Edward Hugh Buggy (9 June 1896 – 18 June 1974) was a leading journalist well known as 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 ...
writer covering 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 ...
(renamed in 1989 Australian Football League).
Born at
Seymour, Victoria
Seymour () is a historic railway township located in the Southern end of the Goulburn Valley in the Shire of Mitchell, Victoria, Australia and is located north of Melbourne. At the , Seymour had a population of 6,569. The township services t ...
in 1896, Buggy attended school there before moving to Melbourne with his mother after the death of his father. He commenced his journalism career at the ''South Melbourne Record'', and joined the Melbourne
''Argus'' in 1917. He studied for the diploma of journalism at the university in 1921. He was gifted with a photographic memory.
[John Silvester,]
''Hugh Buggy,''
Melbourne Press Club
The Melbourne Press Club, commonly referred to as MPC, is a not-for-profit association of journalists in the city of Melbourne, Australia.
The Melbourne Press Club provides awards in the State of Victoria for outstanding journalism, presenting th ...
Journalist
Although he was deputy news editor of the ''Sydney Sun'' for five years, Buggy preferred the role of reporter. He was closely involved in reporting many of the dramatic events of his time such as the fatal shoot-out between
Squizzy Taylor
Joseph Theodore Leslie "Squizzy" Taylor (29 June 1888 – 27 October 1927) was an Australian gangster from Melbourne. He appeared repeatedly and sometimes prominently in Melbourne news media because of suspicions, formal accusations and some co ...
and
'Snowy' Cutmore in 1927 and the arrival in Brisbane of Kingsford-Smith and the
Southern Cross
Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...
in 1928. In 1932, following the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, he was the only reporter to gain an interview with Captain
Francis de Groot.
Buggy was much travelled during his journalism career, working for several Sydney and
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
based newspapers. Leaving the ''Argus'' during 1923, Buggy worked for the new ''Melbourne Evening Sun'' in 1923–25, then moved to the ''Sydney Sun'' in 1925–27, 1928–31 and 1937–42, ''The Sun News-Pictorial'' in 1927 and the Melbourne
''Herald'' in 1932–37. In 1950 he rejoined the ''Argus'', and became its chief football-writer in 1951. After the ''Argus'' ceased publication in 1957, he worked for various Melbourne suburban newspapers and contributed to the Catholic newspaper, the ''Advocate'', and as chief court reporter for
''The Truth'' for three years.
Censor
During World War II he was chief operational censor at General
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
's headquarters in 1942–46. From 1946 to 1950 he was an editor with
Radio Australia
ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...
.
Author
He
ghost wrote for Sir
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 18978 November 1935), nicknamed Smithy, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand.
Kingsford Smith was b ...
and
Charles Ulm the ''Story of the Southern Cross Trans-Pacific Flight'' in 1928, and for
Joe Maxwell V.C., M.C. & Bar, D.C.M the World War I recounting of his experiences ''Hells Bells and Mademoiselles'' in 1932, then in 1946 he wrote ''Pacific Victory''.
In 1977 his book ''The Real
John Wren
John Wren (3 April 1871 – 26 October 1953) was an Australian bookmaker, boxing and wrestling promoter, Irish nationalist, land speculator, newspaper owner, racecourse and racehorse owner, soldier, pro-conscriptionist and theatre owner. He b ...
'' was published.
Sport journalism
Buggy was also a highly respected writer on sport, particularly Australian rules football, although he covered a variety of sports. He had a flair for the picturesque sporting phrase: he was widely believed to have coined the term '
bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. It was designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman ...
' during the 1932/33 Ashes Test cricket series, but this claim was never settled conclusivel
He became chief football-writer at the ''Argus'' in 1951 until it ceased publication in 1957.
Death
Buggy married twice, but both marriages ended in divorce and were childless. He died following a heart seizure on 18 June 1974 and was buried in Seymour.
Hall of Fame
Buggy was inducted to the
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...
in 1996, with his citation reading:
:''Joined ''The Argus'' newspaper in 1917 and became a highly respected football writer. Became its chief football writer in 1951, after gaining wider experience elsewhere. Worked for suburban newspapers and continued to write football for the ''Advocate''. Wrote several important club histories, including one on Carlton.''
Works
* Buggy, H., ''Hugh Buggy's Murder Book: True Crime Stories by a Famous Reporter'', Argus & Australasian Ltd., (Melbourne), 1948?
* Buggy, H., ''Let's Look at Football'', Argus, (Melbourne), 1952.
* Buggy, H., ''Pacific Victory: A Short History of Australia's Part in the War against Japan'', Victorian Railway Printing Works, (North Melbourne), 1945.
* Buggy, H., ''The Real John Wren'', Widescope, (Camberwell), 1977.
* Buggy, H. & Bell, H., ''The Carlton Story: A History of the Carlton Football Club'', Eric White Associates, (Melbourne), 1958.
* Buggy, H., Taylor, P. & Banfield, P., ''Football Headlines: Great Men and Great Moments of the Australian Game'', Argus and Australasian Ltd., (Melbourne), 1955.
* Kingsford-Smith, C.E. & Ulm, C.T.P., ''Story of the "Southern Cross" Trans-Pacific Flight, 1928'', Penlington & Somerville, 1928.
* Ross, J. (ed.), ''The Australian Football Hall of Fame'', HarperCollinsPublishers, (Pymble), 1999.
References
External links
Australian Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buggy, Hugh
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
1974 deaths
1896 births
20th-century Australian journalists
The Herald (Melbourne) people
The Argus (Melbourne) people