View source for Don Hart

{{short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Don Hart
| image =
| fullname = Donald Clement Hart
| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|09|29|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|02|08|1930|09|29|df=y}}
| death_place =
| originalteam = Westgarth Socials
| height = 180 cm
| weight = 77 kg
| position =
| statsend = 1962
| years1 = 1950–51, 1953
| club1 = {{AFL Fit}}
| games_goals1 = 37 (43)
| years2 = 1954
| club2 = {{AFL Ric}}
| games_goals2 = {{0}}5 {{0}}(2)
| years3 = 1956-1958
| club3 = [[Brighton Football Club|Brighton]] (VFA)
| games_goals3 = 53 142
| years4 = 1958-1962
| club4 = Mornington
| games_goals4 = 96 462
| games_goalstotal = 191 (649)
| careerhighlights =
}}
'''Donald Clement Hart''' (29 September 1930 – 8 February 2018) was an [[Australian rules football]]er who played with [[Fitzroy Football Club|Fitzroy]],<ref>''Vale Max Cole and Donald Hart''.</ref> and [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]],<ref>Hogan (1996), p.94.</ref> in the [[Australian Football League|Victorian Football League]] (VFL),<ref>Holmesby (2014), p.370.</ref> and with [[Brighton Football Club]] in the [[Victorian Football Association]] (VFA).<ref>''VFA Project''.</ref>
==Family==
The son of Frederick Arthur Hart (1889-1948),<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206885296 Deaths: Hart, ''The Age'', (Saturday, 24 January 1948), p.&nbsp;2.]</ref> and Elizabeth Hart (1889-1966), née King,<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iWQQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aZMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2190%2C867134 Deaths: Hart, ''The Age'', (Monday, 5 December 1966), p.&nbsp;17.]</ref>  Donald Clement Hart was born on 29 September 1930.
He married Phyllis Jean Hopewell on 9 October 1954.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23445031 Woman's Page, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 11 October 1954), p.10.]</ref>
Two of his three brothers, [[Arthur Hart (footballer, born 1917)|Arthur Robert Hart (1917 –1981)]] and [[Eddie Hart (Australian footballer)|Edward Ronald "Eddie" Hart (1922–1995)]] also played for Fitzroy,<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1734218 Photo, ''The Argus'', Saturday, 2 September 1950), p.10.]</ref> as had his uncle [[Bob King (Australian footballer)|Robert "Bob" King (1894–1979)]].
==Football==
A strong, safe mark, with much pace, and a long left-foot kick, Hart played at full-forward and at centre half-forward.
=== Fitzroy (VFL) ===
Hart played for Fitzroy over three seasons (1950, 1951, 1953); he played in 37 First XVIII games, scoring 44 goals, and in 20 Second XVII games (scoring 31 goals in 1953 alone).
He was unable to play for the 1952 season due to a knee injury that required a cartilage operation.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206205436 Don Hart, Roberts Out For Season: Injuries Hit Fitzroy, ''The Age'', (Friday, 4 April 1952), p.15.]</ref>
=== Richmond (VFL) ===
Hart transferred to Richmond at the start of the 1954 season, playing in 5 First XVIII games, scoring 2 goals, and in 16 Second XVIII games, scoring 48 goals.
He played at centre half-forward, kicking one goal, in the Richmond Second XVIII team that beat Melbourne 10.20 (80) to 4.9 (33) in the 1954 Grand Final;<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205395925 Pacy Richmond Takes Seconds' Premiership, ''The Age'', (Monday, 27 September 1954), p.16.]</ref> and, with a season tally of 48 goals, he was the leading goal-kicker in the VFL Seconds competition that year.
===VFL Seconds===
Playing for the VFL Seconds against the SAFL Seconds, in the curtain-raising match before the VFL/SAFL representative match on the MCG on 19 June 1954, Hart kicked seven goals.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/132053996 Seconds Thrashed in Vic., ''The (Adelaide) News'', (Saturday, 19 June 1954), p.16]; [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23419630/1769161 Seconds Swamp Visitors, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 21 June 1954), p.19.]</ref>
===Brighton (VFA)===
Unable to play at all during 1955 due to knee problems, he went to [[Brighton Football Club]] in the [[Victorian Football Association]] (VFA) in 1956.
Over three seasons (1956-1958) he played 55 senior games and kicked 143 goals.
=== Mornington (MPFL) ===
He played 96 games and kicked 462 goals in his five seasons (1958-1962) with the Mornington Football Club in the [[Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League|Mornington Peninsula Football League]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3K4UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=e7oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3431%2C461422 Mornington's Flag After Ten Years, ''The Age'', (Monday, 3 October 1960), p.22.]</ref>
==Death==
He died on 8 February 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tributes.heraldsun.com.au/notice/497802005 |title=Herald Sun Tributes}}</ref>
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
* {{cite web|title=Vale Max Cole and Donald Hart - lions.com.au|url=http://www.lions.com.au/news/2018-02-26/vale-max-cole|website=lions.com.au|accessdate=1 March 2018}}
* Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, (Melbourne), 1996. {{ISBN|0-646-18748-1}}
* {{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 |last=Holmesby|first=Russell|last2=Main|first2=Jim |year=2014 |edition=10th |isbn=978-1-921496-32-5 |publisher=BAS Publishing |location=Seaford, Victoria |page=370}}
* 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. {{ISBN|0-670-86814-0}}
== External links ==
* {{AFL Tables|ref=D/Don_Hart.html}}
* {{AustralianFootball|ref=don%2Bhart/7923}}
* [https://www.tigerlandarchive.org/tiki-index.php?page=Don+Hart ''Tigerland Archive'': Don Hart.]
* [http://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Players/Hart,_Don.php Don Hart, at ''The VFA Project''.]
* [http://boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Don+Hart ''Boyles Football Photos'': Don Hart.]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Don}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Fitzroy Football Club players]]
[[Category:Richmond Football Club players]]
[[Category:Brighton Football Club players]]