Walter Watts (17 June 1872 – 9 July 1946) was an Australian sportsman, best known as the oldest player to have played a senior game in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
Born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1872, Watts initially started his football career with the Port Adelaide Football Club. In 1894 he moved to Fremantle, Western Australia, and in the 1890s, represented the Imperials Football Club, the Fremantle Football Club, and a number of Fremantle representative cricket teams which played against touring Victorian and Australian sides.Cricket Loses Great Stalwart – The Sunday Times. Published 14 July 1946. Retrieved from Trove, 15 January 2012. Watts later moved to Midland Junction, where he worked as a blacksmith for the Midland Railway of Western Australia at the Midland Railway Workshops.Walter WATTS – AIF. Retrieved 15 January 2012. He was a foundation member of the Midland First Grade cricket team (later Midland-Swan and Midland-Guildford), and was responsible for the improvement of the Midland Oval for the use of both the cricket and football team. The scoreboard at the ground is named after Watts.The Midland Oval. Retrieved 15 January 2012. Watts played for the cricket club for over thirty years, and as late as the 1927–28 season, when he took a five-wicket haul against North Fremantle at the age of 55, with help from a sticky wicket.CRICKET – The Western Mail. Published 3 November 1927. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
Watts was also a noted player of Australian rules football for the Midland Junction Football Club, playing alongside several of his sons. He played his final game, against on 5 August 1916, at the age of 44 years and 49 days, making him the oldest person to play senior football in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). He had been called out of retirement for one final game due to a player shortage at the club caused by a large number of players enlisting in the military.Oldest & Youngest WAFL players – wafootball.com.au. Retrieved 15 January 2012. Watts and another "old-timer", Dick Hardie, replaced two of Watts' sons, Frederick and Albert, who were injured, in the team.FOOTBALL – The West Australian. Published 8 August 1916. Retrieved from Trove, 15 January 2012.
After retiring from the Railway Workshops, Watts invented and patented a number of railway track devices, including for a universal movement switch.WEST AUSTRALIAN PATENT – The West Australian. Published 2 June 1928. Retrieved from Trove, 15 January 2012. He also represented the Midland-Guildford Cricket Club on the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA), and served on a number of committees. Watts died on July 9, 1946, at Perth Hospital, Western Australia.Family Notices – The West Australian. Published 10 July 1946. Retrieved from Trove, 10 June 2025.
Walter Watts married Florence Louise Russell in 1892 at Hindley Street, Adelaide, South Australia. Together they had nine sons and three daughters. Five of Wally's sons played First Grade cricket, and another three played senior football. Albert Watts, the first of Wally and Florence's children to be born in Western Australia, captained over four seasons, and captained Western Australia in eight matches. – FullPointsFooty. Retrieved 15 January 2012. Two of his granddaughters later married Laurie Bandy and Ted Tyson, both noted sportsmen during the 1930s and 1940s.
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