Martin Gustav Gotz (26 February 1883 – 13 August 1967) was an Australian rules footballer in the early 20th century who most notably played for Carlton in the

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). Gotz started his senior career at

Port Melbourne Football Club The Port Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Borough, is an Australian rules football club based in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne. The club was founded in 1874 and has been competing in the Victorian Football Association/Leag ...

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 ...

(VFA) in 1902 before heading to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

the following year to play for

Perth Football Club The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in Lathlain, Western Australia, currently playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Representing the south-east area of the Perth metropo ...

. His form for Perth however was ordinary and the club cleared Gotz to East Fremantle Football Club.Atkinson, p. 79. At East Fremantle however, Gotz became a leading player, playing on the half back flank in East Fremantle's 1904 premiership team. Gotz returned to Port Melbourne in 1905 before transferring to VFL club Carlton where he made his senior debut in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

but missed out on the club's inaugural VFL premiership when he was injured in the Semi Final. He did however participate in their

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

premierships, as well as the losing Grand Finals of

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Jan ...

and

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

. In 1912 Gotz sought a clearance to fellow VFL club St Kilda and when it was refused he decided to stand out of football for the year. Gotz returned to Carlton in

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...

, before returning to Port Melbourne as playing coach for 1914–15, the final years of VFA football before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Gotz did not return to senior football after the war. Although he didn't kick many goals in his career, he did manage to kick a bag of six against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Gotz was involved in a controversial incident in the 1911 season, where he was alleged to have assaulted

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

player Vic Trood during a game. Gotz was convicted of assault by the Melbourne District Court and was fined £10, but the conviction was quashed upon appeal. Altogether, in a career spanning fourteen years, three leagues and four teams, Gotz played 162 senior games and won three premierships.

References

Sources

* Atkinson, G. (1982) ''Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking'', The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. . *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz, Martin 1883 births 1967 deaths Australian rules footballers from Bendigo Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club Premiership players Port Melbourne Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club coaches Perth Football Club players East Fremantle Football Club players Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership players