Frank 'Checker' Hughes was a famous player and coach of Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (later renamed to Australian Football League) in the period 1914 to 1948.

Playing career

A small and quick player with brilliant skills in stab passing and handball, Hughes played in two Richmond Football Club

Richmond Football Club

The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...

 premiership sides.

• Richmond 1914-15; 1919-23 (87 games, 51 goals)
  • Premierships 1920, 1921.

Coaching career

Hughes coached over an extended period with a great deal of success, securing 5 VFL premierships. When his friend and former Richmond Secretary Percy Page went to Melbourne Football Club

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

 Hughes followed him. He renamed the "Fuschias" to Demons, sacked 13 players and instilled discipline in the club.

• Ulverstone (Tasmania
  Tasmania
  Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
  
  ) 1924-1926
• Richmond 1927-1932 (120 games, 87 wins, 31 losses, 2 draws)
  • Premiership 1932.
• Melbourne 1933-1941, 1945–1948, 1965 (254 games, 157 wins, 95 losses, 2 draws)
  • Premierships 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948.

Hughes was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame

Australian Football Hall of Fame

The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...

in 1996 with his citation reading:

Took Richmond to premiership success in 1932 then went to Melbourne and landed another four flags. A tough and disciplined coach.

See also

Checker Hughes Premiership Teams