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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 with 136 inductees. As of 2024, this figure has grown to more than 300, including 32 "Legends". Jason Dunstall became the most recent inductee to achieve Legend status in 2024.[1][2][3] There had previously been 32 official Legends prior to Dunstall's elevation, but disgraced player Barry Cable had his football honours rescinded after being found guilty of historical child sex abuse.[4][5]

Since 2015, anyone involved in the game from its inception in 1858 until at least five years after their retirement are theoretically eligible; however, as of 2024, very few outside the elite leagues—the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL), the West Australian Football League (WAFL), the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), the Challenge Cup of 1870–1876, the South Australian Interclub competition of 1870–1876, and the Victorian Football Association (VFA) of 1877–1896) have been inducted.

Selection

Selection criteria

A committee considers candidates on the basis of their ability, integrity, sportsmanship and character. While the number of games played, coached or umpired, or years of service in the case of administrators and media representatives, is a consideration, it alone does not determine eligibility.

Players must be retired from the game for at least five years before they become eligible for induction (extended from three years in 2015),[6] while coaches, umpires, administrators and media representatives are eligible immediately upon retirement.

The committee considers candidates from all states and territories of Australia and from all Australian football competitions within Australia.

The following excerpt from the official Hall of Fame website highlights the main criteria used by the committee in selecting inductees to the Hall of Fame:

In 2010, several amendments were made to the selection criteria, with key changes including:[7]

Selection committee

The selection committee, as of 2021, comprises the chairman of the AFL Commission Richard Goyder, Paul Marsh (CEO of AFL Players Association), broadcasters (Michelangelo Rucci, Karen Lyon, Bruce McAvaney and Tania Armstrong), and former players (Ross Glendinning, Graham Cornes, Michael O'Loughlin and David Parkin) as well as Mark Genge (statistics/history consultant) and Patrick Keane (secretary).

Previous selectors have included Mike Fitzpatrick, Kevin Bartlett, Brendon Gale, historian Col Hutchinson, and broadcasters Harry Gordon, Geoff Christian, Caroline Wilson, Tim Lane, Mike Sheahan, Patrick Smith, Dennis Cometti and Jim Main.

Legends

The Legends category is reserved for those who are deemed to have had a significant impact on the game of Australian rules football. Most "Legends" enshrined to date represent former players who played the majority or the whole of their career in the VFL/AFL, with three players in Barrie Robran, Jack Oatey (SANFL) and Merv McIntosh (WAFL) being selected for careers in other state leagues. Being named as a "Legend" of the Australian Football Hall of Fame is the highest honour which can be bestowed onto an individual Australian footballer. As of 2024, there are 32 Legends, less than one in 400 (<0.25%) of all VFL/AFL players, and the feat is considerably rarer when considering other leagues outside of the AFL.[14]

In 2010, several amendments to the Legends category were made to ensure the exclusivity and prestige of the Hall of Fame. Among them were:[15]

Player inductees

Women inductees

Coach inductees


Umpires

Media

Administrators

Pioneers

Induction ceremony

Every year there is a special Hall of Fame dinner to announce and welcome the new inductees to the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame inductions started in Melbourne in 1996 to celebrate the VFL-AFL centenary season. Ceremonies have only been held outside of Victoria twice, once at Canberra in 2013 and once at Adelaide in 2017.[17]

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual annual induction event was not held, and instead the new inductees and legend elevation were announced over four nights in a series of television shows.[18]

Induction locations

Criticism

Until 2021, Barrie Robran was the only Legend inductee in the Australian Football Hall of Fame who did not play club football in Victoria during his career, a point often used to criticise the institution.

