List 1964 - A Year of Lasts

[emuboy]

Some years in football are more significant than others, and the year 1964 stands out as a year of lasts in football. Some are permanent lasts, other events in 1964 have not happened again since. Here are some of the lasts that took place in 1964:

1. Melbourne wins its last senior premiership to date, beating Collingwood 8.16-64 to 8.12-60 in the thrilling 1964 Grand Final. It would also be the last time the Demons would play finals for 23 years.
2. This Grand Final would be the last time Melbourne star Ron Barassi Jnr would play for the Demons.
3. Master coach Norm Smith coached his last senior premiership.
4. It was the last season there was a winless team in the AFL/VFL to date, when the Fitzroy Lions finished 0-18 for the season.
5. South Melbourne's 2-16 team that finished second last in 1964 is the most recent example of a team's only victories coming against the wooden spoon side, with the Swans beating Fitzroy twice. There have been a number of two win teams avoiding the wooden spoon in seasons since then, but in each case they have lost to a 1-21 bottom team.
6. 1964 was the last season that featured all sides having their own home ground with no sharing. Richmond moved its home games from Punt Road to share the MCG with Melbourne from 1965 onwards, so 1964 was also the last season the Tigers played senior football at this venue.
7. St. Kilda played its last home game at the Junction Oval, moving to Moorabbin Oval from 1965 onwards. North Melbourne moved to Coburg in 1965, but this didn't work out and the Kangaroos were back at Arden Street in 1966.
8. South Adelaide's comfortable victory over Port Adelaide in the 1964 SANFL Grand Final is the Panthers' most recent senior premiership. South have only played one senior grand final since then, in 1979.
9. Claremont Tigers had been the easybeats of the WAFL for many years, and entered the 1964 season with about the same odds of winning the premiership as the Gold Coast Suns in 2019. Widely tipped for a third successive wooden spoon, Claremont showed that this was the last time they would be the chopping block of the WAFL, stunning everyone by scraping into the Top 4 then winning all their finals including the Grand Final over East Fremantle. Claremont did have a couple of poor seasons in the mid 1970s, but the Tigers were a formidable opponent from this season onwards.
10. The Brighton Penguins played their last VFA game in 1964, ending a tenure that had lasted from 1908-1964. Early in the 1960s the Penguins had been playing under the name Brighton-Caulfield after moving from their original venue to a new one in Caulfield after a disastrous 1961 season. When the new venue was upgraded, the Penguins which wore maroon and gold jumpers were disbanded and a new team the Caulfield Bears which wore blue and white entered in 1965.

 

[screech]

Interestingly both South Adelaide and Claremont won the premiership after 'winning' the wooden spoon the year prior

 

[big_e]

Some years in football are more significant than others, and the year 1964 stands out as a year of lasts in football. Some are permanent lasts, other events in 1964 have not happened again since. Here are some of the lasts that took place in 1964:

1. Melbourne wins its last senior premiership to date, beating Collingwood 8.16-64 to 8.12-60 in the thrilling 1964 Grand Final. It would also be the last time the Demons would play finals for 23 years.
2. This Grand Final would be the last time Melbourne star Ron Barassi Jnr would play for the Demons.
3. Master coach Norm Smith coached his last senior premiership.
4. It was the last season there was a winless team in the AFL/VFL to date, when the Fitzroy Lions finished 0-18 for the season.
5. South Melbourne's 2-16 team that finished second last in 1964 is the most recent example of a team's only victories coming against the wooden spoon side, with the Swans beating Fitzroy twice. There have been a number of two win teams avoiding the wooden spoon in seasons since then, but in each case they have lost to a 1-21 bottom team.
6. 1964 was the last season that featured all sides having their own home ground with no sharing. Richmond moved its home games from Punt Road to share the MCG with Melbourne from 1965 onwards, so 1964 was also the last season the Tigers played senior football at this venue.
7. St. Kilda played its last home game at the Junction Oval, moving to Moorabbin Oval from 1965 onwards. North Melbourne moved to Coburg in 1965, but this didn't work out and the Kangaroos were back at Arden Street in 1966.
8. South Adelaide's comfortable victory over Port Adelaide in the 1964 SANFL Grand Final is the Panthers' most recent senior premiership. South have only played one senior grand final since then, in 1979.
9. Claremont Tigers had been the easybeats of the WAFL for many years, and entered the 1964 season with about the same odds of winning the premiership as the Gold Coast Suns in 2019. Widely tipped for a third successive wooden spoon, Claremont showed that this was the last time they would be the chopping block of the WAFL, stunning everyone by scraping into the Top 4 then winning all their finals including the Grand Final over East Fremantle. Claremont did have a couple of poor seasons in the mid 1970s, but the Tigers were a formidable opponent from this season onwards.
10. The Brighton Penguins played their last VFA game in 1964, ending a tenure that had lasted from 1908-1964. Early in the 1960s the Penguins had been playing under the name Brighton-Caulfield after moving from their original venue to a new one in Caulfield after a disastrous 1961 season. When the new venue was upgraded, the Penguins which wore maroon and gold jumpers were disbanded and a new team the Caulfield Bears which wore blue and white entered in 1965.

The official reason for North's move to Coburg is here:

 

[terrybull]

11. 1964 is the last VFL/AFL Grand Final not available on video or DVD