Percy Varco (17 April 1904 – 29 January 1982) was an English professional football centre-forward. Varco was born in

Fowey Fowey ( ; , meaning ''beech trees'') is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and played for his local side Fowey Town before moving to Southern League

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

. He left

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United F.C., Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National Leagu ...

in 1924 to join

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

for a fee of £200, scoring twice in 10 league games for the West Midlands side. He subsequently moved to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

(4 goals in 16 league games), before joining

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

in 1927. He quickly became a hero at The Nest, scoring 32 times in his first season, including 10 goals in his first 7 league games. In 1929, after 37 goals in just 57 league games for Norwich (and 47 in 65 overall), he moved to

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

and continued to be a prolific goalscorer, netting 41 goals in 81 league games. He moved to

Brighton and Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gro ...

in 1932, but played just once for the Seagulls before returning to

where he played for non-league sides

St Austell Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900. History St Austell was a village centred ...

and

St Blazey St Blazey () is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. St Blaise is the civil parishes in England, civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council. The village of Biscovey and the se ...

. In later life he spent two spells as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. Varco was known as a "brilliant conversationalist".

References

1904 births 1982 deaths People from Fowey English men's footballers Torquay United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players A.F.C. St Austell players St Blazey A.F.C. players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Cornwall 20th-century English sportsmen {{Cornwall-stub