The Hall of Fame has been criticised by football writers and historians for being heavily biased towards figures from Victoria.[19]

The initial selection committee was made up of 11 Victorians, one South Australian and one Western Australian, with the current selection committee being made up of six Victorians, two Western Australians and one South Australian. Of the 136 inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, 116 played substantial parts of their careers in Victoria, with eleven of the thirteen "Legends" from Victoria.[20]

Criticism has also been slated at the under-representation of pioneers and other early stars of the game, as Adam Cardosi wrote in 2014:[21]

If we take the HOF at face value, footy legends only started to appear in number from the 1930s, and reached a high point in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Thus, according to the HOF's reckoning, the first sixty five years of the game is worth one legend, while the next sixty five years is worth 24 legends.

In 2018, the same criticism was levelled by ABC sport reporter James Coventry, who mentioned that over 60% of Legends inducted were either playing or coaching in 1969.[22]

I would never suggest Kevin Sheedy is not a worthy Legend, he absolutely is, but you have to think something's gone seriously wrong with past selection for the #HallofFame to now be in a position where 17 of its 28 Legends were active in 1969.

Declined inductions

In 2021, Garry McIntosh and Adam Goodes both declined their nominations to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Goodes declined due to the lack of support and remedial action taken by the AFL in response to the racial abuse he had endured in his final years playing in the AFL,[23][24] while McIntosh stated that "he did not play the game for personal honours".[25]

Removed inductees

Barry Cable was removed from the Hall of Fame in 2023 and his Legend Status was revoked after he was found civilly liable in a sexual abuse lawsuit.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "AFL - News, Fixtures, Scores & Results". afl.com.au. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Hawks great Jason Dunstall joins Hall of Fame Legends". afl.com.au. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Jason Dunstall's epic resume complete after elevation to Legend status in Australian Football Hall of Fame". Fox Sports. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  4. ^ Naglazas, Jesinta Burton, Mark (22 June 2023). "Barry Cable stripped of all honours by WA sporting bodies". WAtoday. Retrieved 12 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Hall of Fame legend Barry Cable to be kicked out, stripped of AFL's top honour over sexual abuse case". Fox Sports. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  6. ^ Higgins, Ben (28 October 2015). "Longer HOF wait for retired greats". PerthNow. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  7. ^ "AFL Hall of Fame criteria changes".
  8. ^ a b c Riley, Beveridge (16 November 2018). "Hall of Fame changes pave way for females to be inducted". afl.com.au. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  9. ^ Coventry, James (2018). Footballistics. Sydney: ABC Books. p. 277. ISBN 9780733338441.
  10. ^ AFL Record Round 9. AFL Record. 2009. p. 30.
  11. ^ "Hall of Fame hits the nation's capital". AFL NSW / ACT. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  12. ^ "About the AFL Hall of Fame". afl.com.au. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  13. ^ "The AFL Administration". afl.com.au. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  14. ^ "All players ranked by win-loss records. Secondary sort:Games played".
  15. ^ "AFL legend status even more exclusive".
  16. ^ Rucci, Michaelangelo (4 June 2015). "AFL Hall of Fame 2015: Bob Hammond enters the AFL Hall of Fame on back of off-field service". News Corporation. Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Reference at www.adelaidenow.com.au".
  18. ^ Twomey, Callum (25 May 2020). "Four-night extravaganza: Hall of Fame locked in". afl.com.au. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Vics play favourites as Peake on bench". – The West Australian. Published 11 June 2011. Written by Mark Duffield. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  20. ^ "AFL Hall of Fame – See Victoria". Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011. – FullPointsFooty. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  21. ^ Cardosi, Adam (12 March 2014). ""Neglected heroes: The sad case of the Australian Football Hall of Fame""., Australian Football. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  22. ^ Coventry, James (29 May 2018). "JCoventry/status". Twitter. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  23. ^ "Adam Goodes declines Hall of Fame honour". www.abc.net.au. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  24. ^ "'Our game did not do enough': AFL confirms Adam Goodes' Hall of Fame rejection". Fox Sports. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Debbie Lee becomes first woman to join Australian Football Hall of Fame, Chris Judd and Nathan Burke also inducted". ABC News. 24 August 2021.
  26. ^ "AFL removes Barry Cable from Hall of Fame, revokes Legend status". www.afl.com.au. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.

External links