oogac
Norm Smith Medallist
The "Maroons" ... it look like Fitzroy were ahead of the time.
Research Club Nicknames and Mascots
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Do you happen to know which one ?
The report presented at the annual meeting on 12 December 1938
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/12074957
or the one presented to the annual meeting on 13 December 1939
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/11274438
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Well I have another to cat to throw amongst the pigeons.
The Argus of 9 October 1937 at page 15 says:
" Last football season the Fitzroy footballers were given a new name -they were called "Gorillas". When I attended a smoke ( a social function of the time) on Thursday night, I was handed a souvenir to pin in my lapel. It was a peanut coloured maroon and blue with paper wings of the same colour scheme"
The Argus of 9 October 1937 at page 15 says:
" Last football season the Fitzroy footballers were given a new name -they were called "Gorillas". When I attended a smoke ( a social function of the time) on Thursday night, I was handed a souvenir to pin in my lapel. It was a peanut coloured maroon and blue with paper wings of the same colour scheme"
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Further evidence.
In the Examiner of Launceston of 23 July 1938 at page 12, it was said "Fitzroy "Gorilla" Badges were popular in Tasmania when the team was in Hobart. The manager of the team (Mr P Mitchell) took 600 "gorillas" with him and was inundated with demand for the badges.
This was also set out and confirmed in the Argus of 22 July 1938 at page 17.
In the Examiner of Launceston of 23 July 1938 at page 12, it was said "Fitzroy "Gorilla" Badges were popular in Tasmania when the team was in Hobart. The manager of the team (Mr P Mitchell) took 600 "gorillas" with him and was inundated with demand for the badges.
This was also set out and confirmed in the Argus of 22 July 1938 at page 17.
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Further evidence:
The Australasian of 8 May 1937 where the author Jack Worrall said " the new name bestowed on Fitzroy(the Gorillas ) has a nauseating effect.........though "gorillas" is the last straw"
The Australasian of 8 May 1937 where the author Jack Worrall said " the new name bestowed on Fitzroy(the Gorillas ) has a nauseating effect.........though "gorillas" is the last straw"
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Even the Canberra times of 1 June 1937 at page 4 says :
"the "gorillas" to borrow the new Fitzroy sobriquet"
Further the canberra times of 21 March 1938 at page 4 stated:
"Fitzroy (VFL) last year named the "gorillas" by one of their officials have issued membership medallions bearing the design of this rather rough animal"
"the "gorillas" to borrow the new Fitzroy sobriquet"
Further the canberra times of 21 March 1938 at page 4 stated:
"Fitzroy (VFL) last year named the "gorillas" by one of their officials have issued membership medallions bearing the design of this rather rough animal"
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The Referee of 12 May 1938 at page 24 said "the "gorilla" in Fitzroy.
- Moderator
- #83
The name may have been bestowed unofficially before then (like the Swans unofficially were known as "the Bloods", which was seized upon by the media, supporters and even the players themselves.) However the official club history commissioned by the club in 1983 says "the Gorilla" was officially adopted in 1939 at Cecil Raphael's suggestion.
Rainier Wolfcastle
Team Captain
Roylion - be wary of accepting something as gospel because it's in an "official club history", or any of the footy history books published over the years.
Much of what we've accepted as fact is based on hearsay, memories and anecdotes of past players/officials, plus historians with limited resources to check the veracity of such claims. If it ended up in print it became the truth.
Thanks to the digitisation of old newspapers and footy programmes we're fortunate to have access to a far wider range of sources than historians and researchers of years ago ever did. The more that is available, the more so called "facts" are exposed as otherwise.
The classic example is the Champion of the Colony myth invented by Mullens in his football books of the '40s and '50s. The award has been well and truly exposed as a myth yet many still blindly insist it's legit because it appeared in the AFL Stats Guide (http://www.footyalmanac.com.au/the-champions-that-never-were/)
Another recent example is Supermercado's discovery that Len Incigneri was Melbourne's coach in 1914, not Alex Hall as all AFL and Melbourne FC publications have previously stated.
