Kennedy was born in Camberwell, Victoria, on 29 December 1928. In 1950, he joined the Hawthorn Football Club as a ruckman. Over the next ten years, he played 164 games for Hawthorn, winning the club's Best and Fairest award four times (in 1950–1952, and 1954) and serving as captain from 1955 until his retirement in 1959.[1]
Coaching career
Kennedy received a rushed introduction to coaching in 1957 when regular coach Jack Hale was involved in a vehicle accident on the way to Glenferrie Oval and missed the Round 11 match.[2]
He took over permanently as Hawthorn coach for the 1960 season and led the team to their first premiership in 1961. Following a Grand Final defeat to Geelong in 1963, he was forced to step down as coach when the Victorian Education Department offered him a job as a school principal in Stawell.[3] Hawthorn's poor on-field performance over the next few years saw him recalled to the role in 1967. He coached Hawthorn to premierships in 1971 and 1976 and a Grand Final loss in 1975. He stepped down as coach again in 1976, in all coaching Hawthorn to three premierships from five Grand Finals.[1]
In 1985, Kennedy became the coach of the North Melbourne Football Club, and coached the club until 1989; his best result with North Melbourne was fourth in 1985. In total he coached for 412 games, winning 236, losing 171, and drawing five.[1]
As a player, Kennedy was renowned for his toughness and skill. As a coach, he had a similar reputation for toughness but also for oratory. He was notorious for borrowing ideas from any source he thought would inspire the players, but it was his passion rather than his quotations that he was best known for. In the 1975 VFL Grand Final against North Melbourne, his exhortation to the Hawthorn players at half-time was: "At least do something! Do! Don't think, Mick! Don't hope; do! At least you can come off and say, 'I did this, I shepherded, I played on. At least I did something.'" Despite this, his team still lost convincingly.[4]
He was famous for his battered brown overcoat, which is now on display at the Hawthorn Football Club.[5]
On 1 June 2020, John Kennedy Sr. became the 29th legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.[7] AFL Commission Chairman Richard Goyder said: "In the Australian Football Hall of Fame, our Legends stand above our greats and, on behalf of the selectors, it is my great honour to declare John Kennedy was elected as a Legend, recognising his six-decade contribution to our game."[8]
The Kennedy Community Centre, Hawthorn's new training and administrative base, is named after John Kennedy Sr.
Statue
Bronze statue of Kennedy in front of Waverley Park
In honour of Kennedy's 80th birthday, a statue of him overlooking the Hawthorns' Waverley Park stadium was unveiled. The text on the plaque reads:
John "Kanga" Kennedy played 164 games for the Hawthorn Football Club in 1950–59, including its first ever finals appearance in 1957. In 1960 aged just 31 Kennedy became coach and transformed Hawthorn and led the club to its first three premierships in 1961, 1971 and 1976.
Kennedy's Hawthorn teams became known as "Kennedy's Commandos". Wearing his trademark overcoat, his booming voice and stirring words inspired generations of Hawthorn players, taking them from easy beats to the most respected and revered club in the League.
He epitomised and taught all the values and attitudes that the Club cherishes. These were overwhelmingly a sense of TEAM, total DISCIPLINE, total INTEGRITY, and WILL to WIN at all costs. They are now core values, part of the club's character and as we compete in the 21st century this legacy as defined by John Kennedy will never be forgotten.[9]
Death
Kennedy died at the age of 91, on 24 June 2020, the day before his grandson Josh Kennedy was to play his 250th AFL game.[10][11][12]
