Mark Henry "Napper" Tandy (3 September 1892 – 17 March 1965) 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 in the (then)

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 ...

in the early 20th century.

Family

The son of Henry Thomas Tandy, and Catherine Lucy Tandy (1860–1945), née Williams, Mark Henry Tandy was born in

Newport, Victoria Newport is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Newport recorded a population of 13,658 at the 2021 census. Newport is a ...

on 3 September 1892. He married Lily Ford in 1917.

Football

His quiet and easy-going nature led to

Roy Cazaly Roy Cazaly (13 January 1893 – 10 October 1963) was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He also represented Victoria and Tasmania in interstate football, and afte ...

calling him "Napper" – "the inglorious

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Napper" … apparently arose because of his alleged propensity for "switching off" during games" (John Devaney, ''Full Points Footy Publications''). A supremely accomplished rover/wingman who, along with

, tore the heart out of the opposition. Playing as a wingman early in his career, he brought

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

their second premiership in the 1918

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

. With South trailing by a point, Tandy made an inspired run down the wing to deliver the ball into the forward lines where Laird kicked the winning goal.

Team of the Century

On 8 August 2003, he was selected as an interchange in the Sydney Swans "''Team of the Century''".

Hall of Fame

One of the initial 136 inductees, Tandy was inducted into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

in 1996.

Footnotes

References

* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: Every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.)''. Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing. . * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

* *
Mark Tandy
at ''Boyles Football Photos''.
AFL Hall of Fame
1892 births 1965 deaths Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans Premiership players Yarraville Football Club players Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Newport, Victoria {{AFL-bio-1892-stub