Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Percy Bentley

Known as
Percy Bentley

Born
13 December 1906

Died
25 March 1982 (aged 75)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 18y 231d
Last game: 33y 290d

Height and weight
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 88 kg

Senior clubs
Richmond

Jumper numbers
Richmond: 1

Family links
Bruce Bentley (Son)

Percy Bentley

Advanced stats
ClubLeagueCareer spanGamesGoalsAvgWin %AKIAHBAMKBV
RichmondV/AFL1925-19402632751.0567%16.15—5.9215
Total1925-19402632751.0567%16.15—5.9215

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 3,090th player to appear, 212th most games played, 239th most goals kickedRichmond: 268th player to appear, 16th most games played, 13th most goals kicked

Percy Bentley, the Tiger captain, is so perturbed about the future of Richmond that he is offering £1/1/ to the first, Richmond player fathering a son. Those failing to produce boys to follow in their footsteps are Percy, Tom O’Halloran, Joe Murdoch, Bert Foster and the secretary, Jack Smith. All are fathers of bouncing baby girls.¹

As a redoubtable and highly effective ruckman for Richmond between 1925 and 1940 Perce Bentley was one of the highest profile footballers in the game. During that time he played a total of 263 VFL games, and booted 275 goals. Originally from Castlemaine, he was captain of the Tigers in 1932-3 and went on to serve as captain-coach over the remaining seven seasons of his career as a player. He was thus involved in Richmond premierships in 1932 and 1934 when Carlton and South Melbourne respectively were vanquished on Grand Final day.

Bentley also played in losing Grand Finals in 1927, 1929 and 1933. Once his playing career was over, Bentley joined Carlton as non-playing coach, staying at the helm from 1941 until 1955, and masterminding flag wins in 1945 and 1947. He remained at Carlton as a committee man once his coaching days had finished, and his role in helping the Blues re-emerge as a league power in the 1960s was a significant one.

Author - John Devaney

Footnotes

1. “Sporting Globe”, 19/5/34, page 7.

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications, Crème de la Crème

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Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.