Percy James Martyn (11 May 1891 – 13 January 1962) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

and

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFL). Originally from

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (A ...

, Martyn began his football career with the

Inglewood Football Club Inglewood Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Inglewood, Victoria. The club is currently affiliated with the Loddon Valley Football League. History The first mention of football being played in Inglewood is in 1873 ...

in 1909, featuring in the team's 1910 Premiership in the Korong Central District Association. Martyn then moved to the city where he started his league career at St Kilda with three goals in both round one and two of the

1912 VFL season The 1912 VFL season was the 16th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured ten clubs, ran from 27 April until 28 September, and comprised an 18 ...

. He crossed to Richmond in 1913 and managed 32 goals from just 12 appearances, including a six-goal haul against University (the equal highest match tally for Richmond to that time), to top their goal-kicking. Martyn's 32 goals saw him become the first Richmond player to pass the 30 goal mark in a season. He was noted as one of the best exponents of the place-kick in the game. After playing the opening two rounds in the 1915 season, Martyn transferred to Essendon where he was used as a defender and earned VFL interstate selection in 1920. The next stage of Martyn's football career took place in Tasmania, starting in 1922 when he was captain-coach of North Launceston for the year and led them to a NTFA Grand Final. In 1923, Martyn joined

North Hobart North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the CBD. The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Street Mall in t ...

in the same role, and in 1924 he was appointed coach of Devonport. Martyn then returned to Victoria where he played for and coached Bendigo league teams Eaglehawk and South Bendigo. In 1939 he returned to his original club of Inglewood as coach, even pulling the boots on for a few games at the age of 47. By 1947 he had settled in Inglewood and was again asked to coach the local team, as well as acting as a local councillor from 1955 to 1960. He died in 1962 at the age of 70. A noted sportsman, Percy also excelled at cricket, where he was a wicketkeeper for the Tasmanian State team as well as a Bendigo representative side which played the English XI in a tour match. He was also proficient at Bowls and Golf.

References

* *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. *Rose, David (2016). ''Bothumpian Blues - 140 Years of the Inglewood Football Netball Club''. *Inglewood Advertiser, 25 January 1962 {{DEFAULTSORT:Martyn, Percy 1891 births 1962 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Warrnambool Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Richmond Football Club players Essendon Football Club players North Launceston Football Club players North Launceston Football Club coaches North Hobart Football Club players North Hobart Football Club coaches Devonport Football Club coaches