Regarded as one of the greatest centre half-forwards to ever play Australian rules football, Hart was a supremely gifted and courageous player with superb pack marking skills, with a trademark of leaping in from the side, and a penetrating left-foot kick.
He played as a rover in the Tasmanian under-15 schoolboys team before his growth spurt, and held a junior high-jumping record for about 20 years.
[2] Playing on the ball helped develop his ground skills, but he was able to exert greater presence on the field after his growth spurt.
At a time when untried players were asking VFL clubs for large signing fees, Richmond knew he had a bargain.
He started work in a bank[citation needed] and began a comprehensive weight training regime at Frank Sedgman's gym; at the time of his arrival in Melbourne, Hart weighed only 10 stone 12 pounds (69 kg).
He promptly put a torpedo punt, his preferred kick at the time, through the goals to give Richmond the lead, and the siren sounded shortly afterward.
[4] During the off-season, Hart continued working on his physique and created an air of anticipation with his performances in the practice matches leading into the 1967 season.
A rejuvenation of the club began with a move to the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1965 and an extensive recruiting program, which included the young Hart.
[5] With the Tigers on top of the ladder and heading for their first finals appearance since 1947, Hart was shifted to centre half forward, the position where he would make his name.
In the dying minutes, Hart rose above his opponent to grab the ball from a kick in by Geelong's Roy West and helped keep the momentum going the Tigers' way.
Player and club performed in fits and starts for most of the year, before the team came roaring home, missing the finals by a whisker.
A similar scenario was unfolding the following year, but the players pulled together and Richmond sneaked into the finals in fourth place.
As an insider who realised many players at the highest level were being poorly compensated for the increasing time commitment required for the ever-improving skill and fitness standards of League football, Hart was one of the most vocal advocates of full-time professionalism; in a somewhat prophetic statement, he suggested the formation of a players’ union, which up to that stage had been non-existent in the football community.
Nominated captain to succeed the ageing Roger Dean, Hart had another brilliant year in 1972, winning the best and fairest, scoring a career-high seven goals against South Melbourne and leading the team into the finals.
Pitted against the man who became his hardest opponent, Bruce Doull, Hart was powerless to stop the Tigers suffering a loss that shocked his overconfident club.
He was again among the best players in the cut-throat Semi-final against St Kilda, but had to get his knee drained of fluid the following Monday and continued limping until the Wednesday.
[9] Desperate to have him play, the selectors put him on the bench (in this era a replacement could only be used once) for the Preliminary Final against Collingwood and watched forlornly as the Tigers slipped to a six-goal deficit at half time.
In the 1973 VFL Grand Final, Hart dominated against Carlton, winning 19 possessions, seven marks and kicking three goals, even though his knee had improved only marginally since the previous week.
Richmond easily disposed of the upcoming North in the Grand Final and Hart held the premiership cup aloft for a second time.
Pressure was placed on coach Tom Hafey, and he eventually resigned after being reappointed for the next year, to be replaced by Barry Richardson.
Richmond earned derision when they asked Footscray for a clearance fee for his services – Hart quickly recalled the price they had paid to get him to Melbourne in the first place.
Hart had taken on Templeton, a century-goalkicker who was seen as a little bit brittle, as a personal project, getting him on a weight program and moving him to his old position at centre half forward.
In the mid-1980s, Footscray improved markedly under coach Mick Malthouse, and some observers of the club were prepared to argue that Hart had done the hard spade work necessary to get the team competitive.
For a number of years, Hart had little official contact with the Tigers, a situation that drew criticism to Richmond – the club was seen to be indifferent to some of its ex-players.
Hart was an inaugural inductee to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and was named at centre half-forward in the AFL Team of the Century that same year.