Club History The Sth Melb/Sydney Swans history thread: 150 years 1874 - 2024

[baja]

Kicked 18 Goals in a State game for Victoria and didn't even play Full Forward. He backed up his talk

He kicked two in the first quarter and was moved to Full Forward after the Vic Full Forward was injured and kicked a further 16. Sorry I cant recall that Full Forwards name.

The great Stkilda full forward Bill Mohr who kicked over 100 goals in a season in a very ordinary Stkilda team was the player Nash replaced at full forward in the state game when injured at quarter time.

Nash was quoted as saying if Mohr had played in a better team he would have kicked twice as many.

 

[The King!]

I find the history of the guernsey interesting too, anyone with skills interesting in posting a timeline of guernsey pictures!

 

[RW]

I definitely don't have the skills, but: http://www.footyjumpers.com/

 

[bedford]

Doesn't need to happen as we all know

 

[robbieando]

No, not even I think we should go down that path.

The club shows more than enough respect to our roots and history but changing the name is IMO over the top for what the club should be expected to do.

 

[Ed_Gein]

Heritage Round was scrapped because not all clubs agreed to it? Thought it would have made a nice little earner for clubs with the jumpers.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

port VS collingwood debacle!
crows made up heritage jumper fiasco!

 

[Ozmale62]

Any documents you could scan and share, that was a great story thanks for sharing

How about this one...

 

[Ozmale62]

Or this one...

 

[RW]

That's brilliant, thank you so much for sharing, Ozmale62. A first hand insight into the club's history!

 

[Ozmale62]

That's brilliant, thank you so much for sharing, Ozmale62. A first hand insight into the club's history!

Happy to help all those other Swans supporters out there with details of our proud history.

 

[baja]

An original South Melbourne member, who voted against "The Keep South at South" (KSAS) faction in 1979 & copped enormous abuse as a result of it as I believed that if your uncle moved interstate, they were still your uncle, hence my staying with the club through the great upheaval & relocation,
I voted against KSAS, as being inside the club I knew how broke our club was & the hardships that we were experiencing first hand....

I loved your post and we have a lot in common i.e captain and B+F over at the districts, when you played Under 19's at South I would have been training on the wing on the same training nights under the old scoreboard (genuine little league), Rhys Jones was my mentor and kinda like a big brother, I modelled my game on his I even looked and walked like him to the amusement of everyone at the club including him right down to the scraggy blonde hair but I gotta ask about this bit, were you employed or moving with the club to Sydney at the time you were against the KSAS movement?

 

[baja]

Sorry Ozmale62 I cant wait for your answer its past my bedtime lol...

The only Swans people who were all for the move to Sydney were the likes of Ricky Quade and other high profile players, senior trainers and certain club personal as they were promised their pockets would be lined with gold (Im assuming you as no true South supporter was all for it), the VFL reneged on all their promises and the club went dry, I said cop that flogs when it failed! But my love of the club never wavered and I felt bad for feeling like that slowly coming around to the whole move, what choice did I have...
NO true South Melbourne person was against the KSAS movement I was a face of the movement, snowy haired kid in tears in all my Swans gear on the front page of the paper, my tears were genuine and my heart was broken., it went to the vote and we won, then the VFL changed the goal posts.
A few years before they tried to move the Fitzroy Lions but that back fired when the club rallied and stood up as did the rest of the comp so the VFL, in particular Alan Aylett the then VFL president, former North Melbourne president tried another tack, he promised all the clubs a huge windfall, he promised people from our club all the riches in Sydney 9 of the clubs fell for it, a few thinking it was us or them the only clubs that didn't were Collingwood and Hawthorn, much respect.(still hate them both lol)
You state our club was financially in trouble like we had no choice, the reason for that was that the VFL in particular Alan Aylett said we needed to upgrade the Lakeside oval, even though it was far from the worst in the league and the worst bit was we were fine financially however the VFL held back our annual payment, sorry I cant think of the word it starts with 'I' the sum of $400,000 (huge money back then) that would have put us on par with any other club and our financial issues solved, we had sponsors waiting in the wings ready to sign..
Sorry but we were railroaded for the better of the comp and that leaves a sour taste in my mouth still today, I mean no disrespect to our loyal Sydney folk.
Alan Aylett in his book says this exactly and is proud and gloats about his achievement its his legacy he even tried again with North to Tassie but they marched him out of the club, hypocrites! Tas or a likeminded poster might tell you more about that.

