Percy Lennard

Percy Lennard (1900–1975) was a former Australian soccerA player.[2]

Percy Lennard
Personal information
Full name Percy Lennard
Date of birth 1900
Place of birth Inverell, Australia
Date of death 1975 (aged 74–75)
Place of death Cessnock, Australia
Position(s) Inside forward[1]
Youth career
1918 Kurri Kurri
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1919 Rothbury ? (?)
1920–1937 Cessnock 492 (210)
National team
1923 Australia 3 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Lennard was born in Inverell in 1900. As a young child, he moved to Kurri Kurri where he attended a local public school. At the age of 18, despite having shown potential in rugby league.[3]

Club career

Rothbury

Lennard played for the Kurri Kurri under-18 team as captain in 1918 before starting his senior team at Rothbury in 1919.[4]

Cessnock

After one year with Rothbury, Lennard joined Cessnock where he spent the rest of his career at. He helped the club to honours that included the Stevenson, Kerr and Ellis Cups, and in 1928 and 1929 the State League Premiership Cup. In his Cessnock career, he played 492 senior games and scored 210 goals for Cessnock.

International and state career

Lennard represented Australia twelve times, scoring twice. He made his Australian debut against New Zealand in 1923 where he scored Australia's first ever international goal on home soil. Lennard was inducted into the City of Cessnock Hall of Fame on 6 December 2006, he was also inducted in the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame.

Lennard represented New South Wales interstate and internationally, and in 1923, was selected to play for Australia in three exhibition matches against New Zealand, and scored two goals. These matches were the first played in Australia by an international football team, and the first full A Grade international football matches played in the country. Given that he scored the first goal in the first match of the series, Lennard scored the first ever Australian international football goal on home soil. He played for Australia in nine further internationals.

Lennard's son Jack Lennard also represented Australia in international football.

Death

Lennard died in Cessnock in 1975, aged 74.

References
  1. "SOCCER CODE". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (16, 353). New South Wales, Australia. 15 March 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Australian Player Database - LAV". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  3. "Percy Lennard: Football player". Cessnock City Council. 6 December 2006.
  4. Howe, Andrew (2018). Encyclopedia of Socceroos: Every national team player. Fair Play Publishing. ISBN 978-0-648-13330-8.
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