Ken Judge

Ken Judge
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-01-15)15 January 1958
Date of death 15 January 2016(2016-01-15) (aged 58)
Place of death Perth, Western Australia
Original team(s) East Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft No. 7, 1981 interstate draft
Debut Round 1, 1983, Hawthorn vs. Fitzroy, at Junction Oval
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1975–1982, 1987 East Fremantle (WAFL) 120 (263)[1]
1983–1986 Hawthorn 072 (158)
1987–1988 Brisbane Bears 017 0(18)
Total 201 (439)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1991–1994 East Fremantle (WAFL) 91 (51–40–0)
1996–1999 Hawthorn 89 (37–50–2)
2000–2001 West Coast 44 (12–31–1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1988.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Ken Judge (15 January 1958 – 15 January 2016) was an Australian rules footballer and coach.

Playing career[edit]

East Fremantle Football Club[edit]

Judge played 120 games for East Fremantle in the Western Australian Football League and was an important member of Old East's team in the 1979 grand final win over archrival South Fremantle, one of the most famous grand finals in Western Australian footy folklore.

Hawthorn Football Club[edit]

Recruited by Hawthorn, Judge played 72 games from 1983 until 1986, and made an immediate impact playing in a premiership in his first season and winning the Hawks' Best First Year Player award. Judge also played in the Grand Finals of 1984 and 1985 but struggled for selection in 1986.[2]

Brisbane Bears[edit]

He moved to the Brisbane Bears, where he played another 17 games without making much impact in 1987 and 1988.[3][4]

Coaching career[edit]

East Fremantle Football Club[edit]

Judge retired from playing at the end of 1988 and returned to Western Australia to take up various coaching roles. As a coach, he enjoyed premiership success with his former club, East Fremantle, in 1992 and 1994.

Carlton Football Club assistant coach (1995)[edit]

In 1995, Judge was appointed as an assistant coach at Carlton, Carlton had the most successful premiership season to that time. On the strength of a recommendation from Carlton Football Club senior coach David Parkin, who was also a former Hawthorn captain and premiership coach.[5]

Hawthorn Football Club senior coach (1996-1999)[edit]

Judge was appointed senior coach of Hawthorn from 1996 until 1999,[3][6] finishing 8th and therefore reaching the finals in his first year. However, in the following years Hawthorn struggled and finished 15th in the 1997 season and 13th in the 1998 season before just missing out of the finals in 1999, finishing 9th. Judge then resigned as Hawthorn senior coach, with a year to run on his contract.[7] Judge was then replaced by Peter Schwab as Hawthorn Football Club senior coach.

West Coast Eagles senior coach (2000-2001)[edit]

Judge then returned to Western Australia as senior coach of the West Coast Eagles, after Mick Malthouse stepped down as West Coast Eagles senior coach at the end of the 1999 season. Judge coached West Coast Eagles for the 2000 and 2001 AFL seasons.[3][8] He was unsuccessful during his time there, where West Coast Eagles under Judge finished 13th in the 2000 season and 14th in the 2001 season before he was sacked at the end of the 2001 season and replaced by John Worsfold as West Coast Eagles senior coach.

Radio career[edit]

Following the end of his coaching career, Judge worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a sports commentator for ABC Radio Grandstand. In 2009, he apologised for an on-air gaffe when he referred to fellow commentator Jon Dorotich as "bigger than Hitler's last gas bill".[9]

Death[edit]

Judge died on his 58th birthday in Perth, Western Australia on 15 January 2016 from multiple myeloma.[10] He had been diagnosed with the blood condition in mid-2010 and had undergone several bouts of chemotherapy treatment.[11] He was laid to rest on 25 January in Perth.

References[edit]

  1. ^ These tallies refer to premiership matches (home-and-away and finals matches) only.
  2. ^ "KEN JUDGE". Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2003). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (5th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 377. ISBN 1-74095-032-1.
  4. ^ "KEN JUDGE". Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Hawthorn Hawks premiership player Ken Judge dies, aged 58". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Former Hawthorn, West Coast coach Ken Judge passes away". 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Hawthorn Hawks premiership player Ken Judge dies, aged 58". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Former Hawthorn, West Coast coach Ken Judge passes away". 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  9. ^ Clarke, Tim (25 May 2009). "Ken Judge apologises for 'Hitler' gaffe". The Age. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Former Hawthorn star Ken Judge dies". InDaily. Solstice Media. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  11. ^ Nicholson, Ron (22 January 2012). "Former Hawthorn star Ken Judge fights on after cancer relapse". Sunday Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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