The Footy Story

[8bloggs]

THE FOOTY STORY
I was cleaning out the garage at my mother in law’s house recently and found a copy of a magazine called “The Footy Story”, published by The Argus newspaper in 1955.
It contains many interesting articles of players in the 1950s and summaries of the season highlights from 1922 through to 1955. Below is a summary of Saints related write ups and other general items that may be of interest.

NEIL WENT BACK AND KICKED IT
Melbourne lost a star player when St. Kilda signed handsome, well-built Neil Roberts in 1952. He had always been a Demon supporter; but he lived in the Saints’ territory, and so he decided he would play with them. ‘I didn’t care where I played as long as I broke into the league’, he says. ‘But I’ve never regretted the choice. And I’m now completely St. Kilda minded.’ Roberts is also one of the club’s best and most consistent players, and has few peers in the League as a centre half-back. He first started playing football for Melbourne High School, and when he left, joined the Old Boys team. He was one of its stars at full forward and in the ruck. In one season he kicked a total of 99 goals after kicking 15, 17, and 19 in three consecutive weeks. At the end of the 1951 season he was judged the best and fairest player in the amateurs B section competition, and felt he was ready to step into a higher grade of play. ‘So when St. Kilda approached me it didn’t take me long to decide what to do,’ he says. ‘I signed as a full forward and thought I would make the grade.’ And he certainly did. After five games in the seconds as full forward he was moved up to the senior team and played in the last seven matches of the season and succeeded in kicking 13 goals. He resumed as full forward in 1953, but had hardly settled down when he broke his shoulder in a match against Essendon. ‘I wasn’t so confident after that, and, as Peter Bennett was again available after the Olympic Games, I was switched to centre half-forward,’ he says.
Tried in defence
‘Then later that year officials said they were going to try me on the back line. They did, and I’ve been playing in defence ever since. ‘At first I would have preferred to stay at full forward , but I soon got used to the idea of playing on the backline, and am now perfectly happy there.’ A well built 6ft. 1in. and 13 ½ stone, Neil names three men as the hardest opponents he has come across while playing at centre half-back: John Brady (North Melbourne), Ray Poulter (Richmond) and Bill Gunn (South Melbourne). And as centre-half backs he believes the best in the League are Brady, Ted Whitten (Footscray), Des Rowe (Richmond) and Geoff Williams (Geelong). ‘And while I was playing at full forward Ollie Grieve was the hardest man I came up against,’ he says. Still only 22, Neil had made 52 senior appearances with the club until the end of last season. Also last year he won the club’s best and fairest award and gained interstate selection. Now he is a key figure in the club’s revived side, and probably has the best part of his career before him. He has everything needed by a champion – pace, anticipation, skill, and courage. He only wants one more thing to be completely happy. ‘To play in a grand final. And I think we can,’ he says. ‘Because we’re on the way up now, and we are going to keep coming.’

