1877 SAFA season

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1877 SAFA premiership season
South Adelaide 1877 premiership team.png
South Adelaide premiership team
Teams8
Premiers South Adelaide
Victorian
1st premiership
Leading goalkickerJohn Young
Adelaide (14 goals)
Matches played52 (61 scheduled)
Highest650 (Round 7, Adelaide vs. South Adelaide)
←  1876 (unaffiliated)
1878  →

The 1877 South Australian Football Association season was the inaugural season of the South Australian Football Association, the top-level league of Australian rules football in South Australia.

Contents

The clubs participating were Adelaide, Bankers, Kensington, Port Adelaide, South Adelaide, South Park, Victorian, Woodville. [1]

South Adelaide and Victorian would share the premiership honours as there was no grand final playoff, while the Bankers Football Club, who finished last without a win and forfeited a number of games, folded before the end of the season. [2]

Top Goalkickers for the season were:
(1) John Young (Adelaide) - 14 goals
(2) William (Billy) Dedman (South Adelaide) - 10 goals

South Australian Football Association

The newly formed South Australian Football Association decided that the playing fields for the season must be between 180 and 200 yards (165-183m) long and 120-150 yards (110-137m) wide, with pushing from behind being prohibited. For clubs to gain membership of the association, they would need to pay two guineas for the year. [3]

Premiership Season

Round 1

Round 1
Saturday, 12 May (2:45 pm) Adelaide 4def.Bankers 1Old Adelaide Ground [4] [5]
Saturday, 12 May (3:30 pm) Kensington 0def. by Port Adelaide 3 Kensington Oval [5]
  • The advertised first game between Adelaide and Bankers was scheduled for 5 May but was postponed due to the weather. [6]


FOOTBALL. — ADELAIDES V. BANKERS will be played on the Old Adelaide Ground, near tbe Adelaide Bridge, To-morrow (Saturday), May 5. Play will commence at 2.30 sharp. Adelaides in colored, Bankers in white jerseys. [7]

Teams for the first games played on 12 May were advertised on the day as follows:
Football matches will be played this afternoon between the Kensington and Port Adelaide clubs on the Kensington Oval, and Adelaide v. Bankers on the Adelaide ground, North Park Lands. A color match will also be played on the grounds of the South Park Club.
The names of the Adelaide Club players are Messrs. M. Acraman, F. A. Bleechmore, G. Butterworth, W. Cate, Canaway, W. E. Dalton, A.Fesenmeyer, H. and C. Hughes, Morgan, Poole, A. and D. C.Scott, R. N.Twopeny, Wyatt, and Jas, Jno., and E. B. Young.

The players in the match between the Port Adelaide and Kensington Clubs are:—
Port Adelaide — Messrs. E. Ede, W. Fletcher, J, S. Hawkes, W. Kelly, A. LeMessurier, J. A. Rann, H. Fletcher, J. Sidoli, A. Pickhaver, T. Wildrew, H. Dewar, T. Prideaux, F.Dewar, A. Dewar, F. A. Colman, T. Smith, D.Kettie, Et. LeMessurier, A. Wald, and Ed. LeMessurier, with W. Bennett, T. C. Neill, and W. Pyne, as emergency men.
Kensington — Messrs. E.Woods, J. Woods, H. Goode, W. Day, F. Day, A. Frew, T. Burton, F. G. Stanton, P. Wood, C.A. Patterson, W. Gwynne, H. Muirhead, T.Pope, H. Stanton, A. Harrison, B. Hall, A. M. Hargrave, and Moulden, with C. T. Hargrave,H. W. Hargrave, J. Thomas, and T. James, as emergency men. [8]

Round 2

Round 2
Saturday, 19 May (3:15 pm) Adelaide 3def. Port Adelaide 2Old Adelaide Ground (crowd: 250) [9] [10]
Saturday, 19 May South Park 1def.Bankers 0 South Park Lands [9] [11]

Round 3

Round 3
Saturday, 26 May (3:15 pm) Adelaide 1def. Woodville 0Old Adelaide Ground [12]
Saturday, 26 May (3:00 pm) Kensington 1def. South Park 0 Kensington Oval [12]
Saturday, 26 May Victorian 1def. Port Adelaide 0 Montefiore Hill [12]

Adelaide played a game at Kapunda on Thursday 24 May and returned via Train to Adelaide on Friday morning. On the Saturday 8 players had withdrawn from the team leaving them to only field 18 (including their Captain who was injured), whilst Woodville had a full team of 20. It was reported that the Ground was underwater but Woodville were still keen to play.
Non Association Matches Played against Country Clubs on the Holiday
Thursday 24 May - Adelaide, 4 goals, beat Kapunda, 2. [13]
Thursday 24th May - Woodville, 1 goal, beat Gawler, 0. [14]

