1963 Hawthorn Football Club season

The 1963 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 39th season in the Victorian Football League and 62nd. This was the second time Hawthorn were the minor premiers. Hawthorn qualified for their second Grand Final appearance, however they suffered their first Grand Final defeat losing to Geelong 60–109. Following the defeat John Kennedy Sr. stepped down as coach.

Hawthorn Football Club

1963 season
President	Dr. A.S. Ferguson
Coach	John Kennedy, Sr.
Captain(s)	Graham Arthur
Home ground	Glenferrie Oval
VFL season	13–4–1 (1st)
Finals series	Grand Final (lost to Geelong 60–109)
Best and fairest	Ian Law
Leading goalkicker	John Peck (75)
Highest home attendance	91,471 (Semi-final vs. Geelong)
Lowest home attendance	10,500 (Round 12 vs. Fitzroy)
Average home attendance	33,601
← 1962 1964 →

Fixture

Premiership season

Rd	Date and local time	Opponent	Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold)			Venue	Attendance	Record
			Home	Away	Result
1	Saturday, 20 April (2:20 pm)	Essendon	8.12 (60)	13.7 (85)	Lost by 25 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	30,000	0–1
2	Thursday, 25 April (2:20 pm)	Melbourne	14.16 (100)	13.18 (96)	Lost by 4 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (A)	55,293	0–2
3	Saturday, 4 May (2:20 pm)	Collingwood	8.16 (54)	13.22 (100)	Won by 36 points	Victoria Park (A)	27,419	1–2
4	Saturday, 11 May (2:20 pm)	South Melbourne	21.25 (151)	11.14 (80)	Won by 71 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	15,000	2–2
5	Saturday, 18 May (2:20 pm)	Footscray	8.9 (57)	11.10 (76)	Won by 19 points	Western Oval (A)	22,251	3–2
6	Saturday, 25 May (2:20 pm)	North Melbourne	11.17 (83)	9.7 (61)	Won by 22 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	14,837	4–2
7	Saturday, 1 June (2:20 pm)	Geelong	9.12 (66)	9.12 (66)	Draw	Kardinia Park (A)	29,374	4–2–1
8	Saturday, 8 June (2:20 pm)	St Kilda	8.13 (61)	9.11 (65)	Won by 4 points	Junction Oval (A)	34,900	5–2–1
9	Saturday, 22 June (2:20 pm)	Carlton	9.6 (60)	7.12 (54)	Won by 6 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	25,300	6–2–1
10	Saturday, 6 July (2:20 pm)	Richmond	4.10 (34)	11.14 (80)	Won by 46 points	Punt Road Oval (A)	20,200	7–2–1
11	Saturday, 20 July (2:20 pm)	Fitzroy	9.17 (71)	6.2 (38)	Won by 33 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	10,500	8–2–1
12	Saturday, 27 July (2:20 pm)	Essendon	11.17 (83)	7.10 (52)	Lost by 31 points	Windy Hill (A)	25,500	8–3–1
13	Saturday, 3 August (2:20 pm)	Melbourne	13.6 (84)	8.14 (62)	Won by 22 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	24,000	9–3–1
14	Saturday, 10 August (2:20 pm)	Collingwood	15.9 (99)	8.9 (57)	Won by 42 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	19,458	10–3–1
15	Saturday, 17 August (2:20 pm)	South Melbourne	6.9 (45)	15.15 (105)	Won by 60 points	Lake Oval (A)	14,100	11–3–1
16	Saturday, 24 August (2:20 pm)	Footscray	13.21 (99)	8.7 (55)	Won by 44 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	17,000	12–3–1
17	Saturday, 31 August (2:20 pm)	North Melbourne	6.9 (45)	12.14 (86)	Won by 41 points	Arden Street Oval (A)	12,963	13–3–1
18	Saturday, 7 September (2:20 pm)	Geelong	6.16 (52)	13.12 (90)	Lost by 38 points	Glenferrie Oval (H)	35,500	13–4–1

Finals series

Rd	Date and local time	Opponent	Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold)			Venue	Attendance
			Home	Away	Result
Second Semi-Final	Saturday, 21 September (2:30 pm)	Geelong	11.16 (82)	14.17 (101)	Lost by 19 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	91,471
Preliminary Final	Saturday, 28 September (2:30 pm)	Melbourne	11.11 (77)	10.8 (68)	Won by 9 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	86,546
Grand Final	Saturday, 5 October (2:30 pm)	Geelong	15.19 (109)	8.12 (60)	Lost by 49 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (A)	101,209

Ladder

(P)	Premiers
	Qualified for finals

#	Team	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	Pts
1	Hawthorn	18	13	4	1	1485	1137	130.6	54
2	Geelong (P)	18	13	4	1	1354	1056	128.2	54
3	Melbourne	18	13	5	0	1680	1136	147.9	52
4	St Kilda	18	13	5	0	1501	1071	140.1	52
5	Essendon	18	13	5	0	1470	1069	137.5	52
6	Carlton	18	10	8	0	1275	1234	103.3	40
7	North Melbourne	18	8	10	0	1059	1244	85.1	32
8	Collingwood	18	7	11	0	1365	1427	95.7	28
9	Footscray	18	7	11	0	1126	1283	87.8	28
10	Richmond	18	5	13	0	1279	1687	75.8	20
11	South Melbourne	18	4	14	0	1202	1722	69.8	16
12	Fitzroy	18	1	17	0	986	1716	57.5	4

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 73.1
Source: AFL Tables