Dean Hartigan (born 23 August 1954) is a former

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 with

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 King ...

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).

Biography

Essendon career

Hartigan, a recruit from

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, started out in the Essendon Under 19s, which he joined in 1972. He got called up to the seniors for the first time in the

1974 VFL season The 1974 VFL season was the 78th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 6 April until 28 September, and comprised a 2 ...

. Aged 19, Hartigan was one of three Essendon players to debut against St Kilda in round 15, most famous of the trio being

Simon Madden Simon Madden (born 30 December 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire 19-season career with the Essendon Football Club from 1974 until 1992. Madden is one of the most decorated players in the club's history and wi ...

. He did not miss a game for the rest of the year in an encouraging start to his career and continued his sequence by playing in the first 10 rounds of the 1975 season. In round 14, an 80-point loss to

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

at Windy Hill, Hartigan was knocked unconscious by

Phillip Pinnell Phillip Pinnell (born 7 January 1951) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club and Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Officially recorded with a playing height of 189 cm, P ...

during a second quarter brawl in which eight players were put on report. A

back pocket In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team is assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their location on the gro ...

player, Hartigan finished the 1975 season with 15 games. He played much of 1976 in the Essendon reserves and won the club's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award, but still put together 10 senior games. In 1977, his final season, Hartigan played just three league games.

Later career

From 1978 to 1981, Hartigan played for Coburg 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). He was a back pocket in Coburg's 1979 premiership winning team. In 1980 he was a VFA representative and played in the Coburg side which lost to

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...

the grand final. He left Coburg in 1982 to captain-coach Seddon, then from 1983 to 1987 captain-coached Aberfeldie.

Family

Hartigan was not the first member of his family to play VFL football. His father, Jack Hartigan, played for

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

and St Kilda in the 1950s. Brent Hartigan, his son, played for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

from 2004 to 2006.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartigan, Dean 1954 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Essendon Football Club players Coburg Football Club players Aberfeldie Football Club players