Johnny Hawke
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Norman John Hawke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia | 7 May 1925||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 10 January 1992 Canberra, A.C.T., Australia | (aged 66)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Centre, Five-eighth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Norman John "Johnny" Hawke (1925 – 10 January 1992) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, and 1950s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative back,[2] he played club football in the ACT as well as in Sydney for St. George Dragons,[3] whom he captained and won a premiership with in 1949.
Background
Hawke was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales in 1925.[4] At an early age, he displayed enormous sporting talent. Like many young sportsmen of the time, he played Australian rules football on Saturday and rugby league on Sunday.[4]
Rugby league career
Early years
In 1940 at the age of 15, Hawke played first grade for the Queanbeyan Blues rugby league team and
St. George
Upon the tour's return, he signed with the St. George Dragons for the 1949 NSWRFL season and was appointed captain at the age of 24.[4] In the 1949 semi-final against South Sydney, he suffered a broken upper jaw and cracked teeth after a heavy tackle by Jack Rayner. He remained on the field and set up the winning try to winger Ron Roberts.[4] Three weeks later, he led the Saints to premiership victory and played a leading role in the 19-12 Grand final win over South Sydney. Mid-season 1949, he had made the Kangaroo tour to New Zealand and another Test appearance.[5]
In 1950, he was in the running for the Ashes series captaincy but injured his knee in the visiting Great Britain national rugby league team's tour match against New South Wales at the SCG which drew a record crowd of over 70,419 and made no further rep appearances that year.[5] He made a career total of six state representative appearances for New South Wales and captained the side.
Hawke captained-coached St. George in the premiership seasons of 1951 and 1952, and in 1951 made his final test appearance against France. In 1952, he suffered a slipped disc that led to him being in plaster from neck to thighs. Injury led to his career at St. George being curtailed at the end of the 1952 NSWRFL season.[4]
Later years
Hawke left St. George to take a captain-coach role at
Hawke died of Parkinson's disease on 10 January 1992 at the age of 66.[4] He was married to Joan for 46 years.[4] After his death, he was inducted into the Australian Capital Territory Sports Hall of Fame.[2]
References
- ^ "Johnny hawke – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "ACT Sport Hall of Fame Inductees". actsport.com.au. ACT Sport. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ Johnny Hawke Archived 9 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine at yesterdayshero.com.au
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mann, Jules (March 1992). "A legend in any era". Raiders Country Magazine: 18.
- ^ a b Whiticker, Alan, Hudson, Glen (2006). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Australia: Gary Allen Publishing. p229.
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