Don't get me wrong Im well over it and I still love the club and I really do enjoy all your input and every post on this board but I am totally bemused at this part of your post considering your history.

 

[Tas]

Alan Aylett in his book says this exactly and is proud and gloats about his achievement its his legacy he even tried again with North to Tassie but they marched him out of the club, hypocrites! Tas or a likeminded poster might tell you more about that.

I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. Do you need something more in-depth than that?

 

[Ozmale62]

Loving this thread guys

I'm hoping to start a collection of South Melbourne/Sydney stuff because I love the history of our club.

PVF,

Happy to try to assist you with anything related to memorabilia if you like...

 

[The King!]

Sorry Ozmale62 I cant wait for your answer its past my bedtime lol...

The only Swans people who were all for the move to Sydney were the likes of Ricky Quade and other high profile players, senior trainers and certain club personal as they were promised their pockets would be lined with gold (Im assuming you as no true South supporter was all for it), the VFL reneged on all their promises and the club went dry, I said cop that flogs when it failed! But my love of the club never wavered and I felt bad for feeling like that slowly coming around to the whole move, what choice did I have...
NO true South Melbourne person was against the KSAS movement I was a face of the movement, snowy haired kid in tears in all my Swans gear on the front page of the paper, my tears were genuine and my heart was broken., it went to the vote and we won, then the VFL changed the goal posts.
A few years before they tried to move the Fitzroy Lions but that back fired when the club rallied and stood up as did the rest of the comp so the VFL, in particular Alan Aylett the then VFL president, former North Melbourne president tried another tack, he promised all the clubs a huge windfall, he promised people from our club all the riches in Sydney 9 of the clubs fell for it, a few thinking it was us or them the only clubs that didn't were Collingwood and Hawthorn, much respect.(still hate them both lol)
You state our club was financially in trouble like we had no choice, the reason for that was that the VFL in particular Alan Aylett said we needed to upgrade the Lakeside oval, even though it was far from the worst in the league and the worst bit was we were fine financially however the VFL held back our annual payment, sorry I cant think of the word it starts with 'I' the sum of $400,000 (huge money back then) that would have put us on par with any other club and our financial issues solved, we had sponsors waiting in the wings ready to sign..
Sorry but we were railroaded for the better of the comp and that leaves a sour taste in my mouth still today, I mean no disrespect to our loyal Sydney folk.
Alan Aylett in his book says this exactly and is proud and gloats about his achievement its his legacy he even tried again with North to Tassie but they marched him out of the club, hypocrites! Tas or a likeminded poster might tell you more about that.

Don't get me wrong Im well over it and I still love the club and I really do enjoy all your input and every post on this board but I am totally bemused at this part of your post considering your history.

I thought the 400k was actually a possible loan from the ground development fund, not money just on its way and held back?

Which sponsers? Was it real or just like mars saying they would sponser a tassie team knowing it would never have too?

 

[Ozmale62]

I loved your post and we have a lot in common i.e captain and B+F over at the districts, when you played Under 19's at South I would have been training on the wing on the same training nights under the old scoreboard (genuine little league), Rhys Jones was my mentor and kinda like a big brother, I modelled my game on his I even looked and walked like him to the amusement of everyone at the club including him right down to the scraggy blonde hair but I gotta ask about this bit, were you employed or moving with the club to Sydney at the time you were against the KSAS movement?

Baja,

Sorry, I wasnt at my pc yesterday so I didnt realise that you asked a question.

