Phillip Henry Matson (22 October 1884 – 13 June 1928) was a record-breaking swimmer, as well as a highly successful player and coach of Australian rules football in the early 20th century in Western Australia.
Family Phillip Henry Matson was born in Port Adelaide on 22 October 1884 to George Thomas Matson (1842–1915)Personal Items, The Kalgoorlie Miner, (Saturday, 23 January 1915), p.4.Obituary: Mr. George Matson, The Southern Argus and Wagin-Arthur Express, (Saturday, 30 January 1915), p.5.Peeps at People, The (Perth) Sunday Times, (Sunday, 31 January 1915), p.20. and Emma Matson (1854–1928),Death: Matson, The (Perth) Daily News, (Saturday, 4 August 1928), p.1. née Duffield.
Matson was educated at a state school in Adelaide before moving to Western Australia as a youth.
Lifestyle Outside of football, Matson's work was varied and somewhat inconsistent. He had jobs as a miner, a tramway motorman, a farmer, a navvy on the Trans-Australian Railway, a lumper, a store clerk, and a 'Spot-Lager' retailer.
Early in his career, Matson was a teetotaler but eventually became a "social" drinker and was well-known for his gambling habit. His approach to life caused problems within his family, who, as a result, occasionally lived in tents and moved houses several times.
Matson offered to enlist during World War I. When rejected, he opted to live as a licensed Swan River fisherman and engaged more heavily in gambling. He operated two-up schools at Subiaco and Pelican Point, SP books in some city hotels, and an illegal gaming house in Perth. For a number of years, he held a trotting bookmaker's licence.
Swimming career Matson worked as a navvies' water-boy in Western Australia, and began swimming competitively in 1902.
He had been encouraged to take up football by his swimming trainer, William Howson (who set a world record in 1904 in 110 yards underwater swimming), in order to "harden himself" for his swimming.Matson's Early Helper Dies, The West Australian, (Wednesday, 21 April 1954), p.19.
During his swimming career, Matson held the Western Australian freestyle titles from 100 yards (91 m) to a mile (1.6 km) using the now-obsolete trudgen stroke.Chats with Stars: Phil Matson of Sooby: First Swimmer, Then Footballer, The Westralian Worker, (Friday, 28 May 1915), p.7.'Onlooker', "Football: Matson's Early Days: Chance Entry into Football", The West Australian, (Wednesday, 20 June 1928), p.4. He won the 220-yard breaststroke at the Australasian championships for three consecutive years (1905–1907).
On 19 February 1908, Matson participated in the West Australian Amateur Swimming Association's Australian Championship in Claremont, Western Australia, where he set a world record time for the 220-yard breaststroke (3 minutes and 14 seconds), winning by a length (having touched equal first at the last turn).Matson broke the previous world record for the distance by three and two-fifths of a second; the second place-getter, Trevor Richardson, also broke the previous world record for the distance (by two and two fifths of a second): Swimming, The West Australian, (Thursday, 20 February 1908), p.5.
Seven days later, on 26 February 1908, Matson was swimming at a swimming carnival in Kalgoorlie when he broke his own world record by another 3.4 seconds, swimming 220 yards in 3 minutes and 10.6 seconds.Note that, because the timing was made in units of fifths of a second, Matson's time can not be represented as 3min 10.6secs.'Crawl', "Swimming Notes", The (Fremantle) Evening Mail, (Friday, 28 February 1908), p.4. However, because a surveyor's certificate could not be produced to precisely verified the pool's dimensions (i.e. the exact length of the swim), the governing body, the New South Wales Amateur Swimming Association, refused to ratify the new record.'Diver', "Swimming", The West Australian, (Saturday, 21 March 1908), p.14.
Meanwhile, Matson's football career prevented him from being considered for the Olympic Games in swimming. He therefore turned professional for a £20 stake in 1909.
Football career "[Matson] himself was a wonderful footballer. His name has been bracketed with that of the late Albert Thurgood 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.Phil Mason's Death, The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 20 July 1928), p.9.
"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.Carter, Peter (2019), "The Royal mastermind", at australianfootball.com.
Matson played at half-back and half-forward and took turns in the ruck.Gay, Tasman,"Phil Matson is Remembered, The Western Mail, (Thursday, 12 June 1952), p.21. He played for both South Australia (1909–10) and Western Australia (1908, 1911, 1914) and captained the South Australian team at the 1914 interstate carnival.Famous Footballer Passes: Death of Phil Matson, The Westralian Worker, (Friday, 22 June 1928), p.10.