Round 4

Round 4
Saturday, 2 June Kensington 0def. by South Adelaide 2 Kensington Oval [15]
Saturday, 2 June (3:00 pm)Woodville 0def. by Victorian 3 Woodville [15]
Saturday, 2 June Adelaide 2def. South Park 0Old Adelaide Ground [15]
Saturday, 2 June Port Adelaide 3def.Bankers 0 Glanville [15]

Round 5

Round 5
Saturday, 9 June (3:15 pm) Kensington 0drew with Adelaide 0 Kensington Oval [16]
Saturday, 9 June (3:45 pm)Woodville 0def. by South Adelaide 1 * Woodville [17]
Saturday, 9 June Victorian 2def. South Park 0 Montefiore Hill [16]
  • This result was originally reported as a 0-0 draw due to a goal umpire not allowing a goal scored by a South Adelaide player running on after taking a mark.
    The Victorians all appeared in costume, which consisted of a black guernsey with yellow facings, and cap of the same color, which presented a marked contrast to their opponent - South Park white and light blue uniforms

Round 6

Round 6
Saturday, 16 June Adelaide 1drew with Victorian 1Old Adelaide Ground [18]
Saturday, 16 June South Park 0def. byWoodville 2 South Park Lands [18]
Saturday, 16 June (3:15 pm) Port Adelaide 4def. Kensington 0 Glanville [18]
  • South Park vs Woodville - both teams played with only 14 players
  • The game between Bankers and South Adelaide scheduled for 16 June was awarded to South Adelaide on forfeit as only 13 Bankers players appeared. [18] [19]

Round 7

Round 7
Saturday, 23 June (3:00 pm) Adelaide 0def. by South Adelaide 1 Adelaide Oval (crowd: 650) [20]
Saturday, 23 June (3:15 pm) Port Adelaide 1drew withWoodville 1 Glanville [21]
Saturday, 23 June Victorian 7def.Bankers 0 Montefiore Hill [21]
Saturday, 23 June (3:00 pm) South Park 2def. Kensington 0 South Park Lands [20]

Round 8

Round 8
Saturday, 30 June South Adelaide 0drew with Victorian 0 South Park Lands (crowd: 650) [22]
Saturday, 30 June (3:00 pm) Port Adelaide 1def. South Park 0 Glanville [22]

Round 9

Round 9
Saturday, 7 July (3:15 pm) Adelaide 9def.Bankers 0Old Adelaide Ground [23]
Saturday, 7 July (3:15 pm) South Adelaide 0drew withWoodville 0 South Park Lands [23]
Saturday, 7 July (3:15 pm) Victorian 3def. Kensington 0 Montefiore Hill [23]

Round 10

Round 10
Saturday, 14 July (3:00 pm)Woodville 1def. by South Park 2 Woodville [24]
Saturday, 14 July (3:15 pm) Port Adelaide 1drew with Adelaide 1 Glanville [25]
Saturday, 14 July (Time pm)Bankers 1def. by Kensington 4Old Adelaide Ground [25]

Colours - Bankers (Blue) Kensington (Red)

Round 11

Round 11
Saturday, 21 July (3:15 pm) South Adelaide 3def. Port Adelaide 0 South Park Lands [26]
Saturday, 21 July Kensington 3def. byWoodville 8 Kensington Oval [26]
Saturday, 21 July (3:15 pm) Adelaide 2def. South Park 1Old Adelaide Ground [26]
Saturday, 21 July (3:00 pm) Victorian 5def.Bankers 1 Montefiore Hill [26]

Colours - Victorian orange and black, Bankers blue and white

Round 12

Round 12
Saturday, 28 July (3:30 pm) Adelaide 2def.Woodville 0Old Adelaide Ground (crowd: 500) [27]
Saturday, 28 July (3:10 pm) Port Adelaide 2def. Victorian 1 Glanville [28]
Saturday, 28 July (3:30 pm) South Adelaide 7def. Kensington 0 South Park Lands [28]
Saturday, 28 July (3:00 pm) South Park 3def.Bankers 0 South Park Lands [29]
  • The game against South Park would be the Bankers last game as a club.

