Kevin "Skeeter" Coghlan (14 October 1929 – 22 August 2002)[1] was an Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood and Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
| Kevin Coghlan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Kevin Coghlan | ||
| Date of birth | 14 October 1929 | ||
| Date of death | 22 August 2002 (aged 72) | ||
| Original team(s) | CBC Parade / Clifton Hill CYMS | ||
| Height | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | ||
| Weight | 56 kg (123 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1949–1952 | Collingwood | 31 (25) | |
| 1953–1956 | Hawthorn | 59 (95) | |
| Total | 90 (120) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1956. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Coghlan, said to have been the smallest player of his era, earned his nickname of "Skeeter" when during a junior high jump competition he successfully made it over a target which was three inches above his height.[2] Not surprisingly, Coghlan played his football as a rover. He won a Gardiner Medal in 1949 for his efforts in the league seconds.
He took a while he establish himself in the Collingwood senior side, with just four appearances from his first two seasons.[3] Over the next two years however he played 27 games.[3] Collingwood went on to win the premiership in 1953, but Coghlan was at Hawthorn, having applied for and been granted a clearance to the Hawks.
Coghlan was the leading goal-kicker for Hawthorn in three successive seasons from 1953 to 1955.[4] His tally of 19 goals in 1953 remains the lowest ever total to top the Hawthorn goal-kicking.[3]
After retiring, Coghlan worked as a football journalist. He was a teacher of senior school maths and physics at Melbourne Girls Grammar school and taught at Melbourne High School and at Northcote High School. He was also a television and radio football commentator.[5]
References edit
- ^ "Kevin Coghlan". Collingwood Forever. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-920910-78-5.
- ^ a b c "AFL Tables: Kevin Coghlan". afltables.com.
- ^ "Kevin Coghlan - Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ The Age,"Better go for the lowly", 20 March 1980, p. 23