News RIP Percy Johnson

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CM9000

CM9000

BigFooty Optimist
Veteran
Aug 19, 2016
3,053
6,792
Perth, WA
AFL Club
West Coast
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East Fremantle
Just posting this because I couldn’t find a thread.

A legend of WA footy has recently passed away.

Percy Johnson Snr died yesterday after an unfortunate illness. For those that don’t know, Percy was still involved in coaching at WAFL level even till last year, going into his sixth decade in involvement with footy.

Here’s the statement the WA Football Hall of Fame posted after he was inducted in 2021:
Player 1951-1962

Games 241 (East Fremantle 180, Swan Districts 21, Claremont 27, WA 13)

Goals 285 (East Fremantle 217 Swan Districts 19, Claremont 45, Western Australia 4)

Coach Swan Districts 1959 South Fremantle 1977 West Perth 1978-1979

Honours: East Fremantle premiership 1957 Grand Finals 1954, 1955, 1958, 1962

Claremont leading goalkicker 1960

As a superbly athletic and agile ruckman in over 200 senior games, an excellent teacher and developer of young talent as a coach, and an erudite and incisive media commentator, few people have made as significant a contribution to WAFL football as Percy Johnson.

Born and raised in the goldfields but never a footballer there, Percy learnt the game under the expert tutelage of Jerry Dolan at Aquinas College. As a topline fast bowler, outstanding track and field athlete and captain of the school tennis team Johnson was a superb all round athlete but he excelled as a footballer, initially as a forward but for one season as an outstanding centre half back.

After joining East Fremantle in 1951, Johnson was recast as a ruckman due to an abundance of quality defenders at the club. Under the expert tutelage of coach Jim Conway, Johnson shone brilliantly in patches in his first season but tertiary study and travel commitments mitigated against consistency for his first few seasons. After a state debut against Victoria in 1955, Johnson became a regular state ruckman, participating in the Australian Carnival series in 1956 and 1958, notwithstanding the presence of both Polly Farmer and Jack Clarke. He attained premiership honours with “Old Easts” in 1957 playing a superb game in the Grand Final and would have been a deserving Simpson Medallist. In all Johnson played in 14 final round games in his 12 WAFL seasons.

In 1959 Percy Johnson began a new career phase when he was appointed Captain Coach of Swan Districts. A number of young stars emerged under his tutelage including Fred Castledine who recently told Ron Head of the Footygoss web site “Percy was a great coach. He saw things in me, and taught me about football. I credit Perce with laying the foundation for my career. When Percy fell foul of the committee late in the season and was replaced by Charlie Doig, it was disappointing.” When sacked after 16 games by the Swans committee when he stood firm on a principle, Percy received widespread support from the players and members and played out the season under Brian Gray. The following year he played at Claremont under Ray Richards but quit during the austere Peter Pianto reign in 1961. He enjoyed one last season as a player at East Fremantle in 1962 and his final game was the losing grand final against Swans. Johnson achieved a little known but extraordinary record of being runner up for the fairest and best award at three different clubs in these final seasons.

In subsequent years, Percy Johnson became a very well known and respected television critic with a long running position on the Channel 7 World of Football show and had his own slot 3 days a week with “Percys Point of View”. He was also involved in junior coaching and in 1977 somewhat out of the blue, he was appointed senior coach at South Fremantle and again played a significant role in the development of young stars. The following year he accepted a 2 year position as senior coach at West Perth but his forthright approach and a philosophy difference with the board over interstate recruiting resulted in the termination of his contract during his second season.

Today Percy Johnson continues to relish involvement in the WAFL as a mentor and developer of young men as ruck coach at Swan Districts Football Club. His induction into the WA Football Hall of Fame recognises a superb overall contribution to Football in Western Australia.
Click to expand...

thewest.com.au

WA footy great Percy Johnson dies aged 88

WA football has lost one of its most enduring icons with the death of Percy Johnson. He was part of a golden era for WA ruckmen, playing with and against Graham Farmer, Jack Clarke and Merv McIntosh.
thewest.com.au thewest.com.au
www.swandistrictsfc.com.au

Vale Percy

Western Australian Football has lost one of it’s true greats today, as Percy Johnson lost his fight with cancer in Fremantle Hospital this morning. Percy’s exploits as a player across 228 games are widely recognised, but it his coaching where he always held an exceptional ability to influence...
www.swandistrictsfc.com.au www.swandistrictsfc.com.au
 
CM9000 said:
Just posting this because I couldn’t find a thread.