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS FROM 1919 TO 1955
1919
There were only nine league clubs and four games in each round. One side had a bye each Saturday.
Teams were hit hard by an epidemic of pneumonic influenza. It whittled the strength of most of them and caused sudden reversals of form.
Inconsistent St. Kilda was not a happy family. Dissatisifed players grumbled, and members held indignation and reform meetings.
Geelong, who did not play in 1916, was still re-building, and won only three games. Against St. Kilda, on May 31, Geelong kicked 0-18 to 6-10.
South trounced St. Kilda by 29-15 to 2-6. Its 17-4 in the last quarter is still a scoring record for one team in one quarter.
In the ‘statistics of the season’, they showed two ladders – the ‘first round’, for the end of the home and way season, and ‘the second round’, for the finals series.
1920
Umpires demanded police escort from the arena to the dressing room. It was suggested players should act as guards. There were no volunteers, and police took over the job.
Vic. Cumberland (St. Kilda) retired after 23 years of League football. In the St. Kilda side of 1920 there were nine players who were not born when he first he began with Melbourne.
Umpire Jack Elder stopped play in the Carlton-Richmond semi-final until the police pushed 4,000 fans back over the fence.
Record long kicks - Place Kick: 86 yards 1 foot Dave McNamara (St. Kilda) at Launceston 1919
1921
Essendon had to leave the East Melbourne ground, their headquarters since 1881, because the Railways wanted to extend the shunting yards at Jolimont.
St. Kilda, playing in the mud on July 16, kicked 0-18 to Fitzroy’s 6-6.
Surprise of the season was St. Kilda’s defeat of Geelong by 11-16 to 9-9 on August 27. For Geelong, making a late run for the four, the match was vital. For St. Kilda, second last, it meant little except a ‘pick-me-up’.
1922
Hooliganism among crowds, abuse of umpires, and the throwing of missiles reached an all-time high.
League umpires complained of menaces and threatening letters. They asked the V.F.L. to accept responsibility for their safe conduct from grounds to their homes.
St. Kilda’s great full back, Harry Lever, retired after 19 years of League football.
It was a season when the hefty player dominated the scene. Goliaths with massive chests and bulging biceps lumbered on to the fields to rattle the opposing side by ‘dishing it out.’ It was the age of the scientific buffeter. When the 15-stoners crashed shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip the crowds roared with delight.
1923
St. Kilda and Carlton clubs wanted reintroduction of the 1912-16 system of having a steward on the ground at each match. The League refused.
Main objections to the stewards were that they got in the player’s way, and they made field umpires feel they were free from responsibility to report breaches.
In a remarkable reversal of form on July 14, all three leaders – Essendon, Fitzroy and Collingwood – were beaten by St. Kilda, South, and Carlton respectively.
For the first time in League history the grand final was postponed for a week because the M.C.G. was waterlogged.
1924
Although there were only four games each week, League attendances stabilised round 90,000 each Saturday.
In the second quarter against Carlton, St. Kilda captain Wels Eicke claimed the Blues had 19 men on the field. The umpire counted, found Eicke was mistaken. A St. Kilda player said to the umpire “You didn’t count yourself!’
A protest by Geelong against South Melbourne was dismissed. Geelong claimed a South defender had shaken the goalpost and caused a Geelong shot to hit it. The League severely censured the player.
St. Kilda captain, Wels Eicke, tottered out of a game against South with a double fracture of the skull. Cause – sharp elbow jab in the face.
1925
The boundary throw-in was abolished by a new rule. When a player kicked the ball out of bounds a free kick was given to the opposing side.
Advantages: It speeded up the game; made teams attack straight down the ground. It cut out boundary scuffling by the heavyweights. It made players keep their positions.
Abuses: Players of the side entitled to the free kick would let the ball roll to the fence. It also led to fantastically high scores; made goals cheap.
After its opening defeat by North, Geelong won 12 games straight. St. Kilda broke the sequence with an 11 points win.
Most inconsistent team of the year, St. Kilda. Beat three of the four finalists, but went down to weaker clubs.
1926
Club committees frowned on rough play. Collingwood and North decided to stop all payments to players during suspension.
For the first time since 1905 Geelong won at St. Kilda. Scores were 16-14 to 15-15.
Their faces were red: It is not uncommon for a losing side to have more scoring kicks than its conqueror, but here is one occasion when the losing side’s face was really red. In May, 1928, Fitzroy played Geelong on the Corio oval. Fitzroy had 29 scoring shots to Geelong’s 27 – yet was trounced by 83 points. The Maroons, could get only 2-27 from their 29 attempts. Their forwards hit the post five times. Geelong scored 19-8 from its 27 shots.
1927
Gordon Coventry kicked 11 goals out of Collingwood’s 18-15 against Fitzroy on May 28, equalling the club record, shared with Dick Lee and himself. He repeated the feat against St. Kilda a month later.
Colin Watson, 1925 Brownlow Medallist, went to Maryborough as playing coach without a clearance from St. Kilda. The Ballarat League allowed him to play, defied the V.F.L. and was disqualified as a league. V.F.L. ban on Watson was not lifted until 1930.
Trouble again at St. Kilda! Reformers claimed the club had lost 500 members, was 500 pounds in debt, and players hadn’t been paid for several weeks.
Sixteen players were injured in a hard game in which Collingwood beat South by 16-16 to 9-13. Each side had eight casualties.
1928
St. Kilda in a strong bid for fourth place, beat Melbourne 12-10 to 11-15 with a goal kicked by Smedley seven seconds after the bell. Melbourne’s protest was dismissed because the umpire did not hear the bell.
League delegates were worried when a player’s council was formed. They had visions of arbitration claims for higher wages, but the fears were groundless. The Footballer’s Union was never established.
A new definition of the hold-the-ball rule laid down that a player must be held, and not just touched or clutched at.
A bulldog led on to the field at a Footscray-Collingwood game was the origin of the nickname ‘Bulldogs’ applied to Footscray.
1929
Threats to Collingwood players were contained in 11 anonymous letters delivered in the dressing-room just before the Grand Final. The committee withheld these letters until after the match had been won.
St. Kilda reached the final four for the fifth time. The Saints were runners-up to Fitzroy in 1913, and made the four in 1907, 1908, and 1918.
1930
Under the new Coulter law players were paid a maximum of 3 pounds a week. Because it was a depression year, the League ruled that a player who was out of work could be paid an extra 3 pounds sustenance.
An amended ‘holding the ball’ rule obliged a player to punch or kick the ball when he was held. It was repealed two months later, and the old law, which allowed the player to drop the ball, again operated.
1931
South Melbourne tried a plan of paying its players by results. When the ‘Bloods’ won each man got 3 pounds. When they lost, two pounds.
Norths deficit of 168 points in that game (against Richmond) was not the worst League defeat, South beat St. Kilda by 171 points in 1919.
St. Kilda, which finished ninth, defeated Collingwood on September 5, by 21-16 to 20-8. That match set a new points aggregate, 270.
West Australian George Maloney kicked 12 goals, a Geelong club record, against St. Kilda.

