Sepia Saturday 562 - Football

 

The Sepia Saturday this week shows a crowd at some sort of event - maybe a football game, a band competition (I know someone who is sure to jump on this one.)

I have decided to go with the football theme a and where it all started.It is the major football code in Australia, followed by Soccer, Rugby League and Rugby Union. AFL is in fact the oldest official football code in the world, having its origins in the 1850's.

Football in some form or other was played in Australia from the very early days, but it was very informal and not documented. It is said that some of the local indigenous tribes played a form of football well before the white settlers. It is on record that the first documented game was played in June 1858 between Melbourne Grammar and St Kilda Grammar. There were no written rules, no definite team numbers and the game followed the tradition of the football games played at the English Public Schools. In August of that year, Melbourne Grammar played against Scotch College in a game of 40 a-side which lasted 3 Saturdays.

About that time Tom Wills who was then a keen cricketer and had played a form of football at Rugby returned to Australia and mooted the idea of setting up a football game that would keep the cricketers fit during the winter. He and a small group of like minded sportsman met at Bryants Hotel in Melbourne and hammered out t set of 10 rules that became the basis for Australian Rules Football. 

The Melbourne and Geelong Football Clubs were formed in 1858 and 1859 and are among the oldest sporting clubs in the world. The game took off and was played in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and New South Wales. This etching shows a game played in 1866.

Below is an inter-colonial game from 1879

A visiting team from England

Here we see a gasme in Yarra Park, Melbourne. Kicking, high marking and fierce tackling are among the chief elements of the game.

An early game under lights.

Melbourne Football Club in the 1920's

Of course like all games, football has evolved over the years and has developed into a fast, skilful and exciting game, played in all Australian states and overseas as well. In Australia at the highest level it attracts crowds each week of up to 50 000 and up to 100 000 for the Grand Final, but it is played at all levels, throughout the country by men, women and children each saturday in winter. It is arguably our national game, though I would probably get a fight from Soccer and Rugby fans.

Liz Needle  -  linking with Sepia Saturday