Resource Revised and Extended - Timeline of VFL/AFL Expansion

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What about the Public Service Football team applying and being refused in from memory in 1925 and University applying in 1897 and 1905 ( from recollection) and being refused.
 
As far as Wikipedia goes this is probably the best

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Service_Football_Club

The idea of Public Services FC was

- they would draw their players exclusively from the public service, meaning they wouldn't require a recruiting zone (and the other clubs wouldn't have their's adjusted)

- they would be based at the Amateur Sports Ground (Olympic Park), keeping that ground out of the hands of the VFA.

As I understand they had an agreement to reside at the ASG, but that fell through and then so did the club.
 
Bunk Moreland said:
As far as Wikipedia goes this is probably the best

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Service_Football_Club

The idea of Public Services FC was

- they would draw their players exclusively from the public service, meaning they wouldn't require a recruiting zone (and the other clubs wouldn't have their's adjusted)

- they would be based at the Amateur Sports Ground (Olympic Park), keeping that ground out of the hands of the VFA.

As I understand they had an agreement to reside at the ASG, but that fell through and then so did the club.
Click to expand...
It's been looked at on a previous thread and was essentially a no go from the start.
 

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I hope some of these dates fit in with what you have already posted:

July 10, 1986: The WAFL plans to establish a $10 million public company to finance and control a composite Perth team in an expanded VFL competition in 1987.
July 29, 1986: The WAFL adopts a new stand on the proposed VFL national competition next year, based on a decision by the VFL Commission to maintain all 12 teams in 1987.
August 1, 1986: A special VFL report says that a number of VFL clubs faced financial ruin unless a national series was introduced. It forecast that Western Australia would have two teams in the national series by 1995 and that private ownership would probably cover clubs in all states by then.
August 22, 1986: The WAFL took the historic decision of voting to join an expanded VFL competition. The six Board members and seven club presidents, plus one proxy delegate, voted 12-2 to accept the VFL invitation to be part of a national competition in 1987.
November 26, 1986: First national draft selection meeting held at VFL House. All clubs except West Coast took part, as West Coast have the entire WA state to draw upon.


Taken from West Australian Football Register (1986 and 1987 editions)
 
Some dates as published in the 1988 WAFL history book The Footballers:

August 8, 1983: The Western Australian state government appoints a three-man taskforce to investigate the long term financial needs of WA league football. The taskforce of Bill Mitchell (chairman), John Horgan and Peter Collins was appointed after a request from the WAFL to the state government for financial assistance.
September 22, 1986: In expectation of a favourable VFL vote, the WAFL appoints East Fremantle coach Ron Alexander as coach of the newly formed team (West Coast).
October 30, 1986: The newly formed WA team is christened West Coast Eagles at a glittering launch at the Merlin Hotel, where the preliminary squad is announced. (I realise this date has been touched on in the initial post)
November 5, 1986: The West Coast squad is finalised, with big question marks hanging over East Fremantle's Paul Harding, who did not want to leave WA to join Hawthorn and Gary Buckenara who wanted to leave Hawthorn to join the Eagles.


I understand perhaps not all these dates may suit the purpose of your timeline, but hopefully some of them, if not all, are useful.
 
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Bunk Moreland said:
August 22, 1986: The WAFL took the historic decision of voting to join an expanded VFL competition. The six Board members and seven club presidents, plus one proxy delegate, voted 12-2 to accept the VFL invitation to be part of a national competition in 1987.

Wonder what their thinking was here.
Click to expand...

It was seen as inevitable - and a better to be on the winning side kind of thing. Apparently the WAFL tried to get SA to come as well, but SA werent interested in talking to WA about it, so WA went on their own.
 
As I said in my first ever post on here, one of the greatest things about your sport is the history and one of my favourite topics is the move from VFL to a national competition. I am reading Oakley's book and have watched the shows on Adelaide, West Coast and Freo's entries into the comp ; this thread is another excellent resource so thanks to Wookie and everyone else for putting it together.
 

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The_Wookie said:
It was seen as inevitable - and a better to be on the winning side kind of thing. Apparently the WAFL tried to get SA to come as well, but SA werent interested in talking to WA about it, so WA went on their own.
Click to expand...

I remember reading somewhere that the WAFL and SANFL had a pact to join a national comp together, and that both had been holding out until the VFL was in dire straits, so they could push more interstate teams into a new national comp. However the WAFL was losing money and didn't expect the VFL to approach them directly, so when that option came up the WAFL panicked, thinking it was their only shot at a national comp and took the license. The rest is history.
 
