Probably the fastest and certainly one of the most brilliant footballers Tasmania has ever seen, Arthur Hodgson is also one of the game's immortals as one of only three men in the history of the game who played in five carnivals. Few realise he was born in Sydney on January 8th 1926 but he is claimed as a Tasmanian because his father, Keith, was born at Queenstown and Arthur Edward Clarence Hodgson came to the town aged nine with his family and learned the game here.
	He played football at school for about six years before joining Queenstown Football Association club Miners United while still a schoolboy at age 15. After a season with United he joined Lyell when Miners United disbanded. He won Lyell's Best and Fairest in 1945 and was chosen in the combined NWFU/NTFA team to play the air force at Launceston in 1945. In 1945 he won the QFA Best and Fairest, polling  a record 67 votes, 19 clear of the runner-up. Len Thorne won in 1946. In 1947 Hodgson played half back for a QFA team that beat the TFL second 18 in Hobart. State selectors saw him and later that year he was chosen as a winger in the NTFA team to play the TFL in Hobart. He played so well he was chosen in the Tasmanian team for the carnival in Hobart later that year. Some said he was the first west coaster to wear a State guernsey. Others said A Trotter and "Snowy" Mahoney beat him to it back in 1904. His blinding pace, exquisite skills and Bartram Medal for the association's best and fairest player soon caught the eye of VFL talent scouts at the carnival and he promptly signed up with Carlton. At the age of 22 he joined VFL club Carlton and in the opening round, as a winger, against Geelong suffered a blow to the throat from Geelong's A Monahan that laid Hodgson out cold and earned Monahan four weeks suspension.
	The incident unnerved Hodgson who played another senior match before being dropped to the reserves for two matches. He then sat on the senior reserve bench for eight straight games and played the last three of the 1948 season. He became a regular senior player from 1949 until 1952, for a total of 74 games winning the clubs' Best and Fairest award in 1950. He was also named in the All Australian team that year. He represented Victoria at the 1950 carnival in Brisbane and against South Australia in 1951. In 1953 he returned to Tasmania to coach Ulverstone for seven seasons from 1953 to 1959, which included four premierships ( 1953, 1955,1956 & 1957).
	He was selected to play for Tasmania in the 1953 carnival at Adelaide, the 1956 carnival in Perth and the 1958 carnival in Melbourne, to join "Nipper" Truscott (WA) and Fos Williams (SA) as the only footballers to compete in five carnivals. Hodgson's tally for Tasmania was 11 games. His overall tally as been estimated as 327 games. Hodgson shared Ulverstone's Best and Fairest in 1960, won the Alstergren Trophy for the NWFU's best intrastate player in 1954 and 1955 and the Wander Medal for NWFU Best and Fairest in 1955. He was also a talented sprinter winning the Latrobe and Devonport Gifts in 1944. He also won the 220 yards (200 metres) sprint in Burnie and a feature race at Stawell.
Trade Card - Set: Footballers in Action (Bar) - Brand: Kornies - Year: 1951	In 1990, Hodgson's sporting excellence was recognised when he was inducted into the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame along with other Tasmanian Football Legends such as Darrel Baldock , Rex Garwood , Horrie Gorringe , Bruce Carter , Terry Cashion , Roy Cazaly , Royce Hart , Peter Hudson , Laurie Nash and Ian Stewart . Arthur Hodgson died after a long illness on Monday 12th May 2003 aged 77. He was cremated after a service in Ulverstone on Friday 16th May. He leaves a son, John, daughter, Mandy, and a brother, Colin. CARLTON players wore black armbands for their AFL home game against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday 18th May as a mark of respect for Blues legend Arthur Hodgson. He was yesterday described as one of Carlton's "great players'' by former Old Players Association president Chris Pavlou. Now a Carlton board member, Pavlou said he was shocked and saddened by Hodgson's death, adding the man known to football fans as the Black Prince would be sadly missed.
Trade Card - Set: Famous Footballers - Brand: Harper's Easi Oats - Year: 1951	"He had the pedigree. There is no doubt,'' Pavlou said. "He could really play and was a much-thought-of person.'' Carlton sent club president Ian Collins and a representative from its past players' association to Hodgson's service where close friend Max Brown delivered the eulogy. The service and cremation was held at Vincent's Garden Chapel at Ulverstone at 11 a.m. Hodgson's ashes were flown to Melbourne where they were spread over Carlton's home ground, Optus Oval. Former team-mate Jim Clark said Hodgson was the best footballer to have come out of Tasmania. "Arthur was in my opinion the best and went back to Tassie far too early,'' Clark said. "As a sprinter he was up there with the best as well and could have won Stawell and Burnie if he really wanted. "All up when you look at it - he was playing on the gravel in Queenstown and three years later won a Carlton best and fairest.''

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Arthur "The Black Prince" Hodgson - A Tasmanian Football Legend