Phil Matson is remembered
Star footballer and outstanding football personality, his accidental death was a great blow to his many friends and admirers.
Tomorrow, June 13 [1952] is the anniversary of the death, in 1928, of Phil Matson, one of the finest footballers and football personalities this State has seen. Terribly injured in a motor car smash at Nedlands on the evening of Monday, June 11, he lingered unconscious for two days while doctors fought unavailingly to save his life.
The crash must have come with tragic suddenness. Phil Matson and his pal and former clubmate, Horrie Bant, were driving towards Subiaco when the truck in which they were travelling evidently failed to take a curve, shot off the road, and ran head-on into a telegraph post. Bant was luckily flung clear, but Matson was hurled against the post.
Throughout the long hours he lay in hospital, Matson's many friends refused to give up hope that he would pull through. The hospital telephone rang continuously, and before the end came over 400 persons had either phoned or called at the hospital to inquire after the unconscious man.
Claremont seconds
Phil Matson first came to the West from South Australia, and had never played football until his arrival here. Indeed, he was more or less "shoved" into the game.
W. Howson, the then caretaker of the Claremont swimming baths, one day persuaded Phil to strip for the Claremont "second-raters" when that side found itself a man short. That was in 1904, when Matson was only 18, and naturally enough he was something of a "raw bullocker." But by the end of the season-throughout which he had continued playing-he won the medal as the best player in the club.
Later, he played one game with West Perth. Then for a time he was at Bunbury, and finally moved to Boulder. It was there that he developed the ability which was to make him one of our finest footballers.
In 1908 his outstanding play won him a place in the W.A. Jubilee Carnival side. Later the same year he returned to South Australia, where he played with the Sturt club. But he was soon back in the West again, to link up first with North Fremantle and then transfer over to Subiaco.
With these sides Matson played some of the most dazzling football of his career. He was the champion of those days; an unbeatable mark and a player whose doggedness and ruggedness never acknowledged defeat. When Matson was having a good day the football was worth travelling many miles to see, and there is no doubt that the great unattached football public of those days flocked to the match where he was playing. His dazzling marking and all-round ability were a magnet, and the crowd wanted no other idol with Phil in the side.
Three times he played for the State in carnivals and each time distinguished himself.
Association with East Perth
In 1918 he transferred from Subiaco to East Perth, accepting the position of playing-coach. East Perth at that time was asserting itself in the football world, and it rose under his leadership to great heights, culminating in the unbroken record of five premierships in succession in the years 1919-1923.
Many football followers claim that the brand of game East Perth played then was superior to anything seen today. Certainly the game is faster now, but one sighs for a Jack Guhl on the wing, stabbing the ball with unerring precision to the half forward's chest.
Other stalwarts who were nurtured by Matson (none too gently, for he did not mince matters in his approach to the players, either singly or as a team), were Harry Sherlock, the sturdy goalkeeper who for years kicked out to the safe hands of the tall back-pocket player, "Billy" Hilton, "Digger" Thomas, "Staunch" Owens, "Paddy" Hebbard, "Ike" Allen, "Nashy" Brentnall, "Nugget" Gepp, "Bonny" Campbell, and "Brum" O'Meara.
O'Meara was something of a prodigy. He played barefooted in the Metropolitan Juniors one year, was centreman with East Perth the next at the age of 16, and was immediately in the State side. "Brum" was broken up on the night Matson died.
Towards the mid-twenties Matson rarely stripped with the team, but prior to 1912 he played for 7 1/2 years without missing a match. In 1912 a broken collarbone ended his long sequence.
Phil met and beat some great players in his day. Early in his career, with Boulder City, he trounced Hugh Gavin, the star half-back from Victoria. Later, representing South Australia against Victoria, he was acknowledged the conqueror of Dave McNamara. A far cry, this, from Claremont seconds, but once he had started on his career there was no stopping this inimitable man, either as a player or as a coach to the young players who hung on his every word.
Great ones of the past
Phil Matson told me once that the 1910 Sturt team, known as the "Immigrants," was the best team he ever saw, although they lacked system. "Diver" Dunn, Albert Heinricks, Vic Cumberland and Bert Renfrey were members of that team.
Who was the greatest footballer Matson ever met? The palm he gave to Dave McNamara of St. Kilda. A 13 1/2 stoner, McNamara was splendid as an individual and as a team man. Tom Leahy, of West Adelaide, was given the post as the greatest follower, and as centre-man, Phil chose Harold Oliver of Port Adelaide, even though "Nipper" Truscott beat him in Sydney in 1914. Robinson, a Goldfields player, was remembered as a grand place-kick; his 70 yarders were superb.
Speaking of the Australian championships in Sydney in 1914, Matson said: "We should have won that series. We had a wonderful side and their combination was amazing. The trouble was that we arrived on the Tuesday and had to play the next day. We had 24 men, one trainer and no towels or oil." Phil's contention was that when a team went interstate it should have at least a week's practice before being asked to play. That, of course, was in the old days of slow train travel.
He considered the Eastern players could show W.A. nothing in the way of football, but in Victoria 18 top-notcher form a team, whereas here most clubs have a tail.
Star swimmer
Great footballer though he was, Phil Matson's earliest love was swimming. And at that sport, too, he was outstanding.
Three times he was 220-yards breaststroke champion of Australia - in 1905 at Melbourne, 1907 in New Zealand, and 1908 in W.A. For years he held the world's record for the distance, until Edgar Finlay lowered his time in Sydney in 1913.
Did he think swimming militated against football? No, not a bit of it. He was sure "ankles" and "knees" were all improved by plenty of swimming.
Today, the name of Matson still figures in the East Perth side, carried on by Phil's nephew, Don. At centre half forward, he, too, is showing signs of the "family" skill. But old-timers will agree that he will need to come a long way yet to equal the standard set by his illustrious uncle.
Footnotes
Title: Phil Matson is remembered Publisher: Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 1954) Date: Thursday 12 June 1952 p 21 Article Illustrated Author: Tasman Gay Web: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/39351520
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