I was an U'19 at the time & they were not part of the move to Sydney. So to answer your question, I stayed in Melbourne then went out to Broadmeadows YCW & played a few years there, before moving over to Camperdown in the Western Districts for a season or two. Had to retire at 23 due to bad ankles.

At the time of KSAS, as an U'19 player, we (repeat WE) were expected to bring our own bandages to training & games in case we suffered an injury. The trainers at the time were all voluntary also. The club had significant funds in the ground rationalisation & could have really upgraded facilities at the Lake Oval, but the VFL would not let them spend anything in the hope that a club failed & moved to Sydney. Some would say, unfortunately that clubb was us, I however say, 2 Premierships in OUR colours shows that we may have made the best decision.

 

[Ozmale62]

I thought the 400k was actually a possible loan from the ground development fund, not money just on its way and held back?

Which sponsers? Was it real or just like mars saying they would sponser a tassie team knowing it would never have too?

Swansrule100,

My memory is getting older, but I believed that there was nearly $1m in ground development/rationalisation funding available to Sth Melb, however the VFL would not let them take anything from this fund for over 3 years. Having been banned for this period, even though the club wanted to upgrade the Members stand & the outer, this effectively meant that people would vote with their feet but not turning up to sub standard grounds. What was also interesting, was that the surface of the Lake Oval & the Junction Oval were considerably better than surfaces at Princes Park or Victoria Park?

I believe that people from within the club, felt betrayed at the VFL decisions & with the KSAS division trying to keep the club at a ground that was falling apart & with no new money, it really meant that the club would either relocate or follow University & probably dispand.
When the Tigers had their big Save Our Skins campaign, I was very vocal against them as at the time of our relocation, their man President was vocal stating that if the Swans couldn't pay their bills, they should be either relocated or kicked out of the competition, or words to that effect. I used the same comments when Tigers supporters asked me for money... Payback was a bitch...

Yet, when Fitzroy was desperate for money, I was money inclined to help them as they were a neighbor & I respected them even though after the decision to move Sydney, it relieved the pressure on Fitzroy till Nauru wanted loans paid out & the VFL/AFL would not assist.

 

[The King!]

Baja and ozmale making this thread awesome.


Looks such a nice area where the ground is, went there last year

 

[bedford]

Swansrule100,

My memory is getting older, but I believed that there was nearly $1m in ground development/rationalisation funding available to Sth Melb, however the VFL would not let them take anything from this fund for over 3 years. Having been banned for this period, even though the club wanted to upgrade the Members stand & the outer, this effectively meant that people would vote with their feet but not turning up to sub standard grounds. What was also interesting, was that the surface of the Lake Oval & the Junction Oval were considerably better than surfaces at Princes Park or Victoria Park?

I believe that people from within the club, felt betrayed at the VFL decisions & with the KSAS division trying to keep the club at a ground that was falling apart & with no new money, it really meant that the club would either relocate or follow University & probably dispand.
When the Tigers had their big Save Our Skins campaign, I was very vocal against them as at the time of our relocation, their man President was vocal stating that if the Swans couldn't pay their bills, they should be either relocated or kicked out of the competition, or words to that effect. I used the same comments when Tigers supporters asked me for money... Payback was a bitch...

Yet, when Fitzroy was desperate for money, I was money inclined to help them as they were a neighbor & I respected them even though after the decision to move Sydney, it relieved the pressure on Fitzroy till Nauru wanted loans paid out & the VFL/AFL would not assist.

The Richmond president was Caroline Wilson's dad, so you can see was she is such a rat

 

[bedford]

The club had no money at the time and the cricket club had more members as it run all the bar facilities and the footy club got nothing of that. I must admit I had quite a few in the cricket club and for anyone who has seen the old ground the bar was at the bottom of the only remaining stand

 

[Ozmale62]

Baja and ozmale making this thread awesome.


Looks such a nice area where the ground is, went there last year

Swansrule100,

The city of South Melbourne & some of the surrounding suburbs such as Albert Park & Middle Park are some of the most picturesque places in Melbourne. Close to the city, close to the beach & with multi-million dollar properties everywhere.

Its such a shame to go past the ground these days, as the Soccer Ground has taken over the oval, a new stand is out on the Members Wing where the old Scorers & Timekeepers used to sit & the Members Stand is effectively falling down and requires immediate attention.

What was also disappointing, is that the Soccer Club would not allow the Swans onto its historic ground after winning the 2005 Premiership, so we stood outside of the Members stand and enjoyed the flag unfurling there.

As per your comment re making this thread awesome, to be honest it is really everyone who makes up this board, that makes it awesome & our administration, staff, players, sponsors, members & supporters who make our football club as awesome as it is.

As an elder supporter & a very long time supporter & member, I am happy to share my knowledge re OUR football club. We should remember that history shared, is history remembered...

 

[RW]

I will preface my post by saying that I wasn't born when the move to Sydney happened so can't comment on the accuracy of the various accounts above, but from what I have read I think the club would have folded if we didn't make the move. I believe the Keep South at South people had the best interests of the club at heart but there were question marks over whether they would have been able to secure the funding and sponsorships that were needed for the club to survive in Melbourne. Shake Down The Thunder by Jim Main provides a reasonable summary of the events of that time.

 

[Ozmale62]

RW,

Re the time, I do not hold any bitter accounts re the VFL, the KSAS faction or the Sydney faction.

I honestly believe, that each & everyone had the club at heart in their decision to do one or the other, but unfortunately during this upheaval, I watched long time South Melbourne supporters walk away from the club. That was the greatest disappointment in my humble opinion. To see people who loved the club, move across to other Victorian clubs rather than try to stay with the club. History will judge those that made the decisions & it is for history to judge all of us.

Overall, we could think about what could have been or we can look at what has been.. however, the way that I look at it...

We should celebrate that the Swans continued, the Swans consolidated their position in VFL/AFL history & eventually won over the town & the 2005 & 2012 Premiership's, something that I never dreamt of growing up watching long suffering supporters start the season with a glow in their heart, before reality dealt us another poor season. All in all, we should celebrate our enviable position as a team that others strive to become, rather than looking at the Sliding Doors of what might have been.

 

[baja]

Baja,

Sorry, I wasnt at my pc yesterday so I didnt realise that you asked a question.

I was an U'19 at the time & they were not part of the move to Sydney. So to answer your question, I stayed in Melbourne then went out to Broadmeadows YCW & played a few years there, before moving over to Camperdown in the Western Districts for a season or two. Had to retire at 23 due to bad ankles.

At the time of KSAS, as an U'19 player, we (repeat WE) were expected to bring our own bandages to training & games in case we suffered an injury. The trainers at the time were all voluntary also. The club had significant funds in the ground rationalisation & could have really upgraded facilities at the Lake Oval, but the VFL would not let them spend anything in the hope that a club failed & moved to Sydney. Some would say, unfortunately that clubb was us, I however say, 2 Premierships in OUR colours shows that we may have made the best decision.

Sorry for my confusion I only asked about your situation to the club and position at the time of the 'relocation' due to you being 'against' the keep South at South movement.
You say you were playing Under 19's at the time however in the introduction thread you said you played Under 19's in 1977 and 1978, that was 5 years before the 'relocation'..
I was just trying to get some perspective to as why you would be against keeping our club in South Melbourne.

And I respectfully disagree to you claiming the 2 Premierships being the result of the 'relocation', maybe we would have won 6 in a row if we stayed and if the VFL gave us the money we were owed, there isn't a better area in Victoria for a sporting complex especially a football oval than Lakeside oval that was obviously recognized by the Vic government who spent Millions redeveloping the area.. Interesting that the Saints and the AFL are now wanting to pour Millions into the Junction Oval, another slap in the face but one I welcome.
Its refreshing having an older poster on here that I can be in complete disagreeance with on certain topics and yet still hold a civil conversation with respecting each others views. Love your work.