Jack was the first of the Hughes brothers to pull on the Australian jersey, earning his first cap against the touring NZ side in 1933, beating younger brother Ron to the honour by some 14 years. They became the second set of brothers from "Westy" following on from the famous Maunders, to become Australian reps.
Growing up playing with West Wallsend, Hughes made the move to Sydney from Johnson's Paddock at an early age, 18, after being offered both the opportunity to play football and work with the famous Metters factory side. The offer came at a time when employment was still hard to come by at the tail end of the Great Depression.
Hughes, a man with a feared shot from either foot, was a mainstay of the Australian forward line, playing mainly at inside left, for a number of years, winning 6 caps in all when 1 or 2 was the norm.