Leonard Edward Thomas 'Apples' Pye (21 February 1911 – 20 September 1989) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

in the VFL during the 1930s. He also had a notable career in the TANFL with

North Hobart North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the CBD. The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Street Mall in the ...

which saw him named in Tasmania's official 'Team of the Century', on the interchange bench.

Family

The son of Charles Pye (1882-1958) and Elsie May Pye, née Burke (1884-1944), Leonard Edward Thomas Pye was born at New Norfolk on 21 February 1911. Len married Violet Beatrice Sullivan and had two daughters, Jennifer and Geraldine

Football

North Hobart

Pye played his early football with New Norfolk before starting his North Hobart career in 1929. Strong in the air, Pye often played the role of an on-baller. He won a

William Leitch Medal The William Leitch Medal, named after the highly regarded former Australian rules player and Tasmanian Football Administrator William Douglas Leitch (1863-1943), was an annual award which was presented to the best and fairest player in the TANFL ...

in 1932 and in doing so became the first player from his club to win it. The previous year he won the first of his four North Hobart 'Best and Fairest' awards, with the others coming in consecutive seasons from 1936 to 1938.

Fitzroy

His performance for Tasmania at the

1933 Sydney Carnival The 1933 Sydney Carnival was the eighth edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. The carnival was held in Sydney over an eleven-day period between Wednesday 2 August and Saturday ...

helped him get recruited by Fitzroy. He topped Fitzroy's goalkicking with 39 goals in 1934, his debut season, including a bag of eight against

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

at Arden Street.

Northcote

After a single senior appearance for Fitzroy early in 1935 he moved to Northcote in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

where he played 16 further games that season.

Return to North Hobart

In 1936 Pye returned to North Hobart and was a member of their 1936 premiership winning side to go with his previous premierships in 1929 and 1932. He was voted 'Best on Ground' in the 1936 decider, as well as the Grand Final the subsequent year which they lost. Two further premierships followed and he finished his career as a five time TANFL premiership player and with three

Tasmanian State Premiership The Tasmanian State Premiership was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested at the conclusion of the season, initially between the reigning Tasmanian Football League (TFL/TANFL) and Northern Tasmanian Football Association (18 ...

s. From 1935 to 1941 the league didn't award a Leitch Medal, instead handing out the George Watt Memorial Medal to the season's best player, which was won by Pye in both 1937 and 1938. After not playing during the war he returned for another stint at North Hobart in 1946. The following year he decided to join

New Norfolk New Norfolk is a town on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2011, 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Hi ...

for their inaugural TFL season and he spent two years with the club before retiring.

War service

Pye served in the Australian Army during World War II, enlisting in both 1940 and then again in 1943 when he was discharged after injuring his knee while on duty.

References

External links

* *
Len Pye's playing statistics
from The VFA Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Pye, Len 1911 births 1989 deaths Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Fitzroy Football Club players Northcote Football Club players William Leitch Medal winners New Norfolk Football Club players North Hobart Football Club players Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees