Francis Vane Hughes (26 February 1894 – 23 January 1978), nicknamed Checker, was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League). He coached the Melbourne Football Club to premiership success, and was responsible for the club changing its nickname to the Demons.

Frank Hughes
Personal information
Full name	Francis Vane Hughes
Nickname(s)	Checker
Date of birth	(1894-02-26)26 February 1894
Place of birth	Myrtleford, Victoria
Date of death	23 January 1978(1978-01-23) (aged 83)
Place of death	East Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s)	Burnley
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1914–1923	Richmond	87 (51)
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1927–1932	Richmond	120 0(87–31–2)
1933–1941	Melbourne	173 (108–64–1)
1945–1948	Melbourne	084 0(49–34–1)
1965	Melbourne	001 00(0–1–0)
Total		378 (244–130–4)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1923. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 1965.
Career highlights
Club 2× VFL premiership player: 1920, 1921 5× VFL premiership coach: 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948 Australian Football Hall of Fame Melbourne Hall of Fame Richmond Hall of Fame
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Playing career

A small and quick player with brilliant skills in stab passing and handball, Hughes played in two Richmond Football Club premiership sides.

• Richmond 1914-15; 1919-23 (87 games, 51 goals)
  • Premierships 1920, 1921.

Coaching career

Hughes coached over an extended period with a great deal of success, securing 5 VFL premierships. When his friend and former Richmond Secretary Percy Page went to Melbourne Football Club Hughes followed him. He renamed the "Fuchsias" to Demons, sacked 13 players and instilled discipline in the club.

• Ulverstone (Tasmania) 1924-1926
• Richmond 1927-1932 (120 games, 87 wins, 31 losses, 2 draws)
  • Premiership 1932.
• Melbourne 1933-1941, 1945–1948, 1965 (254 games, 157 wins, 95 losses, 2 draws)
  • Premierships 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948.

Hughes was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 with his citation reading:

Took Richmond to premiership success in 1932 then went to Melbourne and landed another four flags. A tough and disciplined coach.

References

• Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 79. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
• Hogan P: The Tigers Of Old, Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank 'Checker' Hughes.

• Frank Hughes at AustralianFootball.com
• Australian Football Hall of Fame
• Richmond Football Club - Hall of Fame