Walter Pless arrived in Tasmania with his family as a young child from Austria in the mid-fifties.
He first played for Croatia Glenorchy juniors and seniors in the sixties then signed for Caledonians, Metro, Rapid and University during the sixties and seventies.
He initially turned to coaching first at University, then Metro Claremont and Croatia Glenorchy.
A teacher by profession, Walter easily turned his hand to writing about the sport he loved, starting in 1978, and it was a love-affair that would span a mammoth 46 years.
He covered football for The Hobart Mercury for over 25 years, while also writing for Australian Soccer Weekly (Sydney), Soccer Action magazine (Melbourne) and World Soccer magazine (London), Australian 4-4-2, and “Goal Weekly” (Melbourne).
He also had a story published by the iconic “Goal” magazine, London, in the eighties.
He retired from full time work in 2009 to concentrate on football writing covering a sport that struggled for media coverage in the State.
Every week in his 25 years at the Mercury, Walter would write six articles a week, including previews, reviews and general discussion of the sport. And when Friday night football was introduced, he wrote up those games. It was a well-read, extremely popular coverage of the sport.
In 2022 Walter was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame for services to football.
Walter’s unbiased, honest views on the game were very well received by his peers, and his current internet blog “Walter Pless on Association Football” is a go-to for everything to do with football.