Colin Hutchinson (born c. 1943)[1] is a veteran statistician, most notably covering the Victorian/Australian Football League in the sport of Australian rules football. He was the AFL's official historian from the 1990s[2] until around 2005.

A part of the AFL Players Association, Hutchinson provides interesting statistics on football to newspapers and media outlets.

He is the author of several books, including a history of the Geelong Football Club, titled Cats' Tales: the Geelong Football Club, 1897–1983),[3] and The AFL Footy Quiz Book.[4]

Hutchinson attended 1,294 consecutive matches involving the Geelong Football Club between Round 11, 1963, and the 2019 preliminary final, inclusive. That streak came to an end when he and the general public were locked out of the Cats' 2020 Round 1 loss to Greater Western Sydney in Sydney due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] If away games are excluded, Hutchinson's streak lasted from the early 1958 season to the 2019 preliminary final—62 seasons in all.[7]

In 1994, Hutchinson was honoured with Geelong Football Club life membership, and he received the Reg Hickey Award for outstanding service to Australian football in 1999.[8]

Hutchison was the co-recipient the 2021 Jack Titus Medal for his dedication and service towards Australian rules football.[9]

Bibliography edit

  • Cats' Tales: the Geelong Football Club, 1897–1983 (1984)[3]
  • The AFL Footy Quiz Book (2002)

References edit

  1. ^ "Alumni - Col Hutchinson, class of 1961". DNA College. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  2. ^ Sporting Life – Sport – www.theage.com.au
  3. ^ a b Cats' tales : the Geelong Football Club, 1897–1983. Geelong Advertiser, 1984
  4. ^ Col Hutchinson (2002). The AFL Footy Quiz Book. Penguin Group Australia. ISBN 978-0-14-300036-5.
  5. ^ "1100 games and counting". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Geelong superfan Col Hutchinson misses first Cats game since 1963". Seven News. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Alumni - Col Hutchinson, class of 1961". DNA College. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Alumni - Col Hutchinson, class of 1961". DNA College. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Hutchinson awarded Jack Titus Award". geelongcats.com.au. Retrieved 30 September 2021.