Almanac Books: ‘A Football Genius – The Peter Hudson Story’

 

Peter Hudson and Dan Eddy will be our special guests at the Almanac/Odd Friday Lunch on June 3. Bookings essential. More information HERE:

 

 

 

 

A FOOTBALL GENIUS:

THE PETER HUDSON STORY 

 

BY DAN EDDY 

 

Hardie Grant Books | 1 April 2022 | RRP: AUS $34.99 NZ $39.99 

 

“Huddo wasn’t a goal-scoring machine; machines are predictable. Huddo was a genius” 

— Neil Kearney, journalist and broadcaster 

 

“I remember at training one night he had the ball right on the boundary line, and he went bang, and the ball wobbled around and went through for a goal. I said to him, ‘You couldn’t do that again’, so back he went, and he did it again from the same spot! I thought, ‘You’d better shut up Kennedy, he’s a football genius’. That’s what he was.”— John Kennedy, Hawthorn FC legend 

 

 

Peter Hudson, AM is A Football Genius – one of the greatest footballers in the history of Australian Football. A Hawthorn Football Club icon, he is considered one of the greatest full forwards in the game’s history. 

 

He was a prolific goal-kicker who broke a string of records during his remarkable career at Hawthorn and in Tasmania, culminating in him being awarded Legend status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. No VFL/AFL player has averaged more goals per game than Hudson (5.64), and he is one of only two men to have kicked 150 goals in a season. 

 

From the moment Peter Hudson arrived at Hawthorn in 1967, the goalkicking champion from New Norfolk captured the attention of the football public. He kicked 125 goals in his second season, the first centurion goalkicker in the VFL since 1952, and would reach the ‘ton’ another four times, including 150 goals and a premiership in 1971, when he famously tied with Bob Pratt for most goals in a single season. 

 

Such was the intrigue and adulation for Hudson, the media coined the phrase ‘Hudsonitis’, as he continued to break record after record. When a minister posed a theological question on a church’s notice board in Hawthorn: ‘What would you do if Jesus came to Hawthorn?’, one larrikin scribbled underneath: ‘Move Peter Hudson to centre half-forward!’ 

 

In 129 games in brown and gold, Hudson averaged 5.64 goals per game, a League record which may never be broken. 

 

A Football Genius, is an authorised biography, told through the words of Hudson, his family, friends, teammates, coaches, opponents and many more. Author Dan Eddy details the Hudson phenomenon, revealing a humble man blessed with some of the greatest goalkicking gifts that Australian football audiences have ever seen. 

 

About the Author: 

 

Dan Eddy is the author and co-author of 12 books, including biographies on Essendon legend Dick Reynolds (King Richard) and former Hawthorn captain Peter Crimmins (Crimmo). With a passion for sports history, Eddy has a Masters’ Degree (Victoria University) and PhD (Federation University), and has been published in Inside Sport and the AFL Record. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. Kevin Densley says

    I’m looking forward to reading this one – about a definite all-time great, and a footballer about whom I have vivid childhood memories.

  2. Malcolm Ashwood says

    Absolutely brilliant book I am in awe of how many interviews,Dan must have done and his meticulous record keeping absolutely loved it and I’m not easy to please re sports books

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