SANFL 1945-1990

[mal]

South Australians were free to sport take after an infuhreriating few years
The comp was decimated in 1941 when teams had to aMALgamate to get numbers up
The SANFL Premiership honour was suspended from 1942-1944

The comp resumed in earnest in 1945
From 1945 to 1990 the comp was a pure SANFL competition
With the advent of the Adelaide Crows in 1991 the comp lost its pureness
Adelaide Crows and later Port Power players were interchanging to the SANFL clubs and vice versa
Some will say it was the turning point of the SANFL and the comp has been on a downwards tread ever since.

PREMIERSHIPS
46 in this period the winners were :
CD 0
GL 3
NA 6
NW 7
PA 17
SA 1
ST 7
WA 3
WT 2
WV 0

I started being a footy follower in the late 1960s
The standard of football was exceptional from this point of time to 1990
Port owned the 1950s with the Fos Williams style of accountable football
Jack Oatey of Sturt super imposed the SANFL and dominated the 60s
It was an imPORTant transition as Oatey brought a skill orientated footy style to vogue
I saw the tail end of that magnificent Sturt era , and it was brilliant cutterman egde football
From 1970-1990 Port was mostly the best , some other clubs did make an impact.

[mal]

1967 CROWDS
I will use this season as a mid point OF 1945-1990

ROUND 4:
213,107 attended the first 4 rounds
195956 for the corresponding period in 1966
Impressive crowd attendances , in 65/66 over 1 million attended SANFL games
The first 4 rounds averaged about 53000 a week
The AFL was averaging about 135000 a week in the first 4 rounds
Considering the VI population was over 3 times greater than SA, the SANFL above above par

QUOTE
" What do people want for 50 cents?"
That was a quote by Neil Kerley
Kerley also said that 60,000 people should attend every Saturday , as football represented great value for money

FORSIGHT !!!
The SANFLs growing concern then was not how to attract crowds , but how to house them !!!
62543 attended the PA V ST Grand Final in 1965, and thats cramming them in

COMPARE
Back to those 4 rounds in 1967
An average of about 53000 crowd per week
That's an average of about 10600 per game played
Compare that to the current day crowds

Population has increased but patronage has decreased in the SANFL

[mal]

What was the first game you saw, was in this period ?

Mine was
Round 18
1966
Alberton Oval
PA 5-4...8.8...14.11...15.13
WA 0.3..2.8.....2.9......5.13

I was made to be WA barracker back in 66
I remember being behind the goals non scoreboard end
I wanted WA to win , but they just could not score
Terrible debut day for me
It could have been worse
On the way home there was a storm , flash floods as we were driven home
So it could have been worse if the rain came a little earlier, and I got drenched !

[spell_check]

1967 CROWDS
I will use this season as a mid point OF 1945-1990

ROUND 4:
213,107 attended the first 4 rounds
195956 for the corresponding period in 1966
Impressive crowd attendances , in 65/66 over 1 million attended SANFL games
The first 4 rounds averaged about 53000 a week
The AFL was averaging about 135000 a week in the first 4 rounds
Considering the VI population was over 3 times greater than SA, the SANFL above above par

QUOTE
" What do people want for 50 cents?"
That was a quote by Neil Kerley
Kerley also said that 60,000 people should attend every Saturday , as football represented great value for money

FORSIGHT !!!
The SANFLs growing concern then was not how to attract crowds , but how to house them !!!
62543 attended the PA V ST Grand Final in 1965, and thats cramming them in

COMPARE
Back to those 4 rounds in 1967
An average of about 53000 crowd per week
That's an average of about 10600 per game played
Compare that to the current day crowds

Population has increased but patronage has decreased in the SANFL

Average minor round crowds by year to 2013:
Year Avg.
1945 4043
1946 6757
1947 7336
1948 6938
1949 7752
1950 7728
1951 6905
1952 8126
1953 8484
1954 8975
1955 9824
1956 8856
1957 9754
1958 9626
1959 9975
1960 9494
1961 9371
1962 9320
1963 8973
1964 7574
1965 8341
1966 8473
1967 9161
1968 8609
1969 8501
1970 8232
1971 8159
1972 9371
1973 8989
1974 8745
1975 7666
1976 7535
1977 8001
1978 7741
1979 7796
1980 8186
1981 8131
1982 7341
1983 7257
1984 6570
1985 7428
1986 6992
1987 6902
1988 7284
1989 6537
1990 6536
1991 4430
1992 4167
1993 3776
1994 3955
1995 4172
1996 3747
1997 3219
1998 3689
1999 3195
2000 2966
2001 3106
2002 3101
2003 2890
2004 2812
2005 2743
2006 2839
2007 2867
2008 3065
2009 2925
2010 3060
2011 3219
2012 2883
2013 2622

[mal]

FIELD UMPIRES
Wages on a trial basis for the 1980 season

0-50 games..........$100
50-100 games..... $105
101-150 games.. $110
151-200 games.. $115
200+ games....... $120

Prior to this season the Umps were on a flat rate of $88 per match

[mal]

Dean Farnham [CD] by the end of his career was believed to have been the tallest player to play in the SANFL
He was 6'9'' [206 cm ?]