1932
The VFL became an incorporated company composed of 12 clubs. It directed that all clubs frame a constitution and rules.
A reform movement at St. Kilda ran a plebiscite asking: “Has the present committee your confidence?” Result, No, 492, Yes, 136.
1933
The method of calculating percentages was changed so that the team with the highest percentage was the most successful, instead of the team with the lowest.
Richmond full back Maurie Sheahan placed the ball to kick off in the last minutes of a close game against South. Umpire Jack McMurray, decided he was wasting time deliberately, gave a free kick to Bob Pratt, who goaled.
Nine of the 12 League teams had big name forwards. This galaxy included Gordon Coventry, Barry Valance, Jack Moriarty, Bob Pratt, Bill Mohr (St. Kilda), George Margitich, Doug Strang, and Alan Rait.
1934
South ace forward, Bob Pratt, kicked 33 goals in his first three games.
In August Pratt, then 21, reached 127 goals to beat Gordon Coventry’s record of 124 in a season. He went on to get 150, still the League record.
1935
Troopers horses pranced beside Ted Ryan (Collingwood) and the crows swept over the Fitzroy ground as he took a free kick on the bell. Ryan goaled to make the game a draw, 14-9 all.
1936
A thorny issue was whether clubs whose grounds were in parklands had a legal right to charge for admittance. Organised gate-crashing to test the point at Richmond worried League officials.
St. Kilda forward Bill Mohr, who topped the goal-kicking with 101 goals, was awarded The Argus Cup for the League’s best and fairest. In seven seasons Mohr had played 134 games and scored 576 goals.
1937
Dan Minogue put new fire and punch into St. Kilda. It was a great day for the Saints’ supporters when they beat Collingwood 12 – 15 to 9 – 15.
Full of fight, St. Kilda squeezed into the four in mid-season. Then Melbourne, in a magnificent display of football, thrashed the Saints, 16 – 16 to 11 – 18.
Melbourne, with 25 – 20 against Essendon, and St. Kilda, with 22 – 19 against North, both achieved new club scoring records.
1938
A mystery man claiming to represent promoters of a football betting card offered Tiger forward Jack Titus 50 pounds to play ‘dead’ against South. Titus reported the approach to the committee, played brilliantly against South, and kicked five goals.
1939
St. Kilda made a notable rise to reach the finals for the first time since 1929.
Former heavyweight boxing champion of Australia, Ambrose Palmer, playing in the ruck for Footscray, suffered three fractures of the jaw when he collided with two Essendon players. Palmer lay on a table in agony for three hours before a hospital bed could be found for him.
Replacement of the field umpire Coward during the grand final was without precedent in League history. Coward was swept off his feet by a battling pack, and dislocated his right elbow. Blackburn filled the breach after a few minutes’ delay.
Registered colors of League clubs – St. Kilda: Red, white, and black vertical striped jersey, crest on left breast. White sleeves. Black hose, red and white tops.
1940
By May the war position was grim, but the Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) felt football should continue as a morale builder. A percentage of receipts went to war charities, and players accepted a pay cut from three pounds to thirty shillings.
1941
There were 18 casualties in a fierce match between Richmond and Carlton on May 3. Carlton had ten injured and the Tigers eight. This was the highest number of casualties in any League game.
Several players fought in the Collingwood – St. Kilda game on June 26. Outcome was a challenge by two opponents to meet at the Stadium. The management offered to arrange the bout and put up a purse. Nothing happened.
1942
Football was hit hard by war in the Pacific. Absence of key players weakened all teams. Club committees were never certain they would field a full side, and selection often was made just before the match.
Wartime travel priority stranded Geelong. The club had to withdraw. All Association matches were suspended, and the League cut out the Brownlow medal and interstate matches.
