Dale Hughes honoured in Kalgoorlie

Dale Hughes must rank as one of the most versatile sportsman ever to pull on a Demons guernsey. His recent elevation to the Goldfields Sporting Hall of Fame certainly confirms his all round sporting prowess.

Dale already enjoyed an outstanding reputation in junior ranks in Kalgoorlie when he moved to Perth in 1960, aged 19. Within six months of arriving in the city he had the distinction of playing in three major sporting competitions - league football with Perth, first grade cricket also with Perth, and A grade baseball with Nedlands.

Now 76, he has a clear recollections of his first games with the Demons, having come to Lathlain Park with a reputation as a promising full forward.

"In my first game I kicked 2.7 against South Fremantle, and then 2.5 against Claremont," he said. "But it could have been different if coach Bob Miller had insisted that I was never to use the drop punt when shooting for goal!"

Dale played just eight games with the Demons, kicking the winning goal in his last match against South with three seconds remaining. Then he decided while running laps at training the next year that he should pull out of football and cricket and concentrate on baseball.

Perth's loss was baseball's gain. He played interstate baseball for WA right through the 1960s and gained Australian selection in 1963, 1965 and 1969. The pinnacle of his career came in 1969 when he was a member of the first Australian team to play overseas - against Japan and the Philippines in Manila. Dale had an outstanding series there as catcher. 

In the early 1970s he transferred to Brisbane as state manager of insurance firm Legal and General. He was appointed coach of both the Queensland and Australian teams in 1973.

Now back in Perth, Dale regularly attends the club's annual Centurion fundraising lunch at Lathlain, and enjoys catching up with his old football team mates.

"Being appointed to the Goldfields Hall of Fame is a great honour," he said. "And the Perth Football Club has been a major part of my sporting background."

Former Claremont captain-coach and 1949 Sandover Medallist, Sonny Maffina, was also named in the Hall of Fame.