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SAINT KILDA - Part One: 1873 to 1929
Affiliated: VFA 1877-78, 1886-96; VFL 1897-1989; AFL 1990-present
Club Address: Linton Street, Moorabbin 3189
Postal Address: P.O. Box 34, Moorabbin 3189, Victoria
Home Ground: Telstra Dome
Formed: 1873
Colours: Red, white and black
Emblem: Saints
Premierships: SENIORS - 1966 (1 total) RESERVES - 1942-43, 1961 (3 total) UNDER 19S - 1957 (1 total) OTHER PREMIERSHIPS - VFL/AFL Night Series 1958, 1996, 2004, 2008 (4 total); Dr. Wm. C. McClelland Trophy 1997 (1 total)
Champions of the Colony: Harry 'Vic' Cumberland 1904 & 1913; Dave McNamara 1907 & 1914; Colin Watson 1925 (3 winners/5 wins)
Brownlow Medallists: Colin Watson 1925; Brian Gleeson 1957; Neil Roberts 1958; Verdun Howell 1959#; Ian Stewart 1965-66; Ross Smith 1967; Tony Lockett 1987; Robert Harvey 1997-98 (8 Medallists/10 Medals)
All Australians: N.Roberts 1958; D.Baldock 1966; I.Stewart 1966; R.Murray 1969; T.Payze 1972; B.Duperouzel 1980; D.Frawley 1988 (7 total)
AFL All Australians: David Grant 1991; Stewart Loewe 1991 & 1992; Nicky Winmar 1991 & 1995; Tony Lockett 1991 & 1992; Robert Harvey 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 & 2003; Nathan Burke 1993, 1996, 1997 & 1999; Peter Everitt 1997 & 1998; Austinn Jones 1997 & 2004; Stan Alves (coach) 1997; Lenny Hayes 2003 & 2005; Fraser Gehrig 2004; Nick Riewoldt 2004 & 2006; Luke Ball 2005; Nick Dal Santo 2005 (31 total)
V/AFL Top Goalkickers: W.Mohr (101) 1936; W.Young (56) 1956; A.Lockett (117) 1987 & (127) 1991; F.Gehrig (103) 2004 (5 total)
St Kilda's Official 'Team of the Century': Click here
Highest Score: 31.18 (204) vs. Melbourne 21.15 (141) in round 6 1978
Most Games: 359 by Robert Harvey from 1988 to 2007 (correct to the start of the 2008 season)
Record Home Attendances: 1. Waverley - 71,488 on 11 June 1998: St Kilda 21.11 (137); Richmond 16.14 (110) 2. Moorabbin - 51,370 on 17 April 1965: St Kilda 8.12 (60); Collingwood 8.6 (54) 3. Junction Oval - 46,973 on 20 May 1950: St Kilda 10.14 (74); Carlton 8.7 (55)
Record Finals Attendance: 118,192 for 1971 grand final at the MCG: Hawthorn 12.10 (82); St Kilda 11.9 (75)
Overall Success Rate 1897-2007: 38.2%
# indicates awarded retrospectively by the VFL in 1989 after having initially been lost on a countback of votes
When Darrel Baldock held the Victorian Football League premiership cup aloft at the Melbourne Cricket Ground late on the afternoon of September 1966 it represented the culmination of almost a century's worth of effort, dedication, determination and despair - mostly despair. For if the history of the St Kilda Football Club is illustrative of anything it is the fact that triumphant achievement in sport represents only a part - and as often as not a very small part - of the whole story. St Kilda's dramatic one point win over Collingwood on that 'one day' in 1966 stands out like a beacon over a predominantly dour and gloomy terrain, and yet, in spite of repeated lack of success, the club today is one of the best supported in the AFL. Why?
It has become something of a truism to maintain that Aussies love an honest battler, as epitomised during the first World War by the tragic heroism of the defeated Australian forces at Gallipoli. In the sometimes equally fraught environment of Australian football, no club typifies the Gallipoli spirit better than St Kilda. Where other clubs boast of premierships the Saints can point to an unparalleled collection of wooden spoons (25 in total). Where a club like Essendon would tend to panic on missing the finals for more than a couple of seasons in succession St Kilda have contested a finals series on only twenty-two occasions during a history lasting more than one and a quarter centuries. Nevertheless, the club continues to prove popular and, arguably, to capture the imagination and engage the emotions like no other.
