South Adelaide's first flag
In the inaugural South Australian Football Association (SAFA) season of 1877 South Adelaide maintained its reputation as the best club in the colony, but in the process was required to share the credit of the premiership with the Victorian Football Club.
South Adelaide was clearly the best club in the competition during the course of the season, but an inexplicable and very costly lapse in form, together with one devastating error by the goalkeeper in its vital final match of the season, saw it lose to Victorian, which gave the two clubs an equal record.
It is often said that football is a game of inches (or in modern day terms centimetres) and in South Adelaide’s final and most important contest of 1877, one terrible error by the goalkeeper brought about the undoing of South Adelaide’s previous perfect record in the season. The goal that resulted to Victorian from his unfortunate mistake was the one that cost South Adelaide the honour of unreserved premiership glory. It was one small incident in a game that created the story of the season and forced South to share premiership success.
In addition to its final match disappointment, South certainly had no luck during the season when it came to the goal umpiring! It seemed to have suffered the most of all the clubs in this regard. It had to endure a draw against Woodville, after it kicked a goal that was not recorded, because the goal umpire was surprisingly and inexplicably absent. The goal would have given South the win and much more importantly the premiership in its own right. The second absence of the goal umpire when a South goal was scored, was in a match against Kensington, that had no serious consequence, as South scored a massive win.
South Adelaide possessed an extremely strong and talented team that was superbly lead by the experienced veteran and former Carlton champion player, George Kennedy. His strength in leadership was in no small measure responsible for the South team being such a formidable and successful unit. The South men obviously carried out his instructions and guidance.
Captain Kennedy was blessed with a number of the very best footballers in the colony; particularly champion goalkicker William Dedman, strongman and key forward, brother Kirk Kennedy, key defender Sam Wallace and midfielder extraordinaire Arney Mehrtens. These prodigious football talents had plenty of excellent support men, as one of the team’s great strengths was the evenness of the team. Players such as R Absalom, Tom Blinman and Edward Colbey, together with Fred Stacey, W Shaw, Green, Curtis, Arthur Jones and Ben Mehrtens made the team almost invincible in comparison to its opponents.
The best South players for the season as nominated by the Australian Star newspaper were William Dedman (left), Kirk Kennedy, Sam Wallace and Arney Mehrtens, all rated as class 1 players. They were followed by class 2 ranked players, Absalom, Tom Blinman and Edward Colbey. The class 3 player in the team was Green and class 4 players were identified as Curtis, W Jones and Ben Mehrtens.
South possessed the top goalkicker for the Association in premiership matches in William Dedman with 10 goals. He was followed within the club by Kirk Kennedy with three goals.
Captain George Kennedy was one of the prime movers in the revolution that was the 1877 South Australian Football Season. This was the year that organised competition under the administration of the inaugurated South Australian Football Association, created a strong societal force with the development of football as a well organised, splendidly publicised and first rate feature of the sporting calendar in the colony.
A feature of South’s success in the season was that it was fortunate to have a strong administration and tangible support from prominent Adelaide identities from the colonial establishment circles.
South Adelaide played in a dark blue guernsey and knickerbockers, blue and white striped hose and cap and played matches at the South Parklands. This was near the intersection of Hutt St and South Terrace. The ground ran from east to west.
During the season South was criticised by the local newspaper football writers for playing the man too much, instead of the ball, but it was generally acknowledged that this feature of its play decreased as the season progressed.
South Adelaide claimed a forfeit against Bankers and played thirteen matches (two against each side of the Association) and had only the one incredibly costly goal in its final match scored against it for the season.
The team owed its success to the quality of its players and skilful management by the captain. South’s play was the closest in style to the visiting Victorian club teams in its training and discipline. The style of play adopted was defensive and there was a strong reliance on the backmen in the team altghough many of the club’s victories were attributed to the fine goalkicking of William Dedman, one of the finest all round players in the colony.
