He made his First XVIII debut on 16 May 1942 as a wingman, against Footscray, in Round 2 of the 1942 season; originally listed as an emergency,[2] he was a last-minute replacement for the unavailable Les Griggs.

[4] He was selected in the All-Australian team in both 1953 and 1956, the two years in which he also captained Victoria at the ANFC Carnivals in Adelaide and Perth, respectively.

[5] Once established as a rover, he consistently polled well in the Brownlow Medal vote count: He died on 18 June 1982, after a short illness.

The man who was voted Champion, Dick Reynolds, famously said: "I don't deserve this honour... Bill Hutchison was the best player I've seen.

[23] The W. Hutchison Medal is awarded annually to the best and fairest player in the First Division of the Essendon District Football League.