Percy Beames

DOB: 27 July, 1911
Died: 2004

Debut: Round 8, 1931 against Carlton at Princes Park
Last Game: Round 18, 1944 against Hawthorn at Punt Road

Games: 213
Goals: 323
Career Statistics

Wins	Draws	Losses	Winning %
113	1	99	53.05

From: Golden Point

Number: 24 1931-1944

Honours:
Chairman's Award for Best Player - 1934
Premiership Player - 1939, 1940, 1941
Captain/Coach - 1942 - 1944
Life Member
Team of the Century - Forward Pocket
150 Heroes selection
Australian Football Hall of Fame member
Victorian state player - 1932, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938 (10 games)

School captain of the Ballarat College football and cricket sides, Beames had played just two games for Golden Point and was suiting up for his third when a committeeman informed him that he was off to Melbourne for an interview with the Redlegs.

Upon his arrival the club arranged for Beames to stay in a local boarding house. During the first night he heard strange noises from adjourning rooms only to discover in the morning that he was staying in a brothel. The next day he came out of his interview with a job at chairman Joe Blair's Vacuum Oil Company and a promise of more legitimate lodgings.

Having never seen a game of VFL football before, Beames was a guest in the MCC Members pavilion for the game against Footscray. Not sure what he was going to see, Beames came out of the game believing he could easily match it with these players.

Two weeks later he kicked four of Melbourne's nine goals in a reserves match against Collingwood and was promoted to the seniors. In the wet he was voted best on ground. Beames was an instant sensation, being voted Best on Ground on debut and finishing equal 5th in the 1931 Brownlow Medal despite only having played 11 games for the year. He finished equal 5th again in 1932.

Beams was voted "Best All Around Player" in 1934, and graduated to the Deputy Vice-Captain the next year and Vice-Captain in 1936. He won the "Most Consistent Player" award in both 1937 and 1938.

Beames excelled in the summer as a state cricketer. First selected in 1932 he scored three first class centuries with a top score of 226. He was still in contention to play for Australia when he retired from the game in 1946.

Beames was named in the forward pocket of the Melbourne Team of the Century.

Year	Games	Goals	Brownlow
1931	11	2	15
1932	16	7	12
1933	12	14	4
1934	18	28	6
1935	14	25	7
1936	14	17	2
1937	20	44	3
1938	16	37	3
1939	13	37	0
1940	15	30	1
1941	18	29	0
1942	14	28	0
1943	14	8	0
1944	18	17	0

Coaching

First game: Round 1, 1942 vs Essendon at Windy Hill
Last game: Round 18, 1944 vs Hawthorn at Punt Road

Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	%
48	19	0	29	39.58

After Checker Hughes had retired from the Demons for the first time after the premiership hat-trick, Melbourne chairman Joe Blair appointed Beames as successor.

The new coach presided over three years far removed from those that they had just enjoyed, but it wasn't all his fault - the playing list had been decimated by World War II. He resigned as MFC coach on Friday 16 February 1945, and Hughes came out of retirement to take over.

In his later years became a distinguished journalist and covered both football and cricket for The Age until 1976.

Beames passed away in 2004 at the age of 92.

Media
"Hughes as MFC coach" The Argus - 17/02/1945
"Grand old flag's grand old man" - The Sunday Age 25/06/2000

Links
Wikipedia profile
Obituary

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