Marcus Boyall (8 October 1917 – 30 September 1985) 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 best known for his playing career with

Victorian Football League 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 ...

(VFL) club Collingwood and

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

(SANFL) club Glenelg in the 1930s and 1940s.

VFL career

Boyall debuted for Collingwood as a 16-year-old in the

1935 VFL season The 1935 VFL season was the 39th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 27 April until 5 October, and comprised an 18 ...

. He was not an automatic selection immediately – indeed in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Boyall won the

Gardiner Medal {{Use Australian English, date=January 2018 The Gardiner Medal was an Australian rules football award, formerly awarded to the best and fairest player in the VFL Reserves competition. Officially named the Seconds prior to 1959 and the Reserves fr ...

for

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

in the VFL reserves competition. By the end of 1936 he had played only four Senior games. In

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

Boyall continued to improve in the key position of Centre half-back and his future with Collingwood seemed bright. In

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

he came equal third in the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

, the League's award for

SANFL career

In 1939 Boyall sought to move from Collingwood to Glenelg in the SANFL but Collingwood refused to clear him. After standing out of football for a year (thus negating Collingwood's claim to his services) Boyall was then able to join Glenelg for the 1940 season. Initially Boyall was both captain and coach, but struggled with the dual role and resigned these appointments midway through 1940. His form improved almost immediatel

That Glenelg had recruited "an established Victorian" was borne out when he won SANFL's highest individual award, the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

in 1941. Boyall briefly returned to play for Collingwood during the war years of

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

–

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

, but finished his playing career with

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 ...

(VFA) club

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, which he coached in 1947. In 1960 Boyall returned to Glenelg as coach for that season, but without success.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyall, Marcus Collingwood Football Club players Glenelg Football Club players Glenelg Football Club coaches Camberwell Football Club players Camberwell Football Club coaches Magarey Medal winners Australian rules footballers from Melbourne 1917 births 1985 deaths People from Carlton, Victoria