The season
South Adelaide was one of a number of the Association clubs that followed on from its practices and commenced ‘colour’ matches in preparation for interclub matches. On April 28, with the inauguration of the South Australian Football Association imminent, the South players moved with great zeal as the delightful weather conditions of blue sky and springy turf made conditions absolutely ideal for football.
South Adelaide held a second ‘Colour’ Match on its ground in the South Parklands the following week on May 5.
By May 19 South Adelaide was still without a match against another club, as the premiership matches got underway and held another practice match on its ground. There was a good attendance, probably as a result of great interest in the new rules and the players appeared in their new blue knickerbocker costumes with blue and white stockings. There were about 27 men in each team. This practice enabled the committee to identify which players would be suitable for first or second twenty teams.
On June 2 after an extremely long wait, South Adelaide became the last club to commence its matches for the premiership. The game against Kensington was played in weather that was all that could be desired, with a slight wind from the north east. The game was very exciting in the first hour, with good play from both teams, even though South held a two goal lead. South Adelaide achieved a win in its first match of the season, although there was some newspaper reporter’s criticism of its players being too fond of running with the ball.
The clash between the two best teams of 1876, South Adelaide and Woodville, was eagerly anticipated and caused great excitement. The very spirited struggle between the two teams was most intriguing for the gathered crowd. In controversial circumstances South Adelaide achieved a one goal to nil victory on the Woodville Ground.
A Spectator at the match wrote a letter to the Licensed Victuallers Gazette and Sporting Chronicle newspaper, which was published the following Saturday stated that the match report that appeared in the Advertiser newspaper, describing the match as a goalless draw, was incorrect. The secretary of South Adelaide had sent a corrected match report to the Register newspaper. Spectator’s letter urged the public not to be misled by one sided march reports and in relation to the controversy surrounding Dedman’s goal, referred to rule 7 which stated that the ball may be taken in hand at any time, but not carried further than is necessary for a kick, unless the player strikes the ball against the ground every five or six yards.
South Adelaide’s third scheduled match was against new club Bankers and was arranged on the South Adelaide ground, but only 13 Bankers arrived and the match fell through.
With its best performance to that time in the season, South Adelaide achieved the highest winning score and margin against Adelaide on its home ground. The contest was reported as arguably the finest game ever played in the colony to that time. It was played on a gloomy and still day, with the ground soft but not muddy. The crowd was enthusiastic and likely the largest for the Old Adelaide ground. South was the heavier and stronger team, excelled in marking and its kicking was far superior.
The following Saturday was the best and most exciting match of the season, when South Adelaide together with Victorian as the two unbeaten top teams, played a draw, with both teams unable to score. The match result determined which team would hold the premier position after the first round of Association matches. Right up to half time South had the game decidedly in its favour, but was unfortunately unable to kick well enough to score, as it achieved seven behinds to nil. South was the stronger team with heavy and stoutly built men and should have won the game on its merits. Both teams showed good marking. Players were criticised for the dangerous practice of kicking at the ball when it was returned from out of bounds.
It was anticipated that South Adelaide would secure an easy win against Woodville, but the result was a second frustrating draw in two weeks. The disappointing result was compounded by the very unfortunate event in which South kicked a goal during the match, which was not credited, because the goal umpire had incredibly left his position and no decision was made.
The match between South and Port Adelaide was expected to be one of the grandest of the season. The match was well contested with South convincing winners by three goals.
The return match with Kensington saw South Adelaide have the contest all its own way and achieve a runaway victory.
The much anticipated return match between South Adelaide and Port Adelaide was played in splendid weather. South managed to become the only team to defeat Port Adelaide at Glanville. The game throughout was exceedingly rough as Port players used their weight to advantage.
There was an interruption to the premiership matches in August with a number of special matches. The first was a match between players born in South Australia and men formerly resident in Victoria. The Victorian men were expected to win, but the result was the opposite.
The match was played under the auspices of the SAFA for the aid of the Children’s Hospital. It was one of the finest matches of the season due to the equality of the teams and the high standard of the play. All the players performed very well in their different positions on the field.
