Clik here to view.
Soccer and Anzac
This piece was written in 2012. Yet I think it retains a freshness and perhaps a timelessness that is important. It is by far the most popular article on this site and I'm sure people keep coming back...
View Article100 Years Ago Today 29 April, 2021
Australasian (Melbourne), Saturday 30 April 1921, page 17ATHLETIC SPORTSAMATEUR ATHLETICS.By HARRIER.During the course of a recent hurried visit to Eastern parts, I tried to note any signs of athletic...
View ArticleSoccer in Victorian Schools in the 1950s
Last Saturday I received a call from Barbara at the Footscray Historical Society, alerting me to some photos she had found in Blue and Gold, the annual publication of the Footscray Technical School....
View ArticleClik here to view.
George Macaulay
Paul Mavroudis thinks that I research soccer in order to discover my roots in a mining village in Durham, and this explains my Weston obsession. Maybe he's right. This thought occurred to me as I...
View Article100 Years Ago Today 6 May 1921
Herald (Melbourne), Friday 6 May 1921, page 4BRITISH ASSOCIATION"Soccer" enthusiasts have been busy during the past three weeks in preparation for competition games. which begin tomorrow. There is...
View Article100 Years Ago Today, 13 May 1921
Mercury (Hobart), Saturday 14 May 1921, page 5SOCCER.NOTES BY "HALF-BACK."TO-DAY'S MATCHES.Division I.-Corinthians v. South Hobart, at Show Ground.Division II.-Hobart v. South Hobart, at South...
View ArticleJJ Liston
The following documents were sent to me by Roy Hay. They reference a strange moment of ecumenical thinking in Australian football. They centre on the figure of JJ Liston, simultaneously president of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slavia in Sunshine?
The six photos discussed here are team shots taken in 1969 by Eddie Ward in Sunshine of a schoolboy soccer team wearing Slavia shirts. They represent two sets of three. The first set is boys and...
View ArticleThe rise and fall of Slavia
By Roy Hay Article first appeared in Goal! Weekly on Monday 19th April 2010. Slavia was one of the great names of football in the 1960s becoming the national club champion in 1963 and fielding some of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
100 Years Ago Today 20 May 1921
Sun (Kalgoorlie), Sunday 22 May 1921, page 4Sport as a Nation BuilderBritons the world over are noted for their fondness for sport and pastimes. Before the commencement of the war, students of national...
View Article100 Years Ago Today 27 May 1921
Toowoomba Chronicle, Tuesday 31 May 1921, page 7INTER-STATE SCHOOL.CAWDOR, Monday.Three boys have been selected from the Country team which recently, defeated Brisbane to represent the State in the...
View ArticleSchoolboys Soccer in Melbourne. Early notes
1933Age, Friday 18 May 1923, page 7SoccerFive teams selected from the Melbourne technical schools have been entered into a competition in cup tie rules and the winning team will hold the Osborne House...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mapping Footscray's Soccer History
It's growng. Slowly.My knowledge of Footscray soccer history has grown from zero to really not very much in a year. But 'not very much' is perhaps about as much as anyone else knows. The people who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Soccer is Ordinary
A letter from George's MotherVal Finlayson has sent me a copy of a letter written by George Macaulay's mother. It contains evidence of a soccer culture in Melbourne that shines a light on how...
View Article100 Years Ago Today 3 June 1921
Queensland Times (Ipswich), Wednesday 1 June 1921, page 4COLLIERY EMPLOYEES' SPORTS. The Queensland Colliery Employees' Sports Club,;in accordance with the usual custom, will hold a sports carnival on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Trials of George Macaulay
These are three amazing documents sent to me by Val Finlayson. They are form letters (neither personalised nor signed) sent by Harry Bingham inviting George Macaulay to: Be selected for an England v...
View ArticleClik here to view.
100 Years Ago Today. 27 June 1921
Daily Standard (Brisbane), Friday 24 June 1921, page 7FOOTBALL; SOCCER(By "WANDERER.")The positions of the senior clubs up to an including games played on June 18 are as follows:-….The match of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
100 Years Ago Today, 1 July 1921
Sun (Sydney), Friday 1 July 1921, page 2WOMEN TO PLAY SOCCERASSOCIATION FORMEDA meeting was held under the auspices of the Metropolitan (Soccer) Football Association, at the Sports Club,...
View Article100 Years Ago Today, July 8 1921
Queensland Times (Ipswich), Wednesday 6 July 1921, page 6LINKS WITH THE PAST. Compiled from files of the "Queensland Times," of 25 years ago, 1896.British Association Football--Ipswich Rovers trounced...
View ArticleWell, it’s in the paper!
Newspaper records of soccer and Rugby League in Newcastle in the 1920sThis research idea is based on the hypothesis that soccer in Australia achieved a level of popularity and growth in the 1920s that...
View Article