Has there been a taller SANFL player than Dean ?

[robranisgod]

1967 CROWDS
I will use this season as a mid point OF 1945-1990

ROUND 4:
213,107 attended the first 4 rounds
195956 for the corresponding period in 1966
Impressive crowd attendances , in 65/66 over 1 million attended SANFL games
The first 4 rounds averaged about 53000 a week
The AFL was averaging about 135000 a week in the first 4 rounds
Considering the VI population was over 3 times greater than SA, the SANFL above above par

QUOTE
" What do people want for 50 cents?"
That was a quote by Neil Kerley
Kerley also said that 60,000 people should attend every Saturday , as football represented great value for money

FORSIGHT !!!
The SANFLs growing concern then was not how to attract crowds , but how to house them !!!
62543 attended the PA V ST Grand Final in 1965, and thats cramming them in

COMPARE
Back to those 4 rounds in 1967
An average of about 53000 crowd per week
That's an average of about 10600 per game played
Compare that to the current day crowds

Population has increased but patronage has decreased in the SANFL

Average minor round crowds by year to 2013:
Year Avg.
1945 4043
1946 6757
1947 7336
1948 6938
1949 7752
1950 7728
1951 6905
1952 8126
1953 8484
1954 8975
1955 9824
1956 8856
1957 9754
1958 9626
1959 9975
1960 9494
1961 9371
1962 9320
1963 8973
1964 7574
1965 8341
1966 8473
1967 9161
1968 8609
1969 8501
1970 8232
1971 8159
1972 9371
1973 8989
1974 8745
1975 7666
1976 7535
1977 8001
1978 7741
1979 7796
1980 8186
1981 8131
1982 7341
1983 7257
1984 6570
1985 7428
1986 6992
1987 6902
1988 7284
1989 6537
1990 6536
1991 4430
1992 4167
1993 3776
1994 3955
1995 4172
1996 3747
1997 3219
1998 3689
1999 3195
2000 2966
2001 3106
2002 3101
2003 2890
2004 2812
2005 2743
2006 2839
2007 2867
2008 3065
2009 2925
2010 3060
2011 3219
2012 2883
2013 2622

1964 saw a large drop in average attendance due to the advent of Woodville and Central District. The aggregate hardly changed but clearly the average dropped.

It is interesting to note that 1959 drew the highest average yet Norwood who traditionally were the second biggest crowd drawer, Torrens the third best and North, who were minor premiers the previous year and won the flag the next year, all missed the finals.

I once read that in 1959 Torrens played 18 matches of which 13 drew over 10,000 spectators. Only there games against "Poor Old South" as they were universally known at the time drew poor crowds.

Also I have read that Torrens drew the biggest average crowds in 1961 but I don't know whether that is just hearsay,

[mal]

1959 END OF SEASON WINNING %
This is for all games played by the clubs from 1907-1959

WIN/DRAW/LOSE
PA 559-8-235
NW 457-9-319
NA 393-11-358
WT 387-15-354
WA 369-8-382
ST 365-10-387
SA 236-10-486
GL 172-3-417


CROWDS
1959 has the highest crowds average [9975]
Maybe the advent of CD + WDV into the seconds comp created more interest in the SANFL ?
Perhaps a core of spectators from those clubs viewing the 8 established teams ?

PA winning 6 flags in a row , had prob the largest supPORTer base at the same time and kept attending ?

Another reason might be that after WW2 there was a lot of bonking in the mid 1940s and onwards
Kids born from that time were old enough to go to the football
Kids born in 1945 would have been teenagers in 1959

[robranisgod]

1959 END OF SEASON WINNING %
This is for all games played by the clubs from 1907-1959

WIN/DRAW/LOSE
PA 559-8-235
NW 457-9-319
NA 393-11-358
WT 387-15-354
WA 369-8-382
ST 365-10-387
SA 236-10-486
GL 172-3-417


CROWDS
1959 has the highest crowds average [9975]
Maybe the advent of CD + WDV into the seconds comp created more interest in the SANFL ?
Perhaps a core of spectators from those clubs viewing the 8 established teams ?

