AFL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou today said Australian Football Hall of Fame Coach Tom Hafey had been a mentor, a leader and an inspiration to many of the game’s greatest figures.
Hafey, 82, passed away today after a recent battle with illness, leaving wife Maureen and daughters Rhonda, Karen and Jo, after a life devoted to his family, the game and the wider community.
Demetriou said Hafey had guided a generation of young men across four clubs to achieve beyond what many could have imagined they could do within football but, more importantly, he had guided their lives off the field. Further, Hafey’s legendary commitment to both his own fitness and health and the game at grass roots level had led him to be a roving ambassador for both Australian football and healthy lifestyles across more than five decades.
Hafey played 67 games in six seasons for the Tigers but found his calling as a coach and leader of men, building his CV with three premierships at Shepparton and then confirming his place among the elite coaches in the game’s history with stints at Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and the Sydney Swans.
"Australian Football is mourning Tom Hafey, who numbers among just 14 individuals recognised in our history for service to the game as one of our great coaches. Tom Hafey built teams and clubs to be successful, guided young men to be successful both on the ground and off their ground in their lives and, above all, simply loved our game," Mr Demetriou said.
"A man who brought sustained success to Richmond in the 1960s and 1970s after two decades in wilderness, Tom built a feared side that claimed four flags from five Grand Finals and then he revitalised the fortunes of Collingwood, taking the Magpies to a Grand Final in 1977 the year after a wooden spoon and five Grand Finals in all, without achieving the ultimate success.
“Through each of his stints at four clubs, Tom championed fitness, teamwork, morale and dedication, and lived those ideals to the fullest with his personal creed of five Ds that ‘Desire plus Dedication plus Discipline plus Determination equals your Destination’,” he said.
Hafey was inducted as an Original Member of the Hall of Fame in 1996, as well as being an AFL Life Member.
"Tom’s record of 522 games as a senior VFL/AFL coach is exceeded by just four men in history and he was a loyal and trusted friend to thousands across our game, who are feeling his loss deeply today.”
Tom’s career details are listed below:
TOM HAFEY, MBE (1981)
Player:
67 games for Richmond, 1953-58, 10 goals.
Played Richmond Amateurs 1959.
Played Shepparton 1960-65.
Coach:
Richmond coach 1966-76. 248 games for 173 wins, 73 losses, two draws. 20 finals for 15 wins, four losses, one draw.
Collingwood coach 1977-82. 138 games for 89 wins, 47 losses, two draws. 18 finals for nine wins, eight losses, one draw.
Geelong coach 1983-85. 66 games for 31 wins, 35 losses.
Sydney Swans coach 1986-88. 70 games for 43 wins, 27 losses. Four finals for four losses.
Coached Shepparton 1960-65.
Overall Coaching Record:
522 games (fifth most ever) for 336 wins, 182 losses, four draws.
42 finals games (fourth most ever) for 24 wins, 16 losses, two draws.
Richmond premiership coach 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974.
Richmond Team of the Century Coach (1998).
Richmond Hall of Fame Inductee (2002).
Richmond Immortal (2003).
All Australian Coach 1980.
AFL Hall of Fame Inductee 1996 (Coach).
Shepparton premiership coach 1963, 1964, 1965.
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