Harry Hickey

Harry Hickey was a local product recruited from South Footscray, a club he helped establish, before making his mark as one of the Bulldogs' premier midfielders of the 1930s and 40s. While he began his VFL tenure as a rover and half-forward, his career truly flourished when he moved into the centre in 1939. A dynamic and high-scoring on-baller, Hickey possessed a rare ability to hit the scoreboard from the engine room, averaging nearly a goal a game throughout his career. His dominance was highlighted in Footscray’s first-ever VFL final in 1938, where he gathered 30 kicks and booted five goals in a best-on-ground performance against Collingwood.

A three-time Best and Fairest winner and the club captain in 1947, Hickey’s legacy at the Western Oval is defined by both consistency and clutch moments. He famously secured a finals berth for the Dogs in 1944 by scoring a behind after the siren to sink Carlton, edging them out of the top four by a solitary point. He finished runner-up in the 1939 Brownlow Medal and represented Victoria twice, eventually departing the VFL at the peak of his powers to accept a lucrative captain-coach role with Rochester in the Bendigo Football League. He was later named on the wing in the Footscray Team of the Century.