Merv McIntosh

Merv McIntosh
Personal information
Full name	Mervyn Frederick McIntosh
Date of birth	(1922-11-25)25 November 1922
Place of birth	Subiaco, Western Australia
Date of death	3 May 2010(2010-05-03) (aged 87)
Place of death	Salter Point, Western Australia
Height	197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	105 kg (231 lb)
Position(s)	Ruckman
Playing career^1
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
WANFL premiership player – 1955 Sandover Medal – 1948, 1953, 1954 Simpson Medal – 1952, 1953, 1955 Tassie Medal – 1953 Perth fairest and best – 1946–1950, 1952, 1954 All-Australian – 1953 Australian Football Hall of Fame - inductee 1996, legend status 2021
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

Merv McIntosh played 217 games for Perth (severely curtailed by the World War II years), plus 20 state games for Western Australia in the period 1939 to 1955. In a richly rewarded career he 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Honours

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.^[3]

In 2004, he was inducted into Legend Status in the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.^[4]

The Merv McIntosh Entrance to the Subiaco Oval was named in his honour.^[5]

War service

McIntosh enlisted with the Australian Army in 1941 and was discharged in 1946.^[6]

Family

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.^{[7][8][9][10]}

References

• Ross, John (1999). The Australian Football Hall of Fame. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 93. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X.
• AFL Hall of Fame
• Merv McIntosh at AustralianFootball.com

Footnotes

1. "Merv McIntosh - WA Football Legend". ABC Western Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
2. "The Game That Made Australia painting". 150years.com.au. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
3. "Cable, Farmer, Merv McIntosh: Giant from the west joins the very best". Australian Football League. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
4. "WEST AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME Playing Record of all Members @ March 2012". West Australian Football Commission. March 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
5. "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.
6. "MCINTOSH, MERVYN FREDERICK". DVA's Nominal Rolls. Australian Government: Department of Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
7. "Jill McIntosh". sahof.org.au. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
8. "Jill McIntosh". wais.org.au. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
9. "Jill McIntosh". www.coachinglife.com.au. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
10. "WA footy mourns McIntosh". thewest.com.au. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2021.