SA Footy

i recall hearing a story that he coached south for a few weeks (don scott, john cahill also did) but because geelong didn't clear him he had to coach from outside of the ground


is there any truth in this or what is the story ?

I've never heard that one, and I'd be very surprised if there's any truth in it. I know he supported South Melbourne as a kid and tried out for South three times, only to be told to nick off each time before trying out for Geelong.

Yes Bob Davis did coach South Adelaide for a few matches at the start of the 1952 season.Geelong would not clear him to play so he had to coach from the other side of the fence using Jim Deane as his "speaker". He returned to Geelong and played in Round 6 against Richmond with all intensions of seeing the year out with the Cats on the proviso that they clear him to South the next year as captain/coach which obviously never happened.South offered Davis huge money ,20 pounds a game(the best player in Victoria was getting 10 pounds tops that year), and promised him and his new wife a paid flat to live in and a well paid job.
The move paid off for Davis as Geelong upped his match payments considerably plus he played in a Geelong premiership in 1952.

Well, you learn something every day I guess.

I just want to know if Davis was coach of South Adelaide (if only for a few matches) then why don't any of the record books indicate this, and why does South Adelaide's official Honour Board not make mention of it? They have Jim Deame as captain/coach concurrently from 1951 to 1953.

They name Don Scott as coach in the year when he only coached a few games, it just doesn't make sense.

Adelaide Hawk wrote:Well, you learn something every day I guess.

I just want to know if Davis was coach of South Adelaide (if only for a few matches) then why don't any of the record books indicate this, and why does South Adelaide's official Honour Board not make mention of it? They have Jim Deame as captain/coach concurrently from 1951 to 1953.

They name Don Scott as coach in the year when he only coached a few games, it just doesn't make sense.

It's the usual problem of poor record keeping. It happens everywhere. Nobody thinks of the longer term historical aspect at the time and they don't bother to record things as they happen.
Over here, for example, I found a drainage pipe along the edge of my property, and while the title shows there is an easement the local council and the local water supply people had no record of there being anything in it.

Psyber wrote:

Adelaide Hawk wrote:Well, you learn something every day I guess.

I just want to know if Davis was coach of South Adelaide (if only for a few matches) then why don't any of the record books indicate this, and why does South Adelaide's official Honour Board not make mention of it? They have Jim Deame as captain/coach concurrently from 1951 to 1953.

They name Don Scott as coach in the year when he only coached a few games, it just doesn't make sense.

It's the usual problem of poor record keeping. It happens everywhere. Nobody thinks of the longer term historical aspect at the time and they don't bother to record things as they happen.
Over here, for example, I found a drainage pipe along the edge of my property, and while the title shows there is an easement the local council and the local water supply people had no record of there being anything in it.

That's very true. I guess I'm interested in a point of reference that records Davis as coaching South Adelaide. There must be something, otherwise people wouldn't know about it at all.

Looks like spelly's off to the Mortlock Library again...

I had a bit of a look, but couldn't find any reference to it. I may not have looked hard enough though.

I was sent a PM to say Woofa had written about it in his book, so we'd have to take his word for it. Just seems strange why nothing is recorded in history about it, and the fact Spelly couldn't find anything about it in the library makes you wonder if it was an actual appointment or whether he just helped out the main coach Jim Deane because he wasn't playing.

Adelaide Hawk wrote:I was sent a PM to say Woofa had written about it in his book, so we'd have to take his word for it. Just seems strange why nothing is recorded in history about it, and the fact Spelly couldn't find anything about it in the library makes you wonder if it was an actual appointment or whether he just helped out the main coach Jim Deane because he wasn't playing.

ah, perhaps a call to south maybe fruitful ? since i posted the topic my father told me that he definately coached south but wasn't allowed onto the ground or even into the arena (he can't quite remember which one it was as the memory is a bit hazy) because the vfl & geelong objected until a clearance was ratified (obviously never happened)

all in all it is very interesting, i thought anyway

I was sent a scanned copy of the page in Woofa's book, and he definitely claims to have been coach of South Adelaide. However, he claims because he was deregistered as a player, he was not allowed on the oval to coach. Seems a little weird to me, because Haydn Bunton was deregisted as a player in 1957 waiting for a clearance from North Adelaide, he was still allowed to coach Norwood. Maybe the rules had changed from 1952 to 1957, or maybe they were different for players shifting from state to state. Who knows? Certainly not me, and I'd love someone to clarify it for me

Don't have any news on whether he was allowed on field but have come across
some refs on this story in Vic papers at the time...
we have some scrapbooks at work with post-war VFL cuttings in them:

[The Sun I think] ...name of paper is cut off but article was written by Rex Pullen and dated 10 April 1952:
"Bob Davis, crack Geelong half-forward, will probably play in Geelong's final practice match on Saturday and later discuss with the committee whether he will play with Geelong this season.

"Davis was appointed captain-coach of South Adelaide this season, but Geelong has refused him a clearance twice, and has announced that it will not re-open the matter this year.

"Davis, who was married recently, has moved to Adelaide, where he has a home and a job."


The Sun issue dated 31 May 1952..article written by Kevin Hogan:

"Bob Davis will play for Geelong against Richmond today in his old position at half-forward flank.

"Davis was chosen at a meeting of the Geelong selectors last night after he had had discussions with leading officials during the day."


Just a snippet I know, but certainly confirms some of the other posts -
he was appointed to the coaching position at South Adelaide.