- Charlie Hardy
-
Charlie Hardy 
Personal information Birth 1 April 1887 Recruited from Gippsland Height and weight 157 cm / 54 kg Playing career¹ Debut Round 10, 1921, Essendon v.
Melbourne, at the M.C.GTeam(s) North Melbourne (1908-1921)
- 224 games, ??? goals
Essendon (1921-25)
- 36 games, 21 goals
Coaching career¹ Team(s) Essendon (1928-30) St Kilda (1931-32)
Total - 79 games, 39 wins,
39 losses, 1 draw¹ Statistics to end of 1932 season Charlie Hardy (born 1 April 1887) was an Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the VFA during the 1910s and Essendon in the VFL during the early 1920s.
Contents
VFA
Hardy played with North Melbourne in the VFA for over a decade where he formed a strong ruck combination with Syd Barker. At just 157 cm and 54 kg Hardy is one of the smallest players to ever play at a top level. He captained the club in 1914, and served as a brilliant rover helping North to premiership victories in 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918. He was also a member of the famous "invincibles" side that went undefeated in a record 58 games. Hardy left the club along with many of his teammates upon the temporary disbanding of North in 1921, and joined Essendon in the VFL.
Essendon
When he made his debut in 1921 he was aged 34 and became the oldest player in the history of the league to make his debut.[1] In 1921 he also represented Victoria at the Perth Carnival. Hardy turned 38 midway through the 1925 season, his last, and put his name in the record books again as the oldest ever person to play a VFL match for Essendon.[2] During his five years at Essendon he played in both the 1923 and the 1924 premiership teams.
Coaching
Hardy started his coaching career at VFA club Coburg and coached them to premierships in 1926 and 1927, the club's first two. This effort saw him rejoin Essendon in 1928 as their non playing coach and he spent three years in this role with the Bombers, narrowly missing the finals on each occasion. In 1931 he crossed to St Kilda and was coach for two seasons, with little success.
References
1910 North Melbourne Premiership Players 1914 North Melbourne Premiership Players 1915 North Melbourne Premiership Players 1918 North Melbourne Premiership Players Essendon Football Club 1923/1924 VFL Premiers Coach: Barker Coaches of the Essendon Football Club 1908–1909: Smith • 1910: Belcher • 1911–1915; 1918–1920:* Worrall • 1920–1921: Ogden • 1922–1924: Barker • 1922: Gravenall • 1925–1927: Maher • 1928–1930: Hardy • 1931–1933: Campbell • 1934–1935: May • 1936–1939: Baggott • 1939: Reynolds/Hunter • 1939–1960: Reynolds • 1941: Griggs • 1944: Plummer • 1945; 1946: Ruddell • 1959: Thaw • 1961–1967: Coleman • 1965: Sewell • 1968–1970: Clarke • 1971: Birt • 1972–1975: Tuddenham • 1976–1977: Stephen • 1978–1980: Davis • 1981–2007: Sheedy • 2006: O'Donnell • 2008–2010: Knights • 2011–: Hird*Essendon did not participate in the VFL from 1916–1917 due to World War I
Italics denote caretaker coachCoaches of the St Kilda Football Club 1906: Hall • 1908: Grace • 1909: J. Smith • 1911: Drohan • 1913: Sparrow • 1914: McNamara • 1915; 1918:* J. Smith • 1919: Eicke • 1920: Sparrow • 1920–1921: Ricketts • 1922–1923: McNamara • 1924: Eicke • 1925–1926: Clark • 1927: Heinz • 1928–1929: Sparrow • 1930: Cubbins • 1931–1932: Hardy • 1932: King • 1933: Deane • 1934: C. Watson • 1935–1937: Minogue • 1938–1940: Clarke • 1938: Patterson • 1941: Knight • 1942–1943: Garvin • 1944–1945: Thomas • 1946–1947: Hird • 1948–1950: Froude • 1951: Green • 1952–1953: Williamson • 1954–1955: Foote • 1956–1958: Killigrew • 1959–1960: Francis • 1961–1976: Jeans • 1972; 1974: Guy • 1977: R. Smith • 1978–1980: Patterson • 1980–1982: Jesaulenko • 1983–1984: Jewell • 1984–1986: Gellie • 1987–1989: Baldock • 1987: Davis • 1990–1993: Sheldon • 1994–1998: Alves • 1999–2000: T. Watson • 2001: Blight • 2001–2006: Thomas • 2007–2011: Lyon • 2012–: Watters*St Kilda did not participate in the VFL from 1916–1917 due to World War I
Italics denote caretaker coachCategories:- St Kilda Football Club coaches
- 1887 births
- Australian rules footballers from Victoria
- North Melbourne Football Club (VFA) players
- Essendon Football Club players
- Essendon Football Club coaches
- Coburg Football Club coaches
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