View source for Len Pye

{{Short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Len Pye
| image =
| fullname = Leonard Edward Thomas Pye
| birth_date = 21 February 1911
| birth_place = New Norfolk, Tasmania
| death_date = {{death date and age|1989|9|20|1911|2|21|df=yes}}
| death_place =
| originalteam = [[North Hobart Demons|North Hobart]]
| height = 183&nbsp;cm
| weight = 80&nbsp;kg
| position =
| statsend = 1935
| years1 = 1929–33; 1936–40
| club1 = North Hobart
| games_goals1 =
| years2 = 1934–35
| club2 = [[Fitzroy Football Club|Fitzroy]]
| games_goals2 = 16 (39)
| years3 = 1935
| club3 = Northcote (VFA)
| games_goals3 = 16 (34)
| careerhighlights =
}}
'''Leonard Edward Thomas 'Apples' Pye''' (21 February 1911 &ndash; 20 September 1989)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://australianfootball.com/players/player/len%2Bpye/5726|title=Len Pye – Player Bio|publisher=Australian Football|accessdate=22 November 2014}}</ref> was an [[Australian rules football]]er who played for [[Fitzroy Football Club|Fitzroy]] in the [[Australian Football League|VFL]] during the 1930s. He also had a notable career in the [[Tasmanian Football League|TANFL]] with [[North Hobart Demons|North Hobart]] which saw him named in Tasmania's official 'Team of the Century', on the interchange bench.<ref>{{Ref AFL Encyc|10th|724}}</ref>
==Family==
The son of Charles Pye (1882–1958) and Elsie May Pye, née Burke (1884–1944), Leonard Edward Thomas Pye was born at New Norfolk on 21 February 1911. Len married Violet Beatrice Sullivan and had two daughters, Jennifer and Geraldine
==Football==
===North Hobart===
Pye played his early football with New Norfolk<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24260183 |title=FOOTBALL Practice Matches |newspaper=The Mercury |volume=CXXX |issue=19,174 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=22 April 1929 |page=12}}</ref> before starting his North Hobart career in 1929. Strong in the air, Pye often played the role of an on-baller. He won a [[William Leitch Medal]] in 1932 and in doing so became the first player from his club to win it. The previous year he won the first of his four North Hobart 'Best and Fairest' awards, with the others coming in consecutive seasons from 1936 to 1938.
===Fitzroy===
His performance for Tasmania at the [[1933 Sydney Carnival]] helped him get recruited by Fitzroy. He topped Fitzroy's goalkicking with 39 goals in 1934, his debut season, including a bag of eight against [[North Melbourne Football Club|North Melbourne]] at Arden Street.
===Northcote===
After a single senior appearance for Fitzroy early in 1935 he moved to [[Northcote Football Club|Northcote]] in the [[Victorian Football Association]] where he played 16 further games that season.
===Return to North Hobart===
In 1936 Pye returned to North Hobart and was a member of their 1936 premiership winning side to go with his previous premierships in 1929 and 1932. He was voted 'Best on Ground' in the 1936 decider, as well as the Grand Final the subsequent year which they lost. Two further premierships followed and he finished his career as a five time TANFL premiership player and with three [[Tasmanian State Premiership]]s. From 1935 to 1941 the league didn't award a Leitch Medal, instead handing out the George Watt Memorial Medal to the season's best player, which was won by Pye in both 1937 and 1938.
After not playing during the war he returned for another stint at North Hobart in 1946. The following year he decided to join [[New Norfolk Football Club|New Norfolk]] for their inaugural TFL season and he spent two years with the club before retiring.
==War service==
Pye served in the Australian Army during World War II, enlisting in both 1940<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=779439&c=WW2 |title=World War II Roll: PYE, Leonard Edward (1940) |publisher=Department of Veterans Affairs}}</ref> and then again in 1943<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=803160&c=WW2 |title=World War II Roll: PYE, Leonard Edward (1943) |publisher=Department of Veterans Affairs}}</ref> when he was discharged after injuring his knee while on duty.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{AustralianFootball|ref=len%2Bpye/5726}}
*{{AFL Tables|ref=L/Len_Pye.html}}
*[http://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Players/Pye,_Len_'Apple'.php Len Pye's playing statistics] from The VFA Project
{{Fitzroy leading goalkickers}}
{{Tasmanian Team Of The Century}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pye, Len}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Tasmania]]
[[Category:Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents]]
[[Category:Fitzroy Football Club players]]
[[Category:Northcote Football Club players]]
[[Category:William Leitch Medal winners]]
[[Category:New Norfolk Football Club players]]
[[Category:North Hobart Football Club players]]
[[Category:Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]