PA winning 6 flags in a row , had prob the largest supPORTer base at the same time and kept attending ?

Another reason might be that after WW2 there was a lot of bonking in the mid 1940s and onwards
Kids born from that time were old enough to go to the football
Kids born in 1945 would have been teenagers in 1959

1959 was the first year I remember going to the footy. I missed the first game of the year which North won and then saw them lose the next 12 games in a row. They then won 2 of their last five to avoid the wooden spoon. Quite a fall from grace for the previous year's minor premier. They then returned to form by winning the 1960 premiership which I can still remember being at even though I was only 5 years of age.

[mal]

SECONDS FOOTBALL
1962 was the first season when seconds football was played b4 the League Football games
Until then seconds teams played on the oppositions home ground
The games b4 the league games were played by the Junior Colts

Norwood campaigned for the seconds to play prior the league
Some other teams would not agree , excuses included :
Too many footballers also had Saturday morning work commitments
Lack of adequate change room facilities

Norwood got its way
But at a price
They had won the 1960-1961 Seconds Premierships
They didnt win again until 1966 !

Maybe the Redlegs were then inspired in 1966
It was the first time Seconds football was telecast on TV and it was in black and white !
On black and white TV Norwood defeated the black and white team in the 66 Grand Final !
NW 12-28 PA 3-7

This information from the September 2014 Redlegs Review

[mal]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 1959

A first
NA paid players a set amount for each match
Players received 5 pounds each
If you were injured you were paid half

ST paid players the princely sum of 10 shillings if players rolled up for practice before 5:15pm

Three SANFL clubs had end of season trips
PA 3,500 pounds to the Gold Coast
WA 3,000 pounds to Melbourne and Sydney
ST 3,000 pounds on an eastern states tour

[robranisgod]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 1959

A first
NA paid players a set amount for each match
Players received 5 pounds each
If you were injured you were paid half

ST paid players the princely sum of 10 shillings if players rolled up for practice before 5:15pm

Three SANFL clubs had end of season trips
PA 3,500 pounds to the Gold Coast
WA 3,000 pounds to Melbourne and Sydney
ST 3,000 pounds on an eastern states tour

What was the average annual wage in 1959. I would suggest that £5 a match in 1959 is better than the average payment to SANFL players now in real terms.

[mal]

Average Australian wage in 1959
About 16 pounds a week, depending your source

[mal]

SURVEY SAYS 1975
This was a survey conducted September 1975
300 people were interviewed at Football Park over 3 days
These are some of the questions asked :

* Denotes how I would have voted at the time

DO YOU THINK INTERSTATE GAMES SHOULD CONTINUE ?
85.1 % YES *
13.6 % NO
1.3 % DONT KNOW

DO YOU THINK THE SANFL SHOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF LEAGUE TEAMS ?
39.5 YES
58.8 NO*
1.7 DONT KNOW

DO YOU THINK THE SANFL SHOULD HAVE MORE LEAGUE TEAMS ?
5.2 YES
91.0 NO*
3.8 DONT KNOW

DO YOU FAVOR A NATIONAL CLUB COMPETITION ?
64.6 YES
31.7 NO*
3.5 DONT KNOW

* I went the consensus , except for the last question on the National Comp

[Rising Power]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 1959

A first
NA paid players a set amount for each match
Players received 5 pounds each
If you were injured you were paid half

ST paid players the princely sum of 10 shillings if players rolled up for practice before 5:15pm

Three SANFL clubs had end of season trips
PA 3,500 pounds to the Gold Coast
WA 3,000 pounds to Melbourne and Sydney
ST 3,000 pounds on an eastern states tour

That was around the time my grandpa played for South. They got the train to Melbourne and on to Sydney (I think) with South Melbourne, maybe played an exhibition match up there too. Reckons he sat next to Bob Skilton along the way.

[mal]

1969-1975
748 matches
56 games were decided by 6 points or less
13.35 % is the percentage of games decided below a goal

1975
96 matches
3 games were decided by less than 6 points
32.00 %

SANFL stats man of the time Ern Kolosche had his reasons to the non close finishes
He had this to say:

This year will go down as the most uneven of the league has ever staged
One close game in 33
From these stats it is evident that high scoring must be curbed to help even the competition
But How ?
Perhaps the league coaches are paying too much attention to scoring and not enough to defensive tactics

Allowing the 4 wingers into the square at centre bounces may help
After all, they were always part of the centre bounce, it was half forwards and half backs who congested the play by gradually encroaching further and further towards the centre

Perhaps we may see the distance between the goal posts reduced or like rugby rules a bar placed between the goals and the ball to be kicked over the bar

Prohibiting players from bouncing the ball might help
Allow 15 metres b4 disposing of the ball, they sometimes run more than this now
This would eliminate some of the holding the ball, holding the man decisions.