Officially formed in April 1873 as a junior club the side enjoyed immediate success with a 2 goals to nothing victory over Carlton Seconds in its first ever official fixture on 31 May. The remainder of the season showed that this was far from being beginners' luck as St Kilda proved capable of matching it with all but the very best, and in 1874 the club was almost universally considered to be of senior status, along with Carlton, Melbourne, Albert Park, North Melbourne and Geelong. [see footnote 1] Sadly, however, the side's on field performances failed to match this new found standing and only 2 wins were achieved all season.
This lack of success had an immediate and quite drastic effect on morale, with players losing interest and the club being forced into a temporary merger with University in 1875 in order to maintain some form of continued existence.
The 1876 season saw St Kilda re-emerge as a discrete club and sufficient improvement was shown for it to be accorded first class status (along with seven others) when the Victorian Football Association was formed in 1877.
By 1879, however, the club was in dire straits with repeated poor performances on the field causing the cancellation of the final few fixtures of the season. Between 1880 and 1885 the precise history of the club is difficult to trace, although it is clear that for at least some of that period St Kilda competed in junior ranks. By 1886, however, the club had consolidated, and was re-admitted to the VFA with full senior status. Home games took place at the newly fenced St Kilda Cricket Ground and the 'Saints', as they began to be known at around this time, were competitive but not outstanding, winning 6 and drawing 2 of their 18 matches for the year to finish 12th out of 15 clubs.
A prime ongoing source of controversy during this period was the question of whether St Kilda and nearby fellow VFA club Prahran should merge. Many felt that having two comparatively weak clubs based in the same general area was inimical to the well-being of the VFA; it would make infinitely more sense for the two clubs to combine forces, thereby hopefully fuelling a realistic challenge to the competition's leading lights of the period, such as Geelong, Carlton and South Melbourne. At the same time, this could logically be expected to have a positive side effect in terms of raising the overall standard of football being played, with the result that attendances would be likely to increase, and the image of the sport would be correspondingly enhanced.
A merger of sorts eventually went through in 1888. However, it is clear that those associated with St Kilda had considerably more reason for satisfaction than their Prahran counterparts, as just about the only aspect of Prahran's identity which was preserved in the new set up was the inclusion of blue knickerbockers in the club's official uniform. Based at the St Kilda Cricket Ground the new club was known as St Kilda and wore playing jerseys of red, white and black. In time, the Prahran connection would be all but forgotten.
The merger produced a certain amount of stability at St Kilda but did not give rise to the hoped for on field improvement. In 1896, the year before the inception of the Victorian Football League, St Kilda managed just 6 wins and a draw from 18 matches to finish 9th out of 13 clubs. A contemporary review of the season indicated that:
St Kilda......maintained its reputation for playing the game on its merits as a pastime. They never make a business of it. They have the knack of rising to the big occasion and they invariably afford gratifying and sportsmanlike entertainment. [see footnote 2]
Despite a perennially modest on field record St Kilda was one of eight clubs to form the breakaway VFL, which saw itself as an 'elite' competition, in 1897. The prime reason for St Kilda's inclusion was the central location of the Junction Oval which could be expected to attract large crowds. In 1898 and 1899 the ground was used by the league to host finals matches.
St Kilda originally indicated to the league that its official playing uniform would be:
Jersey - red, white and black
Knickers - white
Stockings - red and black
However, prior to the start of the season the club gave notice that it would be retaining the blue knickers worn since the amalgamation with Prahran in 1888 "on account of the cost". [see footnote 3]
The Saints' first VFL fixture resulted in a fighting 25 point loss to reigning VFA premiers Collingwood, but this proved to be arguably the highlight of a miserable season which yielded no victories whatsoever. Indeed, on three occasions, against South Melbourne in rounds 3 and 10, and against eventual premiers Essendon in round 12, the Saints failed to register a single goal.
Things did not improve during either of the subsequent two seasons and St Kilda entered the twentieth century without having achieved a single VFL win (or even a draw) from 48 consecutive matches, [see footnote 4] a sequence of failure which remains unparalleled to this day.
