Phillip Henry Matson (22 October 1884 – 13 June 1928) was a record-breaking swimmer, and both a highly successful player and coach of Australian rules football in the early 20th century, chiefly in Western Australia.

Family

The son of George Thomas Matson (1842-1915), and his wife Emma (1854-1928), née Duffield, Phillip Henry Matson, was born at Port Adelaide on 22 October 1884. Matson was educated at state school in Adelaide before moving to Western Australia as a youth.

Lifestyle

Away from football, Matson's working was varied and somewhat inconsistent. He had stints as a miner, a tramway motorman, a farmer, a navvy on the trans-Australian railway, a lumper, a storeman and a 'Spot-Lager' retailer. Early in his career, he was a teetotaller but eventually became a "social" drinker and was well known for his gambling habit. His unconventional approach to life caused problems within his family, who were sometimes compelled to live in a tent. Matson offered to enlist during

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 ...

; however, when rejected he opted to live as a licensed Swan River fisherman and involve himself more heavily in gambling. He operated two-up schools at Subiaco and Pelican Point, SP books in some city hotels, and later an illegal gaming house in Perth. For a number of years, he held a trotting bookmaker's licence.

Swimming

He worked as a navvies' water-boy in Western Australia, and began swimming competitively in 1902 and playing Australian football. He had been encouraged to take up football by his swimming trainer, William Howson (who had, himself, established a world-record in 1904, swimming underwater for 110 yards), to "harden himself" for his swimming. During his swimming career, he held Western Australian freestyle titles from 100 yards (91 m) to a mile (1.6 km) using the now-obsolete

trudgen The trudgen is a swimming stroke sometimes known as the ''racing stroke'', or the ''East Indian stroke''. It is named after the English swimmer John Trudgen (1852–1902) and evolved out of sidestroke. One swims mostly upon one side, making an o ...

stroke, and won the 220-yard breaststroke at the Australasian championships in three consecutive years (1905, 1906, and 1907). On 19 February 1908, swimming at the Australian championships, conducted by the West Australian Amateur Swimming Association at

Claremont, Western Australia Claremont is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, on the north bank of the Swan River. History Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of water, for fishing and for catching waterfowl. In 1830, Jo ...

, Matson set a world record time for the 220-yard breaststroke: three minutes and fourteen seconds, winning by a length (having touched equal first at the last turn). Seven days later, on 26 February 1908, swimming at a swimming carnival in Kalgoorie, Matson broke his own world record by another three and two-fifths seconds, when he swam the distance in three minutes and ten and three-fifths of a second. However, because a surveyor's certificate could not be produced that precisely verified the dimensions of the pool (i.e., the exact length of the swim) the governing body, the New South Wales Amateur Swimming Association, refused to ratify the new record. Because his playing professional football at the same time precluded him from being considered for the Olympic Games, he turned professional for a £20 stake in 1909.

Football

::" atsonhimself was a wonderful footballer. His name has been bracketed with that of the late

Albert Thurgood Albert John Thurgood (11 January 1874 – 8 May 1927) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Western Australian Football Association (WAFA). He is considered one ...

as the best player of all time. Grim, relentless, shrewd, strong as a lion, courageous and trier from start to finish, Matson was a great figure on the field." — ''The Sporting Globe'', 20 July 1928. ::"All up, Matson played and/or coached nine clubs and was involved in 13 premiership (five as a player, four as player/coach and four as coach) and four runner-up teams in 25 completed seasons." — Peter Carter. A fast, vigorous and versatile utility with an ability to take the big mark (despite being only 179 cm), he played at half-back and half-forward and took turns in the ruck. He played for both

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

(1909–10) and

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 ...

(1908, 1911, 1914) and captained the South Australian team at the 1914 interstate carnival.

Professional

Matson supported himself playing football during an era when the game was supposedly an amateur sport. He moved clubs frequently, playing outside the main leagues if the price was right. Over 20 seasons he played for: *

South Bunbury Football Club South Bunbury Football Club is a semi-professional Australian rules football club based in South Bunbury, Western Australia. The club plays in the South West Football League. Since being founded in 1897 the club has won 45 premierships and has b ...

(Western Australia): 1904–1905. * Boulder City Football Club (Western Australia): 1906–1908. * Sturt (South Australia): 1909–1910. * North Fremantle Football Club (Western Australia): 1911. * Subiaco Football Club (Western Australia): 1912–1917. *

East Perth Football Club The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club based in Leederville, Western Australia, current playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Formed in 1902 as the Union Football Club, the clu ...

(Western Australia): 1918–1923.

Coaching career

East Perth

Aged 33, Matson found his calling when he was appointed as coach of

in 1918. Matson worked on the players' confidence and garnered their respect with a methodical approach to his coaching. He was lauded for his ability to outwit opponents and exploit weaknesses. Matson's dominant personality helped recruit some excellent players and a dynasty was rapidly built. In nine seasons between 1919 and 1927, East Perth won seven premierships and dominated Western Australian football. In total, he played in twelve premiership teams and, in the last ten years of his career, coached teams into nine finals.