The M.C.G., St. Kilda, South Melbourne, and Footscray grounds became service camps or depots. Footscray played at Yarraville, Melbourne at Richmond, St. Kilda at Prahran and Melbourne at Carlton.
1943
Only 16 home and away games rounds were played, and the lowest club, St. Kilda, was eliminated after 11 rounds. Transport difficult and scattered players again prevented Geelong from fielding a team.
Ten players clashed fiercely in the opening Essendon – South Melbourne game. The crowd swarmed on to the ground, and police and umpires just managed to curb a ‘Donnybrook.’
The grand final was played at Carlton.
1944
A tram and bus strike added to the rigors of 43,000 fans who went to the grand final at St. Kilda on an unseasonally hot day. Trains carried 30,000; more than 1,200 cars and trucks converged on the ground – and thousands walked.
St. Kilda and Footscray recovered their grounds, which had been vacated by the Army.
1945
Opposing teams kicked 2,907 points against St. Kilda, which won only two games. This was the highest number of points scored against a League side.
South skipper, Herb Matthews, was suspended for a week by the club committee for having refused to play against St. Kilda. He objected to being moved from his regular centre forward position to wing half-forward.
‘A blot on the game’ was how League officials described the bitter grand final between Carlton and South Melbourne. Players were dropped by vicious punches; there were three full scale brawls and nine men were reported.
1946
Richmond captain Jack Dyer kicked to an open goal when the Tigers were a point behind Footscray with two minutes to go on August 3. The ball burst and swung the wrong way.
1947
Big Demon forward Fred Fanning kicked 18 goals from 19 shots against St. Kilda on August 30, beating the record of 17 goals by Gordon Coventry against Fitzroy in 1930.
St. Kilda recorded its highest losing score, 19 – 11, against the Dons on May 9.
Melbourne’s 27 – 9 against St. Kilda on August 30 was the finest goal-kicking effort by any League club since Carlton’s 28 – 10 against Collingwood in 1943.
1948
After a run of ‘outs’, Bill Twomey won the first semi-final for Collingwood against Footscray. Because of a foot injury, Bill, who was playing in the centre, asked to be replaced. Instead he was sent up forward and kicked eight goals.
1949
Young John Coleman, one of the most sensational League finds for years, kicked 12 goals for Essendon against Hawthorn in his first match. He was the first forward to get 100 goals in his first League season.
1950
St. Kilda fielded its best team since 1939 and won its first five games. Critics thought it was a premiership possibility after it defeated Carlton 10 – 14 to 8 – 7 before 47,000 fans at St. Kilda. The Saints finished the season in 9th place.
St. Kilda established a new club scoring record with 20 – 24 against Hawthorn.
1951
An amendment of the Coulter law increased payments to player’s from 4 pounds to 5 pounds.
Sensation of the year was the four week suspension of Essendon’s star forward, John Coleman, on the eve of the finals.
1952
An innovation was a match between Essendon and Richmond, played under electric light on October 11.
For propaganda purposes, a round of V.F.L. games was played in interstate and country centres on the day of the Victoria – Western Australia State game in Melbourne on June 4. They were at Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Albury, and at Euroa and Trafalgar. It was a great success despite bad weather.
New coaches were chosen – Jack Hale, former Carlton star, by Hawthorn; Les Foote, of North Melbourne, by St. Kilda; and Alan Ruthven, club captain, by Fitzroy.
1953
Collingwood won its 12th premiership; Hawthorn still had never played in the finals.
1954
After battling vainly for 30 years, Footscray wins its first premiership.
1955
As soon as the grand final ended the ground was torn up and regraded in preparation for the Olympic Games, but with arrangements made to use the ground for football in 1956.
South Melbourne kicked 25 – 16 to St. Kilda’s 4 – 8, which was its best effort since 1919, when it kicked 29 – 16 to St. Kilda’s 2 – 6.

