Joey Tankard
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| Joey Tankard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Joseph Tankard | ||
| Date of birth | 1862 | ||
| Date of death | 18 December 1931 (aged 68–69) | ||
| Place of death | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| Hotham | |||
| Carlton | |||
| Launceston | |||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1901. | |||
Joseph Tankard (1862 – 18 December 1931) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hotham Football Club (now North Melbourne) in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). He infamously came to blows with Carlton's star player, George Coulthard, during a match in 1882. Both players received a season-long suspension for the fight but Tankard was later let off after the VFA reconsidered the case.
He moved to Tasmania in 1890 where he played for colony's representative team. A small, strong follower with abnormally long arms and a tremendous leap, Tankard was considered a pioneer of the high mark, and had "the reputation of being able to fight like a bag of Kilkenny cats". He also played club-level cricket, principally as a wicket-keeper.
Tankard was known for high marking and was sometimes referred to as a pioneer of the feat.[1][2] Years after his retirement, Tankard, in a public letter to The Referee, claimed to be the originator of the finger-tip mark in an era when most players marked the ball on the chest. He signed the letter "Ex-Champion Footballer of Victoria". The publication's football writer, a former teammate of Tankard's, disagreed, saying the finger-tip mark was commonplace at the time. He wrote that Tankard "was, however, a fine player, not brilliant, but very serviceable to his side."[3]