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matty6 said:
I remember reading somewhere that the WAFL and SANFL had a pact to join a national comp together, and that both had been holding out until the VFL was in dire straits, so they could push more interstate teams into a new national comp. However the WAFL was losing money and didn't expect the VFL to approach them directly, so when that option came up the WAFL panicked, thinking it was their only shot at a national comp and took the license. The rest is history.
Click to expand...

From my original timeline post, this is covered in the Birth of the West Coast Eagles video on youtube -

1984 - June 15. WA Football Commissioner appraches the SANFL to discuss entering the VFL at the same time, but leaves under the impression the SANFL arent interested (Headliners - Birth of the West Coast Eagles)

My understanding isnt that they panicked, they were just super keen to get in, believing that it was inevitable and necessary to prevent the VFL from setting up their own team in WA or having a WA team defect to the VFL. Given what happened later with Port Adelaide and the SANFL in 1990, this was probably a smart option.
 
Sorry for the bump but I think this could go in here
August, 1908: Jubilee of Australasian Football is held in Melbourne. The competing teams were Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and New South Wales. Victoria were crowned champions.
As far as I know, this was the first Interstate carnival and the only one with New Zealand or any international team.
 
worbod said:
Some dates as published in the 1988 WAFL history book The Footballers:

August 8, 1983: The Western Australian state government appoints a three-man taskforce to investigate the long term financial needs of WA league football. The taskforce of Bill Mitchell (chairman), John Horgan and Peter Collins was appointed after a request from the WAFL to the state government for financial assistance.
September 22, 1986: In expectation of a favourable VFL vote, the WAFL appoints East Fremantle coach Ron Alexander as coach of the newly formed team (West Coast).
October 30, 1986: The newly formed WA team is christened West Coast Eagles at a glittering launch at the Merlin Hotel, where the preliminary squad is announced. (I realise this date has been touched on in the initial post)
November 5, 1986: The West Coast squad is finalised, with big question marks hanging over East Fremantle's Paul Harding, who did not want to leave WA to join Hawthorn and Gary Buckenara who wanted to leave Hawthorn to join the Eagles.


I understand perhaps not all these dates may suit the purpose of your timeline, but hopefully some of them, if not all, are useful.
Click to expand...

I read the above in Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice...

Sarah Connor: "I need to know how the West Coast Eagles are formed. I need to know who is responsible".
 
FootyJunkie said:
Would Port Melbourne have had a big membership base if they made it into the VFL/AFL?
Perhaps taking some of the current Dogs and Dees support of today?
Click to expand...

No idea

They seem to be bucking the trend at the moment by being one of the few consistent stand alone teams in the current VFL.
 
FootyJunkie said:
Would Port Melbourne have had a big membership base if they made it into the VFL/AFL?
Perhaps taking some of the current Dogs and Dees support of today?
Click to expand...

Not sure.

A lot of things would need to happen at North Port Oval if they ever joined. Just the spectator facilities alone would need a massive upgrade.
 
FootyJunkie said:
Would Port Melbourne have had a big membership base if they made it into the VFL/AFL?
Perhaps taking some of the current Dogs and Dees support of today?
Click to expand...

No way our fans would have gone over any numbers in 1925 while the overwhelming majority of them were MCC members - especially to a working class club.
 
FootyJunkie said:
Why didnt they just call them the Gold Coast Bears?
Click to expand...

It was clearly meant to identify to Queenslanders in general. Clearly Brisbane as a name was more important in expansion to attract young new fans to the game than a Gold Coast name.

The Bears were thrown together as worst organized new club by the VFL/AFL. No real decent help which is why they were a basket case for so long. Eagles on other hand got proper concessions. Virtually had a near strength state side a few years after starting. Bears on other hand had mostly cast offs from other clubs. It would be like starting a club from scratch now and asking the other clubs to give 2 players each to that new club. Carlton would give them Matthew Watson and Dennis Armfield, Essendon give them Dempsey and Giles, Bulldogs give them Ayce Cordy and retiring Dale Morris. You get the idea.

They did not make the mistake with GWS and Gold Coast a few decades later. Gone the opposite direction and given them a bundle of early picks in draft to virtually have best batch of youngsters to develop a super team over time. It is a very different task to start clubs from non-traditional football regions than regions already well established in football such as WA and SA.

When Brisbane and West Coast Eagles started out it was the Eagles name that baffled me most. Why did they not call them something like Perth Sharks or something. West Coast Eagles is a terrible name but they still created a club out of it. GWS is a terrible name too.
Fremantle is good name. Dockers is a terrible nickname o_O
However all that matters in end if for those fans that support those clubs. They may well love that nickname.
 
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