CARNIVAL MATCHES
In 1908, the first Australian championship was held. It was played in Melbourne and was represented by teams from the 6 states and New Zealand.
St. Kilda player Dave McNamara played for Victoria.
New Zealand met New South Wales in their first game, and after trailing in the first half, they turned on a terrific last quarter to win by a point.


PROTESTS
Protests have been lodged in six matches played by League clubs.
In 1909, St. Kilda, 10 -8, drew with Melbourne, 9 – 14. St. Kilda appealed and was awarded the game. A point credited to Melbourne was disallowed.

[Harvey To Hayes]

Great job Sbloggs, tell me you didn’t type that..,

[8bloggs]

Yep, had to sort out the Saints stuff from the other clubs.

[asiu]

sensational effort

that was a great read

ta for the yakka

[Enrico_Misso]

Good read.
Never knew about stewards 100 years ago.
That Wels Eicke quote in 1924 was just too funny to be true!

[Jacks Back]

1924
In the second quarter against Carlton, St. Kilda captain Wels Eicke claimed the Blues had 19 men on the field. The umpire counted, found Eicke was mistaken. A St. Kilda player said to the umpire “You didn’t count yourself!’

[8bloggs]

Yeah I thought the Wells Eicke man count was good. Also:
1920
Record long kicks - Place Kick: 86 yards 1 foot Dave McNamara (St. Kilda) at Launceston 1919...
That is one serious distance. Doubt if an umpire would allow a place kick now with the pace of today's game.

[asiu]

79 metres serious

its a fair dob

[Enrico_Misso]

79 metres serious

its a fair dob

Did Bruce Andrew run the tape measure over it?

[Saint 58]

Brilliant job typing all that

...

1928
St. Kilda in a strong bid for fourth place, beat Melbourne 12-10 to 11-15 with a goal kicked by Smedley seven seconds after the bell. Melbourne’s protest was dismissed because the umpire did not hear the bell.

Remember Round 5, 2006 ?
Steven Baker kicks a point (twice), to level the scores but Freo won under protest because the Umps didn't hear the siren.
The match should have been a draw.

[Premium89]

Incredible typing job - thanks so much!

1953 - "Hawthorn still had never played in the finals."
Don't know why I relished that fact so much...