Percy Varco (17 April 1904 – 29 January 1982) was an English professional football centre-forward. Varco was born in

Fowey Fowey ( ; kw, Fowydh, meaning 'Beech Trees') is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local ch ...

, Cornwall and played for his local side Fowey Town before moving to Southern League

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. He left

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

in 1924 to join

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

for a fee of £200, scoring twice in 10 league games for the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

side. He subsequently moved to Queens Park Rangers (4 goals in 16 league games), before joining Norwich City in 1927. He quickly became a hero at The Nest, scoring 32 times in his first season, including 10 goals in his first 7 league games. In 1929, after 37 goals in just 57 league games for Norwich (and 47 in 65 overall), he moved to Exeter City and continued to be a prolific goalscorer, netting 41 goals in 81 league games. He moved to Brighton and Hove Albion in 1932, but played just once for the Seagulls before returning to Cornwall where he played for non-league sides

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...

and

St Blazey St Blazey ( kw, Lanndreth) is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. St Blaise is the civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council. The village of Biscovey and the settlements of ...

. In later life he spent two spells as Mayor of

. Varco was known as a "brilliant conversationalist".

References

1904 births 1982 deaths People from Fowey English men's footballers Torquay United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players A.F.C. St Austell players St Blazey A.F.C. players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Cornwall {{Cornwall-stub