Round 13

Round 13
Saturday, 4 August (3:00 pm) Victorian 2def. Adelaide 0 Montefiore Hill [30]
Saturday, 4 August (3:20 pm) Port Adelaide 0def. by South Adelaide 1 Glanville (crowd: 500) [30]
Saturday, 4 August South Park 1drew with Kensington 1 South Park Lands [31]

Round 14

Round 14
Saturday, 11 August (3:00 pm)Woodville 0def. by South Park 5 Woodville
Saturday, 11 August (3:00 pm) Adelaide 6def. Kensington 2Old Adelaide Ground [32]
  • A game scheduled between Port Adelaide and the Bankers at Montefiore Hill [33] was awarded to Port Adelaide on forfeit:
    Port had a full team on the field when the Bankers' captain informed them and the umpire that the Bankers were unable to field a team. [32]
  • Teams were affected due to their star players involvement in a combined SAFA team (with players picked from Victorian, Woodville, South Park and Port Adelaide Clubs) vs. Melbourne game being played at the Exhibition Grounds simultaneously: Melbourne defeated the combined team by five goals to nil.

Round 15

Round 15
Saturday, 25 August (3:15 pm) Victorian 2vWoodville 0 Montefiore Hill
Saturday, 25 August South Park 0def. by South Adelaide 4 South Park Lands [34]

The Victorians were short of two of their players — Messrs. Barry and Kingsford — while the Woodvilles, besides being; greatly weakened by the retirement of their late captain and several first-class men, were playing with seven of their second twenty. [35]

Round 16

Round 16
Saturday, 1 September (3:15 pm) South Adelaide 2def. Adelaide 0 South Park Lands (crowd: 400) [36]
Saturday, 1 September Port Adelaide 2def. South Park 1 Glanville [37]
Saturday, 1 SeptemberWoodville 3def. Kensington 0 Woodville [37]

Round 17

Round 17
Saturday, 8 September South Adelaide 1def. South Park 0 South Park Lands (crowd: 500) [38]
Saturday, 8 September (3:45 pm) Kensington 1v Victorian 2 Kensington Oval [38]

Woodvilles v. Ports. A match between these Clubs was arranged to take place at Woodville on Saturday, 8 September ; but the Woodvilles were unable to raise a team, so the match was postponed until Saturday, 15 September, when the Ports were again disappointed by the Woodvilles not turning out. [39]

Round 18

Round 18
Saturday, 15 September South Park 0drew with Victorian 0 South Park Lands [40]
  • Victorian claimed they had won the game, but a South Park protest was upheld and the game's single goal was annulled. The match was noted as the roughest of the season. The result being declared a draw following a motion being carried at an Association meeting on Friday 5 October. [41]
  • A game was scheduled for September 15 between Port Adelaide and Woodville at Woodville was awarded to Port Adelaide as Woodville forfeited due to a lack of players (their principal players being involved in a practice cricket match at Norwood). [40]
  • A game was scheduled for September 15 between Adelaide and Bankers at Adelaide Oval. [42] However, Bankers as announced will not meet Adelaide. [43]

Round 19 (Postponed)

FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION MATCHES for SATURDAY, 22 September. [44]
At Montefiore — Victorian v. South Adelaide.
At South Park— Port v. South Park
Football. — Two Association matches are announced for today one between the Port Adelaide and South Park Clubs on the ground of the latter, and the other between the Victorian and South Adelaide Clubs at Montefiore Hill. The latter match will decide the question of the championship of the season, and will, it is to be hoped, be largely attended, as a hat is to be passed round at half-time for the benefit of the sufferers by the Indian famine. [45]

In consequence of the inclement weather on Saturday, 22 September, the football matches which were to have been played between the South Adelaide and Victorian Clubs and the Port Adelaide and South Park Clubs were postponed. [46]

Round 19

Round 19
Saturday, 29 September (3:30 pm) South Park 1def. by Port Adelaide 3 South Park Lands [47]
Saturday, 29 September (3:15 pm) Victorian 1def. South Adelaide 0 Montefiore Hill [48]

The duties of field-umpire were most efficiently and impartially performed by Mr. J.R. Osborne (ex Woodville Captain). At one time a quarrel nearly arose, but it was promptly put down by the captains. Messrs. Giffen and Smart were goal-umpires.
It was reported that the following players will take part in the game:
South Adelaides — Messrs. G. Kennedy (Captain), Mehrtens (Vice), Absalom, Blinman, Colbey, Curtis, Coonan, Dedman, Jones, Kennedy, Kingston, Mehrtens, Reid, Stacey, Shaw, Sellars, Thompson, Toll, Wallace, Woolridge. Emergency — Sketheway, Sharp, Simmonds, and Argall.
Victorians— Atkinson, Colley, Downs (Captain), Davies (2), Furnell, Frayne, Fiveash, Hall, Knill, Kingsfold, Lammey, Murray, Miller, Osborn, Stratton, Sharp, Warren, Furnell, and Salsberg. Emergency man — Miller.
His Excellency the Administrator of the Government and His Worship the Mayor have given their patronage for the occasion. [49]