Some St Kilda Stars From the 1st Decade of the VFL |
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Follower Jim Cowell: 108 games between 1902 and 1908. |
Defender Joe Powell: 28 games from 1903 to 1905. |
James Finley Stewart: 89 games from 1905 to 1910. |
Ruckman James Smith: 127 games from 1899 to 1908. |
Jack Wells: 40 games between 1906 and 1909. |
The breakthrough finally arrived, in somewhat controversial fashion, in the opening round of the 1900 season against Melbourne. The game ended with the scores level at St Kilda 10.8 (68) to Melbourne 9.14 (68) but St Kilda protested to the league that one of Melbourne's behinds ought not to have been counted as it had come from a mark taken after the three quarter time bell had rung. Sensationally, the VFL endorsed the protest, and the official scores of the match were amended to show St Kilda as the winners by the narrowest of margins.
Success disappeared as swiftly and almost as comprehensively as it had emerged with the Saints failing to achieve any further wins all year. The 1901 season brought a similar story, with the only victory for the year being at the expense of Carlton.
Prominent players to wear the red, white and black during the early VFL years included ruckman James Smith (127 games between 1899 and 1906 and in 1908), wingman Herbert Smith - no relation - (95 games from 1898-1904), forward Charlie Baker (120 goals in 75 games between 1901 and 1906) and defender Joe Hogan (92 games from 1897-1900 and 1902-06). However, arguably the first St Kilda player genuinely to warrant the 'champion' tag was Harry 'Vic' Cumberland, who played 126 games for the Saints in four separate stints (1903-04, 1907-08, 1912-15 and 1920). Short for a ruckman at just under 6 foot (180 cm) Cumberland compensated for this by a combination of shrewdness and strength. Such indeed was the nature of Cumberland's prowess that supporters even felt inspired to celebrate their feelings about it in verse:
The finest player of them all, we've seen what he can do
He's the greatest champion on the ball St Kilda ever knew
When from the ruck he brings it out, or taps it with his hand
You'll hear the old familiar shout of "Good boy, Cumberland!" [see footnote 5]
The second St Kilda player to whom the label 'champion' could justifiably be affixed was Dave McNamara, who made his league debut in 1905. Best remembered for his almost unequalled kicking ability McNamara was also a fine mark and had exceptional ball handling skills.
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William Roberts, a pacy half back flanker and centreman who played 160 VFL games for St Kilda between 1928 and 1937. He also represented the VFL 6 times. |
With players of this calibre in the side St Kilda's escape from the doldrums was assured. The 1907 season saw the side qualify for the VFL finals for the first time, but reigning premiers Carlton proved too strong in a semi final to the tune of 56 points. It was a similar story a year later against the same opposition, although the margin this time was 10 points narrower. As if embarrassed by this newly acquired credibility St Kilda plummeted back to the bottom of the pile in 1909 and showed little improvement during any of the next three years. Two champions to make their debuts during this period were Wells Eicke, who began while still a schoolboy in 1909, and Roy Cazaly, who took his bow a year later. Eicke went on to play 197 VFL games for the Saints and later served the club as both coach and committeeman. He also played 21 VFL games for North Melbourne. Cazaly's name has become almost synonymous with Australian football, the player's aerial exploits giving rise to the popular catch cry "Up there, Cazaly!" which was utilised in various theatres of war by Australian troops going into battle during World War Two. Roy Cazaly played precisely 100 games for St Kilda between 1910 and 1920 before going on to make a further 99 appearances for South Melbourne where, if anything, he became even better known. (See also the entry for Glenorchy.) For many years the 1913 season would be looked back on as the absolute pinnacle of St Kilda's achievement as, for the first time ever - and the last until 1965 - the club took part in a premiership deciding match, in this case the challenge final. After finishing the home and away season in 4th spot with 11 wins from 18 matches the Saints overwhelmed South Melbourne by 33 points in a semi final and then caused a major upset by downing minor premiers Fitzroy 10.10 (70) to 6.9 (45) in the final. A week later, however, the Roys successfully exercised their right of challenge with a hard fought 13 point victory in front of 59,479 spectators. The final scoreboard read Fitzroy 7.14 (56) to St Kilda 5.13 (43) with the Saints best served by centreman Billy Schmidt, full forward Ernie Sellars, wingman Ted Collins, plus, almost inevitably, Cumberland and Eicke. (An in depth review of this match can be read here.) |
Sadly the 1914 season saw St Kilda failing to kick on, and 7th place with 9 wins and a draw was a considerable disappointment. However, the onset of war rendered all sporting matters of only peripheral concern.