WAFL

He was an essential part of the state team, as a selector for the successful 1921 Western Australian interstate carnival team, and as the coach of the 1924, and the 1927 teams that lost narrowly to Victoria. Controversially, he openly criticised Victorian officials in 1924 for encouraging violence against his team. This outburst came back to haunt him.

Castlemaine (BFL)

In 1925, Matson accepted an offer to coach the

Castlemaine Football Club The Castlemaine Football and Netball Club, nicknamed ''The Magpies'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia and is currently a member of the Bendigo Football League. The club is notable for ...

, in the Victorian goldfields, in the club's first year in the

Bendigo Football League The Bendigo Football Netball League (previously known as the Sandhurst Football Association, Bendigo and District Football Association, Bendigo Football Association and Bendigo Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball compe ...

competition. He was cleared as both player (he played in 2 or 3 games) and as coach to Castlemaine in April 1925. With Matson's coaching, Castlemaine made the 1925 Grand Final, but lost to South Bendigo by 14 Points: 7.12 (54) to 6.4 (40).

Richmond (VFL)

Impressed with his effort in lifting the team into the Grand Final, Richmond officials approached Matson with an offer to succeed

Dan Minogue Daniel Thomas Minogue (4 September 1891 – 27 July 1961) was an Australian rules footballer, who played with three different clubs in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL), and who was the coach of five different VFL clubs. Family The ...

as the Tigers' coach for 1926. Matson accepted and relocated to Melbourne. However, the Victorian Football League (VFL) refused Matson a permit to take up the job, which incensed both the club and prospective coach. It was variously suggested that the VFL officials had not forgotten Matson's outburst two years earlier, or that they disapproved of his "unconventional" lifestyle.

Western Australia

Matson returned to Perth in time for the football season, and was re-appointed to coach East Perth. He took them to successive premierships. Matson had revenge on the VFL officials by inspiring Western Australia to two "spiteful, vicious, brutal" victories over Victoria in 1926.

Death

He died on 13 June 1928, from a fractured skull — an injury he sustained on 11 June 1928 (as the only passenger) in an accident on Hampden Road in Nedlands, when a truck driven by his former team-mate Horrie Bant, careered off the road, crashed through the bush, and collided with a post carrying overhead tram wires. Both men were thrown from the vehicle. Although injured, Bant survived the crash, and died in 1957. Matson struck the post with his head. Survived by his former wife, their two sons (Glenn and Cliff), and his ''de facto'' wife Catherine Thompson, née Owens, he was buried at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

on 15 June 1928.

Legacy

He played an important role in the process of making Australian football professional by openly negotiating fees that made him the highest paid Western Australian player and coach of the time. Phil Matson plaque

Subiaco Football Club

He was selected at centre half-forward in Subiaco's "Team of the Century".

East Perth Football Club

He was selected as coach of East Perth's (1906-1944) "Team of the Century".

Western Australia Sesquicentennial

In 1979 he was honoured with the bronze tablet for 1926, set into the footpath along St Georges Terrace, Perth as part of the

WAY '79 WAY 79, also referred to as WAY '79 and WAY 1979, was the official 1979 sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) celebration of the European colonisation of Western Australia. Planning Preliminary planning for WAY 79 began shortly after the March 1 ...

sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) celebrations of the colonisation of

by Europeans.

Western Australian Hall of Champions

In 1986, Matson was inducted into the

Western Australian Institute of Sport The Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1983 by the Government of Western Australia to support athletes in Western Australia. Previously, if elite athletes from Western Australian needed to train or ...

's "

Western Australian Hall of Champions In 1983, the Sportswriters' Association of Western Australia proposed a Western Australian Hall of Champions to honour past athletes from the state who had made a significant impact in their sport. The Government of Western Australia asked the th ...

".WA Hall of Champions: Phil Matson.
/ref>

West Australian Football Hall of Fame

In 2004 he was an inaugural inductee into the WAFL Hall of Fame.

Australian Football Hall of Fame

Inducted into the coaching division of the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2004, Matson's citation reads:

Footnotes

References

* Glossop, Matthew (ed), ''East Perth 1906–1976'', Matthew Glossop, (Perth), 1976.
Hunt, Lyall, "Matson, Phillip Henry (1884–1928)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10'', 1986.
* Stannage, Tom (ed), ''A New History of Western Australia'', University of Western Australia Press, (Nedlands), 1981. * Western Australian National Football League, ''Football 150'', Promotional Graphics, (Perth), 1979.

External links

*
WAFL Hall of Fame

Australian Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matson, Phillip 1884 births 1928 deaths Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Sturt Football Club players West Perth Football Club players East Perth Football Club players Subiaco Football Club players North Fremantle Football Club players Boulder City Football Club players East Perth Football Club coaches Subiaco Football Club coaches Australian rules footballers from Adelaide Australian rules footballers from Western Australia South Bunbury Football Club players West Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees World record setters in swimming Australian male freestyle swimmers Road incident deaths in Western Australia Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery