AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Full name
Percy Martini
Known as
Percy Martini
Born
4 June 1888
Died
1 July 1961 (aged 73)
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 21y 36d
Last game: 32y 8d
Height and weight
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 85 kg
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Geelong | V/AFL | 1909-1915, 1917-1920 | 149 | 333 | 2.23 | 42% | — | — | — | 0 |
Richmond | V/AFL | 1916 | 10 | 22 | 2.20 | 50% | — | — | — | 0 |
V/AFL | 1909-1920 | 159 | 355 | 2.23 | 42% | — | — | — | 0 | |
Total | 1909-1920 | 159 | 355 | 2.23 | 42% | — | — | — | 0 |
AFL: 1,551st player to appear, 1,172nd most games played, 139th most goals kickedGeelong: 196th player to appear, 86th most games played, 11th most goals kickedRichmond: 157th player to appear, 687th most games played, 286th most goals kicked
Strongly built, superb overhead, and an exemplary exponent of the place kick, Percy Martini had all the attributes necessary to succeed as a forward in the pre- and post-World War I VFL. He began with Geelong in 1909 when, despite playing just eight games for the season, he topped the club's goal kicking list with 17 goals, an achievement he would repeat on eight occasions. In 1910 he became the first Geelong player to register 50 goals in a season, a remarkable achievement considering that he did not always line up at full forward.
In 1916, when Geelong dropped out of the VFL competition "as a gesture designed to encourage young men to join the military forces", Martini played for Richmond, and topped that club's goal kicking for the year with 22 majors from 10 games. He returned 'home' to Geelong where he went on to complete 149 league games for the Cats before retiring after round seven of the 1920 season. His V/AFL aggregate tally of 355 goals at an average of 2.23 per game was quite exceptional for the time.
Author - John Devaney