BELOVED Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon became a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia on Friday for his service to the community.
Gordon, who returned as club president in 2012, was recognised in the Australia Day honours for his work in Australian football, health promotion, youth social welfare and the law.
"It is a great honour to receive this award," Gordon told the Bulldogs' website.
"I feel fortunate to have been offered the opportunities I've had throughout my career to date.
"When I look back on how far the Bulldogs have come in 30 years since the first gatherings of the Save the Dogs group in the then-condemned John Gent stand, I have to just shake my head.
"I hope everyone else who worked hard to help the club survive and prosper feels the same kind of pride. To have the chance to commit to an important cause is itself the best reward."
Gordon, who grew up in West Footscray, is best known for his role as a two-time president of the Bulldogs.
The 60-year-old was instrumental in preventing a merger with Fitzroy in 1989, and was at the forefront again for the club's drought-shattering second premiership in 2016.
But Gordon's legacy extends well beyond football.
His pioneering efforts in mass tort and consumer class action litigation helped thousands of men and women who otherwise lacked the resources to gain financial compensation.
Gordon pursued claims for victims of asbestos cancer, medically acquired AIDS, sex abuse related to the Catholic Church, faulty breast implants and more.
He was the driving force at the Bulldogs for what has become Australia's biggest men's health program, Sons of the West.
The program has positively impacted thousands of lives across Melbourne's west since 2014.
Companion program Daughters of the West was made possible last year through major sponsor Gordon Legal's $200,000 pledge.
Gordon served the VicHealth board for almost a decade, was the inaugural Victoria Walks chairman and the co-inaugural McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer chairman.
He is still on the board for the homeless youth charity of the AFL Players' Association, Ladder, and was the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation chairman for five years from 2012.
Gordon was awarded an honorary doctorate at Victoria University last year, in recognition of more than 30 years of distinguished service to traditionally disadvantaged clients.
