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Updated: 01/10/2009

Hawthorn Hawks

It is thought that a junior Hawthorn Club was formed as early as 1873 but it struggled until 1913 when it was admitted to the VFA. Success still escaped them and in fact they only made the finals once in 1923 but never looked like winning a flag. Despite this they still applied for admission to the VFL and to many people's surprise were admitted in 1925. The Hawks did not make the finals until 1957 and won their first premiership in 1961 under Captain Graham Arthur and Coach John Kennedy. 

Kennedy won two more premierships as Hawthorn Coach in 1971 and 1976. They won under Parkin in 1978 and were the team of the decade in the 1980's.

A  1982 cover was issued showing their logo and premierships.

In the eighties they made the finals every year, played in the Grand Final from 1983 to 1989 and won premierships in 1983, 1986, 1988 and 1989. They last won in 1991. They slipped out of the finals for the first time in 1995 since 1980.

Hawthorn's meter slogan "The new force of the eighties" was not an idyll boast.

The AFL Centenary Cover below shows the Hawthorn Peel and Stick Stamps with the Hawthorn Permanent Pictorial Postmark (PMP 639) which was introduced on the 23rd April 1996. It was also used on a AFL Centenary cover of Colin Youren.

1996 Geelong AFL Centenary Cover

The Hawks chose Graham Arthur on the cover of their stamp Booklet and Jason Dunstall on their Postcard and maximum card.

A win in the Ansett Cup in 1999 reawakened Hawks fans hopes of more glory. Unfortunately they were not able to maintain their preseason form and finished out of the eight in 9th position. There was some compensation when Shane Crawford won the Brownlow Medal.

Hawthorn's home ground from 1903 was the Glenferrie Oval which it still uses as its training facility. It next played its home games at Waverley Park but for the 2000 season it was persuaded to move to Colonial Stadium. The last match against Sydney on 29th August 1999 was commemorated by a special cover produced by Havilah Enterprises.

On the 7th March 2000  the inaugural meeting of the "Premiership Players Club" was held at the MCG to help raise funds for charity. One Hawthorn player was included in the 20 players pictured on the A4 sheet of 20 P stamps of the millennium issue. The player was Michael Tuck. The stamps were also displayed on a set of 20 first day covers by Havilah Enterprises.

The 25th May 2000 marked  the release of club and individual 2000 Personalised Stamps.

On the 28th March 2001  the second annual  meeting of the "Premiership Players Club" was held at the MCG to help raise funds for charity. Two Hawthorn players were included in the 20 players pictured on the A4 sheet of 20 P stamps of the globe and map issue. They were Graham Arthur and Peter Knights. The stamps were also displayed on a set of 20 first day covers by Havilah Enterprises.

Season 2001 started spectacularly for the Hawks with them winning eight on the trot. The 30th March saw the release of the 2001 Personalised Stamps. They finished fourth loosing to Essendon in the Preliminary Final.

On the 27th April at a gala dinner at the Crown Palladium, Hawthorn announced their Team of the Century.

On the 27th March 2002 the third annual  meeting of the "Premiership Players Club" was held at the MCG to help raise funds for charity. Two Hawthorn players were included in the 20 players pictured on the A4 sheet of 20 P stamps of the sand, sea and sky overlaid by the Southern Cross issue. They were Alle de Wolde and Leigh Matthews. The stamps were also displayed on a set of 20 first day covers by First Class Collectables.

 On the 15th May the 2002 Personalised Stamps were released.

After a promising 2001, 2002 started with mixed results and ended with the Hawks out of the eight in tenth place.

2003 started slowly with calls to sack the coach but by midseason they were back on track but they just failed to make the eight. The Annual Premiership Players Club P stamp Sheet of 20 players was released on the 26th March 2003. The Hawthorn players featured were  Morton Browne and Russell Greene

In April  the 2003 Personalised Stamps were released.

Hawthorn's John Platten, was inducted into the AFL Hall Of Fame. Joel Smith was picked in the All Australian Team.

 Sam Mitchell, won the National Rising Star for the Best First Year Player. First Class Collectables issued a cover to commemorate the event.

2004 began slowly for the Hawks. The 2004 Personalised Stamps were released in mid April. Peter Hudson and Colin Youren  were included in the 20 players of the "Premiership Players Club".

On the 1st April 2005 the Hawthorn Hawks booklet of the 2005 Personalised Stamps was released. The 2005 Hall of Fame inductees were named on the 7th June 2005. First Class Collectables produced a set of covers. The inductees included Kelvin Moore. On the weekend commencing 6th August 2005 Shane Crawford played his 250th game. Commemorative Covers showing Crawford was released by First Class Collectables. First Class Collectables issued covers  to commemorate the Best and Fairest winners including, Luke Hodge.

On the 20th March 2006 the Hawthorn Hawks booklet of the 2006 Personalised Stamps was released. Round 16 was the Heritage Round with clubs wearing jumpers from a previous era. Onlycovers released a cover for each club including the Hawthorn FC.

After finishing outside the eight in 2006 the Hawks finished fifth in 2007 with Australia Post issuing the 2007 Personalised Stamps. In 2008 they hijacked Geelong and won the flag only to miss the eight in 2009. Australia Post changed from the Prestige Booklet to the Folder format issuing the 2008 Personalised Stamps and 2009 Personalised Stamps.