LEGEND – Player Inductee
North Hobart/Fitzroy/New Norfolk, Ruckman/Forward, 1929-1949
> 16 games, 39 goals, Fitzroy, 1934-35
> 132 games, North Hobart, 1929-33, 1936-40 and 1946
> Around 30 games, New Norfolk, 1947-49
> Vice-captain, North Hobart, 1938-40
> Represented Tasmania three times
> TFL Representative
> North Hobart Best and Fairest, 1931, 1936, 1937 and 1938
> TFL Best and Fairest 1932 (William Leitch Medal) and 1937-38 (George Watt Medal)
> Played in five TFL and three state premiership teams with North Hobart
Affectionately known as ‘Apples’, Len Pye was a dynamic ruckman and key position player whose outstanding career was punctuated by the Great Depression and World War Two.
Despite these challenges he dominated TFL football in the 1930s, winning three TFL Best and Fairest medals, four club Best and Fairest awards, representing Tasmania three times and playing in five regional TFL and three state premierships. In 1937 Pye won one of two Coronation Medals awarded for best players in celebration games marking King George VI’s ascension to the British throne. After retiring from North Hobart he played briefly with New Norfolk in its first three seasons in the TFL (1947-49).
Len Pye’s performance for Tasmania at the 1933 Australian National Carnival in Sydney led to his recruitment by Fitzroy. He topped the Lions’ goalkicking with 39 goals in 1934, his debut season, including a bag of eight against North Melbourne at Arden Street. After managing just a single senior appearance in 1935 he returned to North Hobart.
Commencing in 1929 and concluding in 1949, Pye’s career was exemplified by his efforts with Fitzroy in 1934. At the conclusion of his career he returned to his origins to assist New Norfolk in their first three years of senior TFL football. Pye was a great all round on-baller with exceptional skills and his fair play ensured he was amongst the most highly decorated in the history of the game in Tasmania.
Len Pye was recognised by Tasmania in the Team of the Century in 2004 and also as an inaugural inductee in the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
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