South Adelaide’s strength of talent was notably demonstrated in this match, with no less than 14 of the club’s players featured in the match. For the winning South Australian ‘Gumsuckers’ team Arney Mehrtens, Arthur Jones, Green, Ted Colbey and Tom Blinman enjoyed the success. For the former Victorians, Kirk Kennedy, William Dedman and Sam Wallace were among the best players, R Absalom kicked its solitary goal and D Thompson, Fred Stacey, T Reid, George Kennedy and C Curtis played.
In highly controversial circumstances the Victorian Football Club had organised a visit to Adelaide by the famous Melbourne Football Club from Victoria. South Adelaide decided that no members of its club would play for a combined team against Melbourne. Charles Kingston, the club secretary, publicly criticised the Victorian Club in a newspaper letter, in which he described its intercolonial matches with the visiting Melbourne Football Club as a commercial venture to bring money to the pockets of the club, or perhaps even an enterprising individual, who arranged the match.
Kingston indicated in his letter that the club or individual had abandoned the courtesies generally observed within the SAFA, which had been formed to foster the development of the sport. He criticised the Victorian club for setting up the match, after the Adelaide Football Club had commenced negotiations for intercolonial matches, for scheduling the match before Adelaide’s and also attempting to access the Adelaide Oval.
South Adelaide then strongly supported the Adelaide Football Club’s venture to bring the Saint Kilda Football Club to Adelaide and had five players in the South Australian Natives team: Arney Mehrtens, Arthur Jones, JT Green, Ted Colbey and Tom Blinman. The local men were considerably superior in weight, strength and endurance, but its lack of teamwork enabled the organised play of Saint Kilda to succeed.
With the return to premiership matches on August 25, South Adelaide consolidated its position at the top of the scoring list with its first match against new club South Park.
The following week South racked up another victory. The first contest against Adelaide had been close and another stirring contest was expected, but South demonstrated its great progress in its play over the season and won a splendid contest.
South Adelaide won the return match against South Park by one goal to nil on a windy day. At the start of the game South Adelaide had 18 players and South Park just 17, but both teams were filled by half time. A trooper was present to keep order.
On September 22 rain prevented the last matches of the season to be played and they were postponed to the following week.
The final match of the season decided the question of the championship and was looked forward to with a large amount of interest as both South Adelaide and Victorian clubs held the premier position in Association matches. South was generally considered the favourite, as it was the heavier team and without a goal against it all season.
There was great interest in the match and the attendance was the largest at the Montefiore Hill Ground and featured the patronage of his Excellency the Acting Governor SJ Way Esq. and His Worship the Mayor C Peacock Esq. The match was played in aid of the Indian Famine Relief Fund and eight pounds six shillings and four pence were collected with a hat passed around at half time. A strong cold south westerly wind blew and at times was accompanied by sharp showers of rain.
George Kennedy (right) lost the toss and kicked off at 3.15 pm. Against a strong wind advantage, South was completely penned for the first 20 minutes and a kick by Victorian captain George Downs through the goals was touched. The first half concluded with Victorian having the better of the play with the wind, but unable to score.
After the ball was tossed up to begin the second half, South worked the ball to Victorian’s goal for the first 15 minutes. Dedman made a long shot that went very close to goal. Time after time the ball was taken close to goal and in a critical incident to the result of the match George Sharp received a mark 30 yards from goal. Instead of taking his shot he attempted to pass to Sam Wallace and his hurried kick failed to give a little mark and as a result Victorians were able to clear with determined play to the wing. Wallace was unfortunately injured which had an impact on the team.
Victorian made use of the circumstance and with great fortune, Furnell goaled from a kick off the ground. The goalkeeper, Toll, to the disgust of his teammates instead of picking up the ball, attempted to kick it and in a dreadful mistake missed, to allow the goal.
South played with great determination to remedy the disastrous scoreline. The ball remained in the middle for some time and as South pressed, Victorian kept putting the ball out of bounds and about 20 minutes of play was lost through this tactic.
