Footscray, in Round 2 of the 1942 season; originally listed as an emergency,^[2] he was a last-minute replacement for the unavailable Les Griggs.^[3]

Interstate (VFL)

Selected in every season from 1945 to 1954, inclusive, and again in 1956, Hutchison played 30 games for Victoria and kicked 67 goals.^[4] He was selected in the All-Australian team in both 1953 and 1956, the two years in which he also captained Victoria at the ANFC Carnivals in Adelaide and Perth, respectively. He was also selected on eight separate occasions in the Sporting Life Team of the Year: 1947, 1948, and 1950–1955.

Last match

His last match was against Melbourne in the 1957 VFL Grand Final. He was captain and first rover in the Essendon team that lost to Melbourne 7.13 (55) to 17.14 (116). He retired after the Grand Final, and he did not participate in the end-of-season night football competition that was held immediately after the final series.^[5]

Brownlow Medal

Once established as a rover, he consistently polled well in the Brownlow Medal vote count:

• Polling 8 votes in 1946 (winner, Don Cordner).^[6]
• Finishing ninth to Bert Deacon in 1947.^[7]
• Finishing third to Bill Morris in 1948.^[8]
• Finishing eighth to Ron Clegg, who won on a count-back from Col Austen, in 1949.^[9]
• Finishing sixth to Allan Ruthven in 1950.^[10]
• Finishing third to Bernie Smith in 1951.^[11]
• Finishing equal first with Roy Wright in 1952.^[12]
  • Although their total votes and their "first votes" were equal, their "second votes" were not, and Wright (with more "second votes" and less "third votes" than Hutchison) was awarded the medal on a countback according to the rules that applied at the time;^[13] however, those rules were changed in 1989, and Hutchison was retrospectively (and posthumously) awarded a Brownlow medal for the 1952 season.^[14]
• Finishing first in 1953.^[15]
• Polling 10 votes in 1954 (winner, Roy Wright).^[16]
• Finishing second, by one vote, to Fred Goldsmith in 1955.^[17]
• Polling 9 votes in 1956 (winner, Peter Box).^[18]
• Polling 5 votes in 1957 (winner, Brian Gleeson).^[19]

Death

He died on 18 June 1982, after a short illness.^{[20] [21]}

Legacy

Champions of Essendon

In 2002, at a "Champions of Essendon" gala event, Hutchison was voted the fourth-greatest Essendon player of all time. The man who was voted Champion, Dick Reynolds, famously said: "I don't deserve this honour... Bill Hutchison was the best player I've seen."^[22]

Australian Football Hall of Fame

In 2003, Hutchison was inducted as the 18th "Legend" in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.^[23]

W. Hutchison Medal

The W. Hutchison Medal is awarded annually to the best and fairest player in the First Division of the Essendon District Football League.^[24]

References

• Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
• Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.
• Eva, Bruce, "Bill Hutchison, Essendon", pp.113-116 in Slattery, Geoff (ed), The Brownlow: A Tribute to the Greats of Australian Football, Slattery Media Group, (Docklands), 2010.

External links

• • • Bio at Essendonfc.com.au
• Boyles Football Photos: Bill Hutchison.

Notes and References

1. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/204063477 Births: Hutchison, The Age, (Saturday, 12 May 1923), p.5.
2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206818544 Football Teams, The Age, (Friday, 15 May 1942), p.4.
3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11976673 Taylor, Percy, "Record Score in Game", The Argus, (Monday, 18 May 1942), p.6.
4. Maplestone (1996), pp.379, 380.
5. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wUBVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4JQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2794%2C119012 Dons Weakened for Night Game at South, The Age, (Tuesday, 1 October 1957), p.20.
6. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22316078 Keen Struggle for Brownlow Medal, The Argus, (Thursday, 5 September 1946), p.12.
7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22505110 Votes Decide Brownlow Medal Winner: Deacon Wins from Bray; Tie for Third, The Argus, (Thursday, 4 September 1947), p.20.
8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205686174 Morris Wins 1948 Brownlow Medal, The Age, (Tuesday, 7 September 1948), p.8.
9. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189455480 Brownlow Medal to Ron Clegg After Count Back; C. Austen Runs Second, The Age, (Thursday, 1 September 1949), p.12
10. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19609165 A. Ruthven Wins Brownlow Medal by Three Votes; Flanagan Second, The Age, Thursday, 31 August 1950), p.14.
11. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19595674 Bernie Smith Wins 1951 Brownlow, The Age, (Thursday, 6 September 1951), p.14.
12. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23205804 Who will Top Voting?, The Argus, Tuesday, 2 September 1952), p.8
13. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1755838 Buggy, Hugh, "Dramatic Finish to Brownlow Voting: Richmond Follower Snatches Narrow Win", The Argus, (Thursday, 4 September 1952), p.8.
14. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122252189 Medals Awarded Retrospectively, The Canberra Times, (Thursday, 6 April 1989), p.18.
15. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19729260 Brownlow Medal to Bill Hutchison: Wins With Record Number of Firsts, The Age, (Thursday, 3 September 1953), p.16.
16. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19715847 Brownlow Medal to Roy Wright: Richmond Star Wins Second Award, The Age, (Thursday, 2 September 1954), p.10.
17. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/71675775 Buggy, Hugh, "Goldsmith pips 'Hutchie' by Vote: Full-Back Makes History in First Medal Win", The Argus, (Thursday, 25 August 1955), p.18.
18. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/6561169 Taylor, Percy, "Teammates Stopped James' Chance: Non-Stop Peter had Six Vote Lead, The Argus, (Thursday, 23 August 1956), p.22.
19. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=izpVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eZUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6757%2C4121272 Brownlow Medal to St. Kilda Follower, The Age, (Thursday, 29 August 1957), p.18.
20. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OBhVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T5QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3607%2C2795325 Deaths: Hutchison, The Age, (Monday, 21 June 1982), p.27.
21. [Dick Reynolds]
22. Web site: Champions of Essendon. Essendon Football Club. 15 May 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716234310/http://www.essendonfc.com.au/champions/default.asp. 16 July 2011. dmy-all.
23. https://www.theage.com.au/national/hutchison-finally-among-the-greats-20030701-gdvyva.html Hutchison finally among the greats, The Age, 1 July 2003.
24. http://localfootystats.com/leaguebest&fairest/edfldiv1.php Local Footy Stats: W. Hutchison Medal.