John Thomas Perkins (20 January 1903 – 12 May 1955) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family
The son of David Perkins (1871-1939), and Julia Perkins (1876-1957), née Looney, John Thomas Perkins was born at Chiltern Valley, Victoria on 20 January 1903.
He married Ivy Best (1903-1977) in 1929.
Football
Port Melbourne (VFA)
He played several games for Port Melbourne, before transferring to Northcote.
Northcote (VFA)
Perkins, a centre half-back, spent most of his career at Northcote, in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
VFA Tribunal
He was de-registered by the VFA in 1933 following incidents in the first round of the VFA season. He had already been given lengthy suspension on three previous occasions for on-field violence: "for four weeks in 1925, for 11 weeks in 1929, and for almost the entire season in 1931".
Despite not having been re-registered by the VFA, he made two appearances in 1934 for the Northcote seconds. Following a complaint over his eligibility to play in the seconds, Perkins' case was brought to the Association Permit and Umpire Committee. He was eventually re-registered -- and, therefore, allowed to play in the seconds -- but, instead, he applied for a transfer to St Kilda.
St Kilda (VFL)
Already 31 years of age, Perkins made his debut for St Kilda, as a ruckman, in the ninth round of the 1934 VFL season.
He played in a combined Victorian Police Association side, against a combined Western District Football League side, at Hanlon Park on 6 October 1934; and he represented Victoria against Bendigo in 1935.
He was St Kilda's club captain in 1936; however, as a policeman, he was forced to retire after three VFL seasons, following a declaration by the new Police Commissioner, Alexander Duncan, that members of the Victorian police force could not play professional football.
VFL Tribunal
He was suspended for 4 weeks for striking in September 1934; and was found not guilty of kicking in July 1936.
Death
He died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, in Parkville, Victoria, on 12 May 1955.
Notes
References
- Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. Melbourne: BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-920910-78-5.
- "There's Jack Perkins!", THe Herald, (Saturday, 2 May 1936), p.16.
- (Caricatures of "leading St Kilda players" by Frank Lee), The Argus, (Wednesday, 29 April 1936), p.18.
- Northcote Association Team, 1929, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 20 July 1929), p.46.
External links
- Jack T. Perkins at The VFA Project.
- Jack Perkins's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Jack Perkins at AustralianFootball.com
