John Leslie Peck (7 August 1937 – 2 February 1993) 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 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).
Football
Hawthorn
John Peck, the brother of
Graham Peck, 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 ...
from 1954 to 1966.
He was the first
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 ...
player to win the leading VFL goalkicking award. Peck won the award in three successive years in 1963–65. He Kicked 78 goals in 1963, 66 goals in 1964 and 58 goals in 1965. In 1960 Peck kicked the winning goal in a match against Collingwood at Victoria Park, It was Hawthorn's first win after 35 years at that venue. Peck was the last player to win the
Coleman Medal
The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most goals in the home-and-away season. It is named after Essendon full-forward John Coleman, one of the most ...
from the wooden spoon winning side until
Brendan Fevola
Brendan Fevola (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played with the Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Fevola is regarded as one of the most effective ...
from won it in 2006.
He played in the 1961 and 1963
Grand Finals
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
.
Brian Sawley
In the third quarter of the interstate match between Victoria and South Australia in Adelaide on 7 July 1963, playing in the ruck, Peck knocked Norwood's Brian Sawley unconscious.
A South Australian Tribunal found Peck guilty of striking, but left the penalty to be determined by the VFL — displaying controversial leniency, the VFL only suspended Peck for two weeks.
Port Melbourne
He played for Port Melbourne 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 ...
in 1967 and 1968.
/ref> Most notably during his time at Port Melbourne, Peck was reported for abusing and disputing the decisions of field umpire David Jackson in the second quarter of the controversial 1967 VFA Grand Final
The 1967 VFA Division 1 Grand Final was an Australian rules football match played between the Dandenong Redlegs and the Port Melbourne Borough. The match was held on Sunday 24 September 1967 at the Punt Road Oval in Jolimont, Melbourne, to deci ...
; the incident prompted captain-coach Brian Buckley to lead the Port Melbourne team off the ground (a forfeiture was averted when club officials instructed the players to return to the field), and Peck was suspended for six matches for the incident.
Honours and achievements
Hawthorn
* VFL premiership player: 1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
* 2× Minor premiership: 1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
, 1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
Individual
* 3× Coleman Medal
The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most goals in the home-and-away season. It is named after Essendon full-forward John Coleman, one of the most ...
: 1963, 1964, 1965
* 8× Hawthorn leading goalkicker: 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
* Hawthorn captain: 1965
* 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 ...
Hall of Fame
* 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 ...
life member
Death
Peck died suddenly on 2 February 1993 from a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
at the age of 55. His death was received with great sadness within the footy community, and he was buried at the Euroa Public Cemetery.
See also
*1967 VFA Grand Final
The 1967 VFA Division 1 Grand Final was an Australian rules football match played between the Dandenong Redlegs and the Port Melbourne Borough. The match was held on Sunday 24 September 1967 at the Punt Road Oval in Jolimont, Melbourne, to deci ...
Footnotes
References
* Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.
External links
*
*
Boyles Football Photos: John Peck
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
Hawthorn Football Club players
Hawthorn Football Club Premiership players
Coleman Medal winners
Port Melbourne Football Club players
1937 births
1993 deaths
One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players
Burials in Victoria (Australia)
{{AFL-bio-1930s-stub