Australian Football

As both player and coach, Ken Armstrong was Perth through and through. After supporting the Redlegs as a boy he enjoyed a dream start to his league career with them in 1955 by helping them achieve their first flag since 1907. Armstrong played most of his eventual tally of 170 WANFL games as a centreman. Combining courage, flair and cleverness to an impressive degree, he was an enormously damaging footballer who always seemed on the fringe of interstate selection, but only actually achieved it once, against South Australia at Subiaco in 1959.

Having captained Perth in 1961, Ken Armstrong retired as a player two years later. In 1971 and 1973 he coached the club’s reserves to premierships, and in 1974 he was appointed coach of the senior side. In six seasons in charge, Ken Armstrong led the Demons to two flags from four grand finals, a run of success that has only been bettered once in the entire history of the Perth Football Club. He undertook a second spell as coach from 1991 to 1993 but this proved rather less successful.

Author - John Devaney