Summary of other matches

Thursday 24 May - Adelaide, 4 goals, beat Kapunda, 2. [13]
Thursday 24 May - Woodville, 1 goal, beat Gawler, 0. [14]
Wednesday 21 June (Public Holiday) - Adelaide, 1 goal tied Gawler, 1. Crowd 450 at Gawler [50]
Monday 6 August Adelaide, 3 goals, beat Kapunda, 2 at South Adelaide's Ground [51]
Intercolonial Matches
Saturday 11 August Melbourne, 1 goal, beat Victorian, 0. Crowd: 2000 at Exhibition Grounds [52]
Monday 13 August Melbourne, 5 goals, beat South Australian Combined Team, 0. Crowd: 1000 at Exhibition Grounds [53]
The combined team comprised players selected from the following local Clubs:
Victorians, G. Downs (Captain of the South Australian combatants), C. Warren, H.Barry, Knill, Kingsford, W. Lanjmey, H. Allen, and J. Sharp;
Ports, T. Smith, A. LeMessurier, Fletcher, W. Frideaux, and Tysack;
Woodvilles, T. Beeves, Letchford, G. Giffen, Aitken, and J. B. Osborne;
South Parks, J. M. Sinclair and Cresswell.
South Australians, 3 goals, beat Victorians, 1.
Saturday 18 August - St. Kilda, 5 goals, beat Adelaide, 2. Crowd 3500 at Adelaide Oval
Monday 20 August - St. Kilda. 7 goals, beat South Australians, 2.

Ladder

Victorian finished the season with eight more goals but a slightly inferior record than South Adelaide, but one should consider that Victorian played the Bankers twice whereas South Adelaide did not (their only scheduled match, in Round 6, was a forfeit when the Bankers could only muster 13 players). Further, while Adelaide finished with one more win than the other two clubs, they played 17 games to 13 and 14 respectively.

It was declared South Adelaide and Victorian would be deemed joint Champion Club (premiers). [47] which was also acknowledged by South Adelaide at their Annual Dinner on evening of Tuesday 2 October. [54]

1877 SAFA Ladder
TEAMPWLDPFPAPTSAdj Pts
1 South Adelaide (P)1310122212228.77
1 Victorian (P)1410133052327.93
3 Adelaide 17113331132525.00
4 Port Adelaide 1594223132022.67
5 Woodville 1659214181212.75
6 South Park 17510216231212.00
7 Kensington 153102124389.07
8 Bankers 15015043600.00
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Adj Pts = Points adjusted for match ratio, (P) = Premiers [47]

Note: Woodville were ranked above South Park on head-to-head record (2-1).
It was reported at the end of the season that Bankers had forfeited 6 out of their 15 games. (Adelaide, Port Adelaide, South Adelaide, Kensington 1 each, and Woodville 2)

Membership

ClubMembership
Port Adelaide85
South Adelaide85
Victorian76
Kensington 65
South Park56
Adelaide50
Woodville
Bankers50