Professional football career Matson supported himself by playing football, despite it being considered an amateur sport at the time. He moved clubs frequently, playing outside the main leagues if the price was right. Across 20 seasons, Matson played for: South Bunbury Football Club (Western Australia): 1904–1905. Boulder City Football Club (Western Australia): 1906–1908.Sporting, The Kalgoorlie Miner, (Friday, 4 May 1906), p.2.The Boulder City Football Team, The (Perth) Truth, (Saturday, 5 October 1907), p.8.Goldfields Representatives of W.A Football Team. Shortly Visiting the Eastern States, The Kalgoorlie Western Argus, (Tuesday, 28 July 1908), p.25.Jubilee of Australian Football — The Inter-State Teams: The Western Australian Team, The Leader, (Saturday, 29 August 1908), p.29. Sturt (South Australia): 1909–1910.Goldfields Football League, The Kalgoorlie Miner, (Tuesday, 30 March 1909), p.8.South Australian Team: Interstate Football, The (Adelaide) Critic, (Wednesday, 23 June 1909), p.10.The Sturt Team, The (Adelaide) Critic, (Wednesday, 30 June 1909), p.12.Interstate Football in Melbourne: The South Australian Football League team, The (Adelaide) Chronicle, (Saturday, 14 August 1909), p.31.The Sturt Football Team—Minor Premiers, The (Adelaide) Express and Telegraph, (Friday, 16 September 1910), p.6. North Fremantle Football Club (Western Australia): 1911.Interstate Football Carnival: Western Australia, The (Adelaide) Chronicle, (Saturday 12 August 1911), p.31 Subiaco Football Club (Western Australia): 1912–1917.Phil Matson (Subiaco F.B.C.), The (Perth) Truth, (Saturday, 7 June 1913), p.12. East Perth Football Club (Western Australia): 1918–1923.East Perth Football Club: State Premiers 1920, The (Perth) Mirror, (Saturday, 28 May 1921), p.4.Phil Matson: Champion Footballer and a State Selector, The (Perth) Mirror, (Saturday, 2 July 1921), p.1."Phil" Matson; Again in Adelaide: Interesting Reminiscences, The (Adelaide) Express and Telegraph, (Thursday, 31 August 1922), p.8.A Champion Retiring, The (Adelaide) Express and Telegraph, (Thursday, 31 August 1922), p.8.
Coaching career East Perth Aged 33, Matson was appointed as the coach of East Perth Football Club in 1918. Matson worked on the players' confidence and earned their respect with a methodical approach to his coaching. He was praised for his ability to outwit opponents and exploit weaknesses. Matson's personality helped recruit some top players. In nine seasons between 1919 and 1927, East Perth won seven premierships. 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,Phil Matson: The Man Behind the Team, The (Perth) Mirror, (Saturday, 28 July 1923), p.9. as he both selected the successful 1921 Western Australian interstate carnival team and coached the 1924Off to the Tasmanian Football Carnival: Western Australia's Representatives, The Western Mail, (Thursday, 24 July 1924), p.21. and 1927 teamsWill They Maintain Western Australia's Premiership?: The State's Representatives in the Football Carnival in Melbourne This Month, The Western Mail, (Thursday, 4 Aug 1927), p.6. that narrowly lost to Victoria. In 1924, he openly criticised Victorian officials for encouraging violence against his team.
Castlemaine (BFL) In 1925, Matson accepted an offer to coach the Castlemaine Football Club in the club's first year in the Bendigo Football League. He was cleared to be both a player (he played in 2 or 3 games) and a coach to Castlemaine in April 1925.Football, The Western Mail, (Thursday, 23 April 1925), p.25.
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).Country Matches: Bendigo Grand Final: South Bendigo Win Premiership, The Age, (Monday, 5 October 1925), p.7.Bendigo Matches: South Bendigo Premiers, The Argus, (Monday, 5 October 1925), p.17.'Half-Forward', "In the Presence of 12,000 Spectators, South Bendigo Win Premiership of Bendigo League", The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 10 October 1925), p.88.Bendigo League Premiership Won by South Bendigo, The Australasian, (Saturday, 10 October 1925), p.37.
Richmond (VFL) Impressed with his effort in lifting the Castlemaine into the Grand Final, Richmond officials approached Matson with an offer to succeed Dan Minogue as the Tigers' coach for 1926.'Kickeroo', "Football Coaches; Phil Matson for Richmond", The Herald, (Wednesday, 3 March 1926), p.8. Matson accepted and relocated to Melbourne.
However, the Victorian Football League (VFL) refused Matson a permit to take up the job, which annoyed both the club and the prospective coach.Matson Refused Clearance: May Return to Perth, The (Adelaide) News, (Thursday, 8 April 1926), p.9. It was suggested that either the VFL officials had not forgotten Matson's criticism of them two years earlier, or that they disapproved of his "unconventional" lifestyle.As Geelong would do later with George Goninon, when they dropped him (the club's leading goal-kicker) before the 1953 Grand Final, on the grounds that they had become aware of his adultery — see: Piesse, Ken, "Stray Cat lifts lid on Grand Final dumping", Sunday Herald Sun, (Sunday, 23 September 2007).
Western Australia Matson returned to Perth in time for the football season, and was re-appointed as the coach of East Perth.Phil Matson Returns to the West: Clearance for Richmond Refused by Vic. League: "Hottest Thing Ever", The (Perth) Daily News, (Monday, 12 April 1926, p.1. He took them to successive premierships. Matson's dispute with VFL officials inspired Western Australia to two "spiteful, vicious, brutal" victories over Victoria in 1926.
Death On 11 June 1928, Matson and his former team-mate Horrie Bant careered off the Hampden Road in Nedlands. The truck, driven by Bant, crashed through a bush and collided with a post carrying overhead tram wires, resulting in both men being thrown from the vehicle. Although injured, Bant survived the crash. Matson, however, struck the post with his head and subsequently died on 13 June 1928 from a fractured skull.Deaths: Matson, The West Australian, (Friday, 15 June 1928), p.1.The Westralian Worker, (Friday, 15 June 1928), p.16.Phil Matson's Tragic Death, The (Perth) Mirror, (Saturday, 16 June 1928), p.4.Philip Matson's Death,: Truck Driver's Negligence, The West Australian, (Tuesday, 31 July 1928), p.9.Gay, Tasman, "Phil Matson is Remembered: Star footballer and outstanding football personality, his accidental death was a great blow to his many friends and admirers", The Western Mail, (Thursday, 12 June 1952), p.21.