WOW
Here's a respected writer trying to slow down scoring
These days there are those including me, who crave more and more goals per match

1975 NW V GL MATCHES

FOOTY PARK
GL 20-19
NW 8.15

GLENELG OVAL
GL 19-13
NW 20.24

SEMI FINAL
FOOTY PARK
GL 21.9
NW 16-10

In total
GL 60-41
NW 44-49

Ern produced these stats just b4 the Grand Final if 75
Perhaps Norwood coach Bob Hammond took note as the next time the 2 teams met was the 75 Grand Final
NW 9-10
GL 7-10

Perhaps Norwoods mindset was to inhibit Glenelgs attacking potency ?


1975 GL V CD MATCHES

FOOTY PARK
GL 33-14
CD 9.17

GLENELG
GL 49.23
CD 11.13

Incredible scoring by the baymen
Interesting to note that the 49-23 score was achieved about 5 weeks before the 7-10 in the Grand Final
I was there that day mocking Fred Phillis for wearing yellow boots
Fred I think ended up with about 0-5 ?
I was unofficially on the Norwood coaching staff that day!

QUESTION
Does anyone agree with Erns writings of 1975 ?

[robranisgod]

I don't know whether I agree with Ern's writing but 1975 was the year that money really raised it's ugly head in the SANFL as far as I am concerned. I have never seen a more lopsided competition. North finished fifth and I think that they were fifteen goals worse than the top four sides. You have mentioned Glenelg's record score. That was against Central who finished 7th, they weren't even the bottom side.

It was the year that gave rise to the so called "big four" who were the four moneyed clubs of the time. They were able to recruit heavily with their money and the rest of the competition struggled. North had been successful until two years before but despite this success they couldn't compete financially.

[mal]

Here are 2 amazing games of high scoring that I saw when I was living in the 70s

1972 VFL GRAND FINAL
CA 8-4...18-6...25-9......28-9 [177]
RI 5-4...10-9....15-15...22-18 [150]
It was one of the most amazing finals matches Ive seen
Jezza kicked 5 for the blues
Neil Balme 5 for the tigers and bashed up David Mckay

1974
GL 6-4...13-9.......17-13...21-17[143]
NW 5-4...11-11...18-14...27-17 [179]
I was at this game at the Bay
It was stunning football
Norwood had guys like Roger Woodcock, Ross Dillon, Mike Olsen and Phil Carman in the forward line
Mike Olsen 7 goals for the legs
John Sandland 6 goals for the baymen

[mal]

1950
Quite a remarkable Minor round finish
NW 13-4..60-75%
GL 12-5...53.47%
PA 12-5...52.97%
WT 11-6..56.59%
NA 9-8.....55.90%
WA 9-8...51.95%
ST 2-15...38.15%
SA 0-17...31.46%

6 sides finished with over 50%
75% of the teams had this distinction
That would be a rarity of sorts in the SANFL
ST beat SA twice

SA averaged 58 points per match in 1950
SA kicked its highest score of the season in round 14
SA scored 14-8 [92]
Only problem was they played WT that day who scored 34-15 [219]

[robranisgod]

Here are 2 amazing games of high scoring that I saw when I was living in the 70s

1972 VFL GRAND FINAL
CA 8-4...18-6...25-9......28-9 [177]
RI 5-4...10-9....15-15...22-18 [150]
It was one of the most amazing finals matches Ive seen
Jezza kicked 5 for the blues
Neil Balme 5 for the tigers and bashed up David Mckay

1974
GL 6-4...13-9.......17-13...21-17[143]
NW 5-4...11-11...18-14...27-17 [179]
I was at this game at the Bay
It was stunning football
Norwood had guys like Roger Woodcock, Ross Dillon, Mike Olsen and Phil Carman in the forward line
Mike Olsen 7 goals for the legs
John Sandland 6 goals for the baymen

Similarly in May 1975 Norwood beat North by 26 goals to 24 I think. My guess is that the score was 26 goals 22 to 24 goals 12, but I wouldn't bet money on.

I know that North kicked 11 goals and Norwood 7 in the first quarter!

Ironically John Sandland would have played in that game for North and may have kicked a bag of goals. I would expect you to have the stats for that game Mal.