It’s hard to believe, but the great Tommy Hafey turns 80 today (Friday, August 5).

The man whose physical appearance and fitness levels are the envy of those half his age (if not even younger!), is true Richmond ‘royalty’. He is revered by the Tiger faithful for the pivotal role he played in the Club’s greatest era.

From 1967-74, Tommy, in his capacity as senior coach, guided the Tigers to four premierships. “Hafey’s Heroes”, as they became known, were renowned for a ruthless, relentless and uncompromising attitude, which made them the toast of the legion of Richmond fans, and the envy of their rivals.

Tommy instilled a tremendous spirit and camaraderie within the Tiger teams he coached, largely due to the fact he genuinely cared about his players as individuals. His ability to extract the maximum out of the players at his disposal is, indeed, legendary. 

Tommy will be having a special tribute at the RFC 2011 Hall of Fame Induction, click here for more info.

The man affectionately known as “T-shirt Tommy” had enormous faith in his players and gave them every opportunity on match day to beat their chosen opponent.  More often than not, the players responded superbly to Tommy’s sincere trust in their ability to come up trumps. 

Tommy has long been a fitness fanatic and his gruelling personal training regime was a constant source of inspiration to the Richmond players throughout his glorious coaching reign.  The players’ respect, admiration and affection for the man, who truly subscribed to the theory of leading by example, never waned.
As coach, Tommy went to great lengths to ensure his players were the fittest in the competition.  He was well ahead of his time in this area, and the Tigers consistently overpowered their opponents at the end of games due to the key edge they had in fitness. 

"The Hafey Years" book was recently released. Click here for more information or to purchase it from the Tigerland Superstore.

It’s doubtful if there has ever been a stronger bond between a coach and his players than during Hafey’s 11-year coaching career with the Tigers.  To this day, Tommy still organises an annual Christmas get-together for all those players he coached at Richmond, which underlines that amazing connection they enjoy.
Tommy Hafey’s coaching record at Richmond stands at 248 games for 173 wins, 73 losses and two draws.  Understandably, he is rated as Richmond’s best-ever coach.  He was selected coach of the Tigers’ Team of the Century in August 1999, became a Richmond ‘Immortal’ in 2003, and is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in league football history.

On behalf of the Club, very best wishes to you Tommy, for your 80th Birthday milestone and we hope you have many, many years of good health and happiness ahead of you.

One thing we know for certain, you won’t be the slightest bit out of breath even after blowing out those 80 candles on your Birthday cake . . .

Leave your 80th Birthday wishes for Tommy in the comments below...