South’s performance was its worst and quite poor in comparison to its outstanding form over the rest of the season. As a result of the loss Victorian ranked as equal premiers with South.
In the roughest and most exciting match of the season, Victorian defeated South Adelaide to prevent South from going through the season undefeated. The loss was unintelligible considering the form and play of the two teams over the season. The result meant the two teams ended the season equal and it was suggested that South challenge Victorians to another match to play for the championship of the colony.
Footnotes
This material is taken from Trevor Gyss's most recent South Australian Football History Book “South Adelaide’s First Premiership” self published on the Lulu website available as a paperback or ebook at:
It is available both as a paperback and PDF download.
Over the first season of Association football in South Australia, South Adelaide covered itself in glory, as it had in the previous season and achieved the pinnacle of success in the competition. Unlike 1876, however, it had to share the honour with the Victorian Club, which in a most surprising result, inflicted South’s only defeat of the season in the final disappointing match.
This publication is the first of an intended series that aims to provide details of every premiers’ seasons of the South Australian Football Association from its inception in 1877 through to the formation of the South Australian Football League in 1907.
The early years of Association football in South Australia have been little published. They should be recognised as the foundation years of football in South Australia. In many publications 1907 is promoted as the commencement of records and statistics, because of the formation of the South Australian Football League. This series of publications is the result of my research to collect and collate the statistics and records that were achieved in the first 30 years of organised football competition in South Australia.
These important seasons established Australian Rules Football as an integral part of the sporting landscape of South Australia. As I have researched, it has became very clear the passion and fervour we experience now as players and followers of the game, was familiar to those connected with it, in this foundation era. The features of the game, attendances and interest in the game, made football a very significant feature of the sporting community of Adelaide and South Australia at the time.
It is my hope that these publications make an addition to the documentation of these foundational early years of football in South Australia.
Comments
Corey Trezise 8 June 2014
Trevor Gyss,
I commend you for the research and scholarship you have already produced. I have gone on to the Lulu website. I would be keen to buy some of your work, and to add to it. I would be willing to hand over some of my research, particularly on the Association/Club(s) known by the Adelaide Name from 1860-1893. I have researched the Observer, Advertiser, The Register, and reference books, and histories to obtain my research.
I have a request too. I would like to know if you have come across any information regarding the history of Kensington Oval, on The Parade. I am keen to continue my research into the history of Kensington Oval. It has a fascinating and long history in the annals of South Australian recreation and sport. Australian Rules Football has a significant contribution to make in the history of Kensigton Oval, particularly from 1875-1898 and 1945-1963, before it became Olympic Sportsfield. As well as since it returned to use as a community oval run by Pembroke School in the year 2000. If you have any research concerning Kensington Oval's use for Australian Rules Football, I would love to hear from you. I have decide to concentrate my research on each sport and recreation activity that have used Kensington Oval, seperately. I have also contacted, the Burnside Library, Norwood Football Club History Group, the State Library Athletics SA, and FFSA, with varied success. Looking forward to hearing from you. Again , keep up your great work.
Trevor Gyss 5 July 2014
Hi Corey
Thanks very much for your comments. I have some information from the newspapers of the day about the establishment of the Kensington Oval and the results of matches played on the ground. You can contact me at trevor.gyss@gmail.com.
Brian Membrey 18 June 2014
Excellent coverage! I touched on the subject of the contribution of the ex-Carlton player George Kennedy and Richard Newell Twopeny (or Twopenny) to the formation of the South Australian Football Association on the site over twelve months ago - the original article with a few minor updates is posted at www.ozsportshistory.com/melbournerules/twopenny.html. It was perhaps the latter's influence that saw South Australia adopt "the Melbourne rules" rather than a hybrid code which appears to have included a cross bar and quite possibly a round ball - a remarkable contribution as he only arrived in Australia eight or nine months prior to the 1877 season commencing.
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