ACKNOWLEDGED for his standing as both a champion player and veteran administrator, former Carlton captain Mike Fitzpatrick has been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Already immortalised in Navy Blue as well as his home state as a member of the Carlton and WA Football Hall of Fames, Fitzpatrick’s standing in the game was enhanced even further on Tuesday night.
Fitzpatrick is the 23rd Carlton player to be welcomed among the game’s greats, inducted on the same night that Chris Judd was officially honoured in person after his nod 12 months ago.
Arriving from Subiaco as not only a WAFL premiership player but also a Rhodes Scholar, ruckman Fitzpatrick would ultimately stamp himself as one of the great players and leaders of the Carlton Football Club.
He received his first taste of premiership success in 1979 — a season which also yielded a Carlton best-and-fairest award, following on from his consecutive victories in 1973 and 1974 at Subiaco.
The next two Carlton Grand Final victories saw Fitzpatrick leave his indelible mark as captain in the back-to-back triumphs of 1981 and 1982.
He was elevated into the Carlton Hall of Fame a decade after his final premiership triumph before he was named in the Club’s Team of the Century in 2000.
After retiring from the game, it was inevitable that Fitzpatrick would once again devote his expertise to the game of Australian Rules Football, appointed to the AFL Commission in 2003 before taking on the role as Chairman for a decade (2008-2017), overseeing the introduction of the AFLW competition as well as the AFL’s expansion to 18 teams.
Mike Fitzpatrick’s stats:
DOB: 28 January 1953
VFL/AFL games: 150
VFL/AFL goals: 150
VFL/AFL debut: Round 1, 1975 v Geelong
Carlton guernsey No.4
Carlton Player No.850
Career highlights:
3 x VFL/AFL premiership player (1979, 1981, 1982)
2 x VFL/AFL premiership captain (1981, 1982)
WAFL premiership player (1973)
Carlton Team of the Century (2000)
Carlton Hall of Fame (1992)
Carlton captain (1979)
Carlton best and fairest (1979)
2 x Subiaco best and fairest (1973, 1974)
AFL Chairman (2008-2017)
Former Carlton footballers elevated to Legend status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Ron Barassi
Alex Jesaulenko
John Nicholls
Former Carlton footballers inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame (players)
Ken Hunter
Peter Bedford
Craig Bradley
Horrie Clover
George Coulthard
Bruce Doull
Ken Hands
Ern Henfry
Wayne Johnston
Chris Judd
Stephen Kernahan
Anthony Koutoufides
Rod McGregor
Peter McKenna
Stephen Silvagni
Geoff Southby
Harry Vallence
Robert Walls
Greg Williams
Former Carlton coaches inducted into Australian Football Hall of Fame (coaches)
David Parkin
Former Carlton administrators inducted into Australian Football Hall of Fame (administrators)
Sir Kenneth Luke
