Australian Football

AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game

 

Key Facts

Full name
Jack Blackman

Known as
Jack Blackman

Born
29 January 1920

Died
15 June 1978 (aged 58)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 111d
Last game: 26y 214d

Height and weight
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 85 kg

Senior clubs
Hawthorn; Preston

Jumper numbers
Hawthorn: 34, 17

Jack Blackman

ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
HawthornV/AFL1939-1940, 1944-194687140.1624%10
PrestonVFA1947-194962
Total1939-1940, 1944-1949149140.09

AFL: 4,704th player to appear, 2,794th most games played, 4,367th most goals kickedHawthorn: 253rd player to appear, 173rd most games played, 296th most goals kicked

Jack Blackman, who was the son of pre-World War One Port Melbourne defender George Blackman, joined Hawthorn in 1939 and went on to become a key player for the Mayblooms/Hawks¹ in a war-interrupted 87-game league career. Playing mainly as a centre half back, he was utterly dependable and highly skilled. He won Hawthorn's club champion award in 1944, and was vice-captain for the 1946 season, his last in the VFL.

Prior to the start of the 1947 season, Blackman was enticed away from Hawthorn by VFA club Preston, whom he joined without a clearance. Appointed captain-coach, he steered the side to sixth place on the ladder, its best season for some time, and on a personal note ran fifth in the Liston Trophy voting. In 1948 the Bullants went within an ace of making the finals, and Blackman, who was normally named on a half back flank, but almost invariably ended up filling in where he was most needed, came second to Brighton's Russ McIndoe in the Liston voting.

Jack Blackman's final season with the Bullants in 1949 was a mixture of personal success - he finally won the Liston Trophy - and desperate disappointment for the team, which failed to build on the promise of the previous two years, and finished well down the list. Blackman, who had played 62 games for the club, departed in 1950 to coach Horsham in the Wimmera League.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. Hawthorn’s nickname was changed from Mayblooms to Hawks in 1943.

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications, Crème de la Crème

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.