Hawthorn Football Club has confirmed club legend Graham Arthur passed away on Monday aged 84.
The star forward captained the Hawks for nine seasons, leading the club to their maiden premiership in 1961.
He played 232 games for Hawthorn, scoring 201 goals and winning three best-and-fairests.
Arthur was named in Hawthorn’s Team of the Century, and was an inaugural member of the Australian football Hall of Fame in 1996.
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He also coached Hawthorn for two seasons in the 1960s, with the club winning 17 of the 36 games under his guidance.
“Graham embodied the Hawthorn Football Club’s values and was renowned for his ability to stand up in times of need — the bigger the occasion, the better Graham played,” the club said in a statement.
“However, his contribution to the brown and gold runs much deeper than his on field achievements, with Graham going on to work in both the club’s marketing department and Social Club following his playing and coaching career.”
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Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened to have lost a man of such immense character as Graham,”
“Graham was John Kennedy Snr’s lead commando and the type of clubman who would inspire his teammates through example and trust.
“All those who have been lucky enough to don the brown and gold in more recent years have benefited from the culture of success that Graham helped sew into Hawthorn’s fabric.
“Graham was a Hawthorn person through and through and he will always live on within our club.
“I extend the club’s and my condolences to Graham’s family at this difficult time.”
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