Merv McIntosh

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Merv McIntosh
Personal information
Full name Mervyn Frederick McIntosh
Born (1922-11-25)25 November 1922
Subiaco, Western Australia
Died 3 May 2010(2010-05-03) (aged 87)
Salter Point, Western Australia
Height 6 ft 6 in (197 cm)
Weight 16 st 7 lb (105 kg)
Position Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1939–41, 1946–55 Perth 217 (79)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1947–1955 Western Australia 24 (8)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1955.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Mervyn Frederick McIntosh (25 November 1922 – 3 May 2010) was an Australian rules footballer in the (then) West Australian National Football League (WANFL). A brilliant ruckman, he was awarded the Sandover Medal as the fairest and best player in the league three times while playing with the Perth Football Club.

Playing career

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Merv McIntosh played 217 games for Perth, plus 20 state games for Western Australia, between 1939 and 1955. This number would have been substantially greater but for missing the latter half of 1941 due to surgery,[1] the restriction of WANFL competition to players under 18 or 19 between 1942 and 1944, and missing all of 1945 due to service in World War II. During that war McIntosh turned down several offers to play with Carlton,[2] but he did play a number of games with army teams.[3]

In a richly rewarded career McIntosh won three Sandover Medals, three Simpson Medals and a Tassie Medal (as the best player at the 1953 Adelaide National Football Carnival). He was named in the 1953 All-Australian Team. His Simpson Medal winning performance in his last game, propelling Perth to a two-point victory in the 1955 WANFL Grand Final (Perth's first for 48 years), is legendary. At half-time, East Fremantle had a 34-point lead, but in the third quarter McIntosh led his side to get within two points at the last change. In the final quarter, kicking into the wind, Perth got in front and hold East Fremantle at bay to win 11.11 (77) to 11.9 (75). McIntosh's strategy was to stay in the dead pocket and repeatedly knock the ball out-of-bounds.[4]

He won seven best and fairest awards for his club. He is depicted in a Western Australian state guernsey in Jamie Cooper's painting The Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.[5]

Honours

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In 1996, Merv McIntosh was an inaugural inductee in the Australian Football Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was elevated to Legend status, becoming the first player who played his entire career in the WANFL/WAFL to receive the honour.[6]

In 2004, he was inducted into Legend Status in the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.[7]

The Merv McIntosh Entrance to the Subiaco Oval was named in his honour.[8]

War service

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McIntosh enlisted with the Australian Army in 1941 and was discharged in 1946.[9]

Family

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McIntosh was married to Betty. Together they had six children. Their daughter, Jill McIntosh, is a former Australia netball international and national team head coach.[10][11][12][13]

References

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  1. ^ Follower (18 July 1941). "Football: Important Matches – Leading Teams to Meet". The West Australian. p. 7.
  2. ^ "McIntosh to Lead W.A.". The Daily News. Perth. 1 July 1947. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Footballers on Monday". Western Mail. Perth. 1 August 1946. pp. 26–27.
  4. ^ "Merv McIntosh – WA Football Legend". ABC Western Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  5. ^ "The Game That Made Australia painting". 150years.com.au. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  6. ^ "Cable, Farmer, Merv McIntosh: Giant from the west joins the very best". Australian Football League. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  7. ^ "WEST AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME Playing Record of all Members @ March 2012". West Australian Football Commission. March 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  8. ^ "McIntosh will be remembered as a true legend". West Australian Football Commission. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  9. ^ "MCINTOSH, MERVYN FREDERICK". DVA's Nominal Rolls. Australian Government: Department of Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Jill McIntosh". sahof.org.au. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Jill McIntosh". wais.org.au. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Jill McIntosh". www.coachinglife.com.au. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  13. ^ "WA footy mourns McIntosh". The West Australian. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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