See also

References

  1. ↑ Painter, Alison (1983). "30 April 1877 South Australian Football Association". sahistorians.org.au. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Australian Football - The+1877+SAFA+season+in+review". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Cricket & Football". South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 May 1877. p. 16. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Advertising - the South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889) - 12 May 1877". South Australian Advertiser. 1877. p. 1.
  5. 1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 May 1877. p. 6. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 10 May 1877. p. 6. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "FOOTBALL". The Telegraph (Adelaide) . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 May 1877. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "General News". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 2.
  9. 1 2 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 21 May 1877. p. 3. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "General News". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 2.
  11. ↑ "General News". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 2.
  12. 1 2 3 "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 28 May 1877. p. 7. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  13. 1 2 "FOOTBALL. - THE ADELAIDE CLUB AT KAPUNDA. - South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) - 28 May 1877". South Australian Register. 1877. p. 7.
  14. 1 2 "Advertising - the Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922) - 23 May 1877". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 1.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser . Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 June 1877. p. 6. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  16. 1 2 "11 Jun 1877 - FOOTBALL. VICTORIANS v. SOUTH PARKS". nla.gov.au. 11 June 1877.
  17. ↑ "18 Jun 1877 - FOOTBALL. TO THE EDITOR". nla.gov.au. 18 June 1877.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "18 Jun 1877 - FOOTBALL. SOUTH PARK V. WOODVILLE". nla.gov.au. 18 June 1877.
  19. ↑ "Tankers V. South Adelaide". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 1.
  20. 1 2 "25 Jun 1877 - FOOTBALL. ADELAIDE V. SOUTH ADELAIDE". nla.gov.au. 25 June 1877.
  21. 1 2 "25 Jun 1877 - FOOTBALL. PORT v. WOODVILLE". nla.gov.au. 25 June 1877.
  22. 1 2 "02 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL. SOUTH ADELAIDES V. VICTORIANS". nla.gov.au. 1877. p. 7.
  23. 1 2 3 "09 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL. VICTORIAN V. KENSINGTON". nla.gov.au. 9 July 1877.
  24. ↑ "16 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL. ADELAIDES V PORT ADELAIDES". nla.gov.au. 16 July 1877.
  25. 1 2 "16 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL. ADELAIDE v. PORT ADELAIDE". nla.gov.au. 16 July 1877.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "23 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL. ADELAIDE V. SOUTH PARK". nla.gov.au. 23 July 1877.
  27. ↑ "30 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL. ADELAIDE v. WOODVILLE". nla.gov.au. 30 July 1877.
  28. 1 2 "30 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL. PORTS V. VICTORIANS". nla.gov.au. 30 July 1877.
  29. ↑ "31 Jul 1877 - FOOTBALL SOUTH PARKS V. BANKERS". nla.gov.au. 31 July 1877.
  30. 1 2 "06 Aug 1877 - FOOTBALL. ADELAIDE V. VICTORIANS". nla.gov.au. 6 August 1877.
  31. ↑ "06 Aug 1877 - FOOTBALL. VICTORIAN V. ADELAIDE". nla.gov.au. 6 August 1877.
  32. 1 2 "14 Aug 1877 - South Australian Register - p7". nla.gov.au.
  33. ↑ "Advertising - the Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922) - 10 Aug 1877". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 1.
  34. ↑ "27 Aug 1877 - FOOTBALL. WOODVILLES V. VICTORIANS". nla.gov.au. 27 August 1877.
  35. ↑ "TO CORRESPONDENTS. - the Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922) - 28 Aug 1877". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 2.
  36. ↑ "06 Sep 1877 - FOOTBALL. SOUTH ADELAIDE v. ADELAIDE". nla.gov.au. 6 September 1877.
  37. 1 2 "03 Sep 1877 - FOOTBALL. ADELAIDE v. SOUTH ADELAIDE". nla.gov.au. 3 September 1877.
  38. 1 2 "10 Sep 1877 - FOOTBALL. SOUTH ADELAIDES V. SOUTH PARKS". nla.gov.au. 10 September 1877.
  39. ↑ "FOOTBALL. - VICTORIANS V. SOUTH PARKS. - South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) - 22 Sep 1877". South Australian Register. 1877. p. 2.
  40. 1 2 "17 Sep 1877 - FOOTBALL. VICTORIANS SOUTH PARKS". nla.gov.au. 17 September 1877.
  41. ↑ "THE MONth's NEWS. - South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) - 6 Oct 1877". South Australian Register. 1877. p. 4.
  42. ↑ "Advertising - the South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889) - 14 Sep 1877". South Australian Advertiser. 1877. p. 1.
  43. ↑ "Latest News. - Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 - 1912) - 15 Sep 1877". Evening Journal. 1877. p. 2.
  44. ↑ "EMPIRE FARMERS. - Parties Returning Home. - the Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) - 29 Mar 1930". Argus. 29 March 1930. p. 19.
  45. ↑ "THE ANNEXATION OF THE TRANSVAAL. - South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) - 22 Sep 1877". South Australian Register. 1877. p. 4.
  46. ↑ "GENERAL NEWS. - the Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922) - 24 Sep 1877". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 2.
  47. 1 2 3 "03 Oct 1877 - FOOTBALL. THE SEASON OF 1877". nla.gov.au. 3 October 1877.
  48. ↑ "03 Oct 1877 - MATCHES. VICTORIAN v. SOUTH ADELAIDE". nla.gov.au. 3 October 1877.
  49. ↑ "Latest News. - Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 - 1912) - 29 Sep 1877". Evening Journal. 1877. p. 2.
  50. ↑ "Football". South Australian Register. 1877. p. 6.
  51. ↑ "Football". South Australian Advertiser. 1877. p. 6.
  52. ↑ "FOOTBALL. VICTORIANS v. MELBOURNE". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 2.
  53. ↑ "Football". Express and Telegraph. 1877. p. 3.
  54. ↑ "PARLIAMENTARY. - South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) - 3 Oct 1877". South Australian Register. 1877. p. 4.
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