Australian Football

Arguably Geelong's most famous son, Reg Hickey served the club he loved with distinction as both player and coach over a total of 26 seasons. As a player Hickey was a tough, highly skilled and always scrupulously fair defender who joined Geelong from Cressy, and who played a total of 245 VFL games between 1926 and 1940. He was a dual winner of the Cats' best and fairest award, and was a key figure in the their 1931 and 1937 premiership sides, the latter as captain-coach.

Strongly built at 185cm and 92kg, Hickey was a master at breaking attempted tackles, and his frequent clearing dashes were both inspirational and highly telling. Extremely adaptable, he played equally well in both wet and dry conditions, and the fact that he was a genuinely two-sided player made him extremely hard to contain during an era when such ability was comparatively rare.

A VFL representative on 18 occasions Hickey was one of the most revered figures in Victorian football during his playing career, and 11 seasons as non-playing coach of Geelong only served to reinforce that reputation as he presided over a great era for the Cats, including back-to-back flags in 1951-2. After leaving Geelong, Hickey enjoyed success as coach of the VFL representative side which he led to victory at the 1956 Perth carnival.

In 2001, Reg Hickey was selected as the captain and centre half back of Geelong's official 'Team of the Century'.

Author - John Devaney