Check out Mero's post in this thread (reply #52) about the origins of the club logo on St Kilda's uniform:
"For years StKilda included in their history that this game was the one that made the club put the logo on the jumper... it was only in the early 2000s that club historian Russell Holmesby found a private photograph of players in the game and realised they were all wearing jumpers with the logo on them during that game."
Re: the Gorillas - not one source from that era mentions anything about a change to Gorillas occurring in 1939. However, numerous sources from 1937-38 refer to the change occurring in 1937. The evidence clearly points to the club being re-badged in 1937, not 1939 as stated in the official history.
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This "smoke" is referred to in the Argus at page 24 of the 8 October 1937 edition. Indeed Raphael attended this meeting in his capacity of then medical officer and made some inspirational comments.
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Importantly I have discovered that Mr Raphael actually accompanied the Fitzroy team to Tasmania in this trip of July 1938. In the Mercury of page 11 of the 15 July 1938 edition it is stated (and I'm paraphrasing) that : Dr C N Raphael, medical officer of Fitzroy accompanied Fitzroy to Tasmania.
It beggars belief that he would not have known about the distribution of 600 "Gorilla" badges at that time.
One for every member?
- Moderator
- #88
The official history was published at the end of 1983 and Fitzroy had 8,085 members in 1984. So what do you think? As by way of contrast, Essendon had 10,231 members in 1984.
Incidentally out of the total club memberships (12 clubs) in 1984, Fitzroy had 9.14% of all the club members that year (8,805 of 96,827). The average club membership number in 1984 was 8,068 (8.33%)
Eerie
- Moderator
- #90
Having studied and taught history for the last thirty years I'm aware of how history is written. I also understand very well how history can change with the provision of recently discovered / re-examined sources.
Re-badged by who. The supporters? The players? One committeeman? The Swans are also known by many of their supporter base and indeed by some of the general public as the "Bloods". (such as the picture below) This however is by no means official.
There may have been some move by some sections of the Fitzroy supporter base to re-badge the club with a fierce mascot rather than a colour. However that does not necessarily mean that this was officially done in 1937 or 1938. All I'm saying is that the official Club history says the Gorilla moniker was officially adopted by the club in 1939. I'll look up some old annual reports and see if this can be verified.
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- Sep 19, 2006
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[/QUOTE]Having studied and taught history for the last thirty years I'm aware of how history is written. I also understand very well how history can change with the provision of recently discovered / re-examined sources.
Re-badged by who. The supporters? The players? One committeeman? The Swans are also known by many of their supporter base and indeed by some of the general public as the "Bloods". (such as the picture below) This however is by no means official.
There many have been some move by some sections of the Fitzroy supporter base to re-badge the club with a fierce mascot rather than a colour. However that does necessarily mean that this was officially done in 1937 or 1938. All I'm saying is that the official Club history says the Gorilla moniker was officially adopted by the club in 1939. I'll look up some old annual reports and see if this can be verified.
You make a fair point. But when the team goes to Tasmania to play a game with Essendon down there, accompanied by Raphael and Pearce, both senior club officials and then distribute 600 badges of "Gorillas" to Tasmanian supporters, then it is significant.
- Moderator
- #92
Yes, there may have been moves to rebadge the club before 1939. When it was done officially though appears to be 1939, according to Jim Main's book "Fitzroy" and the Club's own official history. I'll see what else I can find.
I guess the Fitzroy website will reflect the official view.
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Gorilla Badges for Fitzroy were still being marketed into the 1950s - see The Argus of 12 July 1950 at page 11 where a Fitzroy Gorilla Badge was sent to a US servicemen in Korea because it resembled a US servicemen's grid iron team.
- Moderator
- #94
Any use of the Gorillas was unofficial by this stage. Officially Fitzroy had reverted to the Maroons.