A legend of WA footy has recently passed away.

Percy Johnson Snr died yesterday after an unfortunate illness. For those that don’t know, Percy was still involved in coaching at WAFL level even till last year, going into his sixth decade in involvement with footy.

Here’s the statement the WA Football Hall of Fame posted after he was inducted in 2021:


thewest.com.au

WA footy great Percy Johnson dies aged 88

WA football has lost one of its most enduring icons with the death of Percy Johnson. He was part of a golden era for WA ruckmen, playing with and against Graham Farmer, Jack Clarke and Merv McIntosh.
thewest.com.au thewest.com.au
www.swandistrictsfc.com.au

Vale Percy

Western Australian Football has lost one of it’s true greats today, as Percy Johnson lost his fight with cancer in Fremantle Hospital this morning. Percy’s exploits as a player across 228 games are widely recognised, but it his coaching where he always held an exceptional ability to influence...
www.swandistrictsfc.com.au www.swandistrictsfc.com.au
Click to expand...

very sad, was insightful even recently on radio.
 
Remember a radio interview (about 10 years ago) where the interviwer tried to steer the conversation to umpires
Percy’s response was he didn’t see the point of the line of questioning. He went further and bagged the current lot of commentators who, in his words “saw football that happened in the background while they bagged umpires and decisions all day”

I could name at least half a dozen commentators that still fall in that category
 

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I can remember Percy Johnson on World of Football. Sundays 12:00-1:30 on Channel 7.

This is the early-to-mid 1980s. Peak WAFL years.

I can remember one episode late in 1986. The panel had stopped talking about the WAFL and all they wanted to talk about was the new West Coast Eagles. Percy Johnson then went on a rant (going on rants was classic World of Footy stuff) about how West Coast wasn't a true team, it was made up for money, just everyone wait until Fremantle joined. They would wear "red white and blue" and be a true WA football club.

Anyhow Percy Johnson was dead wrong about the two Freo clubs getting to take on the rest of the nation. But then World of Footy was the ultimate show about people being dead wrong.

I always remember that rant though and, if I'm asked, I say that I started barracking for Freo back in 1986.
 
Johnny Dalmas said:
I can remember Percy Johnson on World of Football. Sundays 12:00-1:30 on Channel 7.

This is the early-to-mid 1980s. Peak WAFL years.

I can remember one episode late in 1986. The panel had stopped talking about the WAFL and all they wanted to talk about was the new West Coast Eagles. Percy Johnson then went on a rant (going on rants was classic World of Footy stuff) about how West Coast wasn't a true team, it was made up for money, just everyone wait until Fremantle joined. They would wear "red white and blue" and be a true WA football club.

Anyhow Percy Johnson was dead wrong about the two Freo clubs getting to take on the rest of the nation. But then World of Footy was the ultimate show about people being dead wrong.

I always remember that rant though and, if I'm asked, I say that I started barracking for Freo back in 1986.
Click to expand...
I was at a meeting at Souths club rooms when the talk was a about a WA side going into the VFL.
Percy spoke, saying that what we see in SOO football was not what you would see every week. It was just a myth being spread. He said all you will see is club football. And WA will still bleed players to the VFL.
or words to that effect.
True reading from Percy.
 
Loved listening to Percy's stream of consciousness on football. One time, goaded by a couple of mates who set out the question for me, I rang him up as prank in a talkback segment after a WC loss in about '95 just to set him off on a topic and to see where he would take it. As soon as it got to the first "as a matter of fact" I knew it wouldn't disappoint.

Sometimes it crossed my mind to wonder whether Percy ever swore, or whether phrases like "damn well" and "bloomin' well" were the swear words of his generation.

Another thing was for an old bloke, while he could be nostalgic about the era he played in, he kept up with the changes in the game and paid respects to the merits of current players.
 
I used to live near Percy in Attadale, and even played with his son Peter at the Attadale Bombers for two seasons. Percy would turn up to pick Peter up after training from Troy Park, but would then spend an hour of his time teaching us kids how to kick, tackle, mark and handball.

Our coach was Charlie Pratt at the time, and you would have thought that he would get his nose out of joint by Percy taking over training after it had finished. But Charlie and Percy would make jokes about each other using that old South versus East Fremantle rivalry, and often heatedly too. But Charlie never had a bad word to say about old Percy, or "The Penguin" as we used to call him.
 
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