In 1915 St Kilda changed its official colours to red, yellow and black in a move allegedly designed to bolster patriotic pride given that the club's original colours of red, white and black were shared by Imperial Germany. (However, an equally plausible explanation for the change may have been that it brought the football club in line with the cricket club which for many years had boasted red, yellow and black as its official colours.)
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The new uniform did not see much action during the war years, however, as in 1916 and 1917 the club went into recess. On returning to the fray in 1918 the Saints exhibited promising form to reach the finals before succumbing narrowly to Collingwood. All promise of improvement evaporated the following year, however, as internal dissension had an inevitably detrimental effect on performances. In one match against Melbourne the ill feeling amongst the players was so intense that they actually retired to the changing rooms at three quarter time in an effort to resolve their differences. Several weeks later, with disharmony still rife within the club, the Saints suffered the ignominy of losing to South Melbourne by a VFL record 171 points, 2.6 (18) to 29.15 (189). South's winning margin would not be exceeded for another sixty years. The 1920 season saw the Saints plummet to the wooden spoon with only 2 wins. The year was also notable for the return to action, at the age of forty-three, of 'Vic' Cumberland, who according to VFL coaching maestro Jack Worrall, "remained expert to the last". Cumberland retired at the end of the 1920 season having played more than 500 games of football in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia (where he won the 1911 Magarey Medal) and New Zealand, as well as in five European countries during World War One. |
Col Watson, St Kilda's first Brownlow Medallist. |
For most of the remainder of the 1920s St Kilda fluctuated between mediocrity and abject incompetence, a mix which paradoxically seemed to endear them to the public. Towards the end of the decade there were signs of imminent improvement with the side narrowly missing the finals in 1928 after winning 11 of their 18 matches. Then, in 1929, there was a dramatic, if ultimately unsatisfying, end to the season. Prior to the year's last home and away round in which, in order to contest the finals, the Saints needed to defeat Footscray whilst simultaneously relying on Collingwood to overturn the Fuchsias, 'Chatterer', writing in the day's issue of 'Football Record', remarked:
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Bill Mohr, 736 goals in 195 games for the Saints. |
They (St Kilda) are saying
that if they do get in the four they will win the premiership. Bravo! That's the
stuff to give 'em. I say this that if the premiership goes to the seaside this
season there's not a footballer or follower of the game who will not give the
Tricoloured team a big cheer. [see footnote
6]
With the interjection of the word 'Victorian' in front of 'footballer or follower of the game' these were sentiments which would be mirrored almost exactly sixty-eight seasons later prior to St Kilda's unsuccessful grand final meeting with the Crows. In 1929 there was to be a similarly disappointing outcome. St Kilda duly defeated Footscray, while Collingwood also did the necessary against Melbourne, but Carlton in the 1st semi final proved too formidable a hurdle. Moreover, hopes that the club was at least beginning to move in the right direction were quickly dashed, as the 1930s would prove to be even less auspicious than the 1920s. Among the champions to don the St Kilda uniform during the 1920s was the club's first Brownlow Medallist, Col Watson, a brilliant wingman, centreman and half back flanker who unfortunately only played a total of 93 games. Watson won the Brownlow in only the second year of the award in 1925. |
Other prominent players included full back Bill Cubbins, who commenced his career in 1915 before going to war but subsequently returned to St Kilda for whom he eventually played 149 League games; centremen 'Barney' Carr (130 games from 1921-9) and Billy Roberts (160 games between 1928 and 1937); wingman Rex De Garis (60 games from 1921-3 and in 1925); and centre half back Cyril Gambetta (129 games from 1922-31). The decade also saw the debut of one Wilbur 'Billy' Mohr, who would go on to become the first truly great goalkicking forward in St Kilda's history.
Where now?
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Footnotes
1. Geelong were actually something of a special case in that they tended to compete almost exclusively against country clubs. Return to Main Text
2. From 'Australasian', quoted in the Point Of It All by Jules Fledmann and Russell Holemsby, page 25. Return to Main Text
3. It is perhaps interesting to note that the Prahran Football Club was re-formed as a separate entity two years later. Return to Main Text
4. The winless sequence was actually 50 games if you include VFA fixtures. Return to Main Text
5. In 'Sport', quoted in Great Australian Football Stories by Garrie Hutchinson (ed.) Return to Main Text
6. 'Football Record', No. 20, 1929. Return to Main Text