Charlie Hardy (1 April 1887 – 19 May 1968) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFA) during the 1910s and

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) during the early 1920s.

VFA

Hardy played with

in the VFA for over a decade where he formed a strong ruck combination with Syd Barker. At just 157 cm and 54 kg Hardy is one of the smallest players to ever play at a top level. He captained the club in 1914, and served as a brilliant rover helping North to premiership victories in 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918. He was also a member of the famous "invincibles" side that went undefeated in a record 58 games. Hardy left the club along with many of his teammates upon the temporary disbanding of North Melbourne in 1921, and joined Essendon in the VFL.

Essendon

Hardy made his senior VFL debut in Round 10 of the 1921 season he was aged 34 and became the oldest player in the history of the league to make his debut."Hardy proves you are never too old", ''Football Record'', Australian Football League, 31 May 2013, p. 28 In 1921 he also represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at the Perth Carnival. Hardy continued to be a leading player for Essendon, playing in both the 1923 and the 1924 premiership teams. Hardy retired at the end of the 1925 VFL season, aged 38, becoming the oldest player to play a League match for Essendon, since overtaken by Dustin Fletcher at 40 years and 21 days.

Coaching

Hardy started his coaching career at VFA club

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

and coached them to premierships in 1926 and 1927, the club's first two. This effort saw him rejoin Essendon in 1928 as their non playing coach and he spent three years in this role with the Bombers, narrowly missing the finals on each occasion. In 1931 he crossed to St Kilda and was coach for two seasons, with little success. During the First World War recess in the VFA, he went to Williamstown Juniors in the VJFA as captain-coach during 1916 when the incumbent coach, former Williamstown player Reg Wallis, was badly injured early in the season and ruled out for the remainder of the year. Williamstown Juniors won the premiership in that season and followed it up with another in 1917 before Hardy returned to North Melbourne.

References

External links

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Coaching record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Charlie 1887 births 1968 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Players of Australian handball North Melbourne Football Club (VFA) players Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club Premiership players Essendon Football Club coaches St Kilda Football Club coaches Coburg Football Club coaches Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players