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The Business of Rugby League: Some Social and Economic Aspects in the Sydney Metropolitan Area 1908 - 1952

The Business of Rugby League: Some Social and Economic Aspects in the Sydney Metropolitan Area 1908 - 1952

THE BUSINESS OF : SOME SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA 1908 - 1952

KRISTINE CORCORAN

A thesis presented to the Faculty of Arts at the University of New South in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with Honours in History.

1997 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ...... page i Abbreviations ...... page ii Graphs, Tables, Diagrams ...... page iii Abstract ...... page iv INTRODUCTION ...... page 1 CHAPTER ONE - Creation and Growth ...... page 15 CHAPTER TWO - Consolidation ...... page 41 CHAPTER THREE - Expansion ...... page 73 CONCLUSIONS ...... page 99 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... page 106 APPENDIX 1 - Speech by H. R. Miller ...... page 115 APPENDIX 2 - Club Boundaries ...... page 120 Acknowledgments The completion of this thesis was by no means a lone effort. Firstly, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Richard Cashman. His efforts, advice and support were most appreciated and without these my task would have been much more difficult. I would also like to thank the staff of the Mitchell Library, the Social Sciences and Humanities Library of the University of and Gail Goodair and Judith Foster of the Information Resource Centre at Tourism New South Wales. I also owe thanks to the staff and management of the New South Wales Rugby League for making their records and time available. A very large thank you !o my friends and colleagues who provided support and encouragement throughout the research and writing of the thesis. In particular, I would like to thank the members of Society for History and, more precisely, the late Tom Brock, the South Sydney League's Club historian, John O'Hara, Phil Mosely and many others too numerous to mention who were there at the beginning and at the end. Closer to home I would like to thank my husband, Peter Corcoran OAM, for his unswerving support and unending supply of information and encouragement. Without him I may never have completed this thesis and I owe him a great debt of gratitude. A very big thank you to my parents Margaret and Bill Little who also provided much support and encouragement. Abbreviations

ANU Australian National University ARL Australian CRL of New South Wales NSW New South Wales NSWRFL New South Wales Rugby Football League NSWRA New South Wales Rowing Association PSAA Public Schoois Amateur Athletics Association QRL Rugby League RSSS Research School of Social Sciences RFL Rugby Football League VFA Victorian Football Association VFL Victorian Football Leugue £ pounds £/s/d pounds/shillings/pence

ii Graphs, Tables and Diagrams Graphs Graph 3.1 Total NSWRFL Receipts - Actual and Trend ...... page 75

Tables Table 1.1 NSWRFL Gate Receipts and Expenditure ...... page 23 Table 1.2 Sydney Premiership Competition Crowd Sizes ...... page 25 Table 1.3 Teams in the Sydney Premiership Competition ...... page 26 Table 1.4 Percentage of Gate Receipts Paid to Clubs ...... page 32 Table 2.1 Sydney premiership Crowd Sizes ...... page 44 Table 2.2 NSWRFL Gate Receipts and Payments to Clubs ...... page 49 Table 2.3 Major Items of Income and Expenditure ...... page 57 Table 2.4 Player Payments ...... page 64 Table 3.1 NSWRFL Total Income and Crowd Sizes ...... page 80 Table 3.2 Distribution of Sydney Premiership Competition Gate Receipts ...... page 81 Table 3.3 Major Items of Income and Expenditure ...... page 87 Table 3.4 Player Payments ...... page 92

Diagrams Diagrams 3.1 Metropolitan Expansion of Sydney ...... page 77

iii Abstract This thesis provides an analysis of the establishment and growth of rugby league in the Sydney metropolitan area from 1908 to 1952. In particular, it examines the extent to which rugby league in this period can be considered to be a business. It seeks to determine whether there has always been a business aspect to the of rugby league and how rugby league in Sydney developed to the stage where the Sydney Premiership Competition could be called a product. The period under consideration covers the establishment and growth of the code in Sydney from its inception to the advent of licensed Leagues clubs, at which time the funding basis of rugby league football clubs was altered. This, in turn affecting the power relationships between administrators, players and spectators. This thesis concludes that rugby league in the Sydney metropolitan area axisted as both a sport and a business. The Sydney Premiership Competition can be viewed both as a product and as a sporting competition. Some of the men in charge of the game of rugby league, particularly those operating at league level in the Head Office, were oriented towards the business aspects of the game, while others, particularly those operating at the club level were more concerned with the sporting components of the game. The focus of the Sydney Premiership Competition has, for some administrators, always been on the business end of the game. The New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) has relied on a share of receipts from the Sydney Premiership Competition along with profits from representative matches to earn its income, and maximising that income for the growth of the league has been its driving force. Alternatively, the clubs which constituted the league were driven by the desire to win, which they believed would attract crowds and ultimately ensure the survival of their clubs. To determine the nature and extent of the business element in rugby league, the NSWRFL, the clubs and the Sydney Premiership Competition are analysed in terms of cartel theory. In addition, the effect upon the game and the Sydney Premiership Competition of war and economic depression are

iv investigated. From the analysis it is argued that, at league level rugby league exhibited cartel-type behaviour while at club level administration was more driven by utility maximisation rather than profit maximising.

V INTRODUCTION 'Sport is too much a game to be a business and too much a business to be a game'. 1 This quotation aptly describes rugby league as we know it today. The reality behind this quotation was brought home only too vividly to observers of rugby league, when, in October 1994 unveiled his plans for a '', which was to provide a sporting 'product' for his worldwide pay television operations. Opponents of Murdoch's plans argued that while rugby league could become more business-like and an improved sporting product this should not be at the expense of rugby league as a sport with its associated traditions. 2 However, that response. may have overlooked the possibility that rugby league may have been a saleable 'product' for some time and that tradition may have outlived its usefulness unless it was adapted and adaptable enough to cope with the business elements of the sport. This thesis will examine the possibility that rugby league was a saleable product and had been for some time and that business practices had been applied to the sport, at least at league level in the past, which in turn predisposed the game to the overtures of Supe; League. These possibilities will be explored through analysis of rugby league in the Sydney Metropolitan area.

Previous writing on New South Wales and To date, the history of rugby league, both in New South Wales and , more generally, has been written primarily from two perspectives. Most past and current literature relating to rugby league has been written from the heroic perspective and provides limited social history and economic analysis. More common is the work written from a 'popular' history point of view in the form of chronologies or directories of events (including club histories), or from a players' viewpoint in the form of biographies and autobiographies.3 Works by journalists including Terry Williams,4 Ian Heads, 5 and Gary Lester6 fall into this category. The second perspective applied to rugby league is statistical, namely who won what, when and where. 7 Success in rugby league,· for some, is measured in the simple terms of win, lose or draw (rather than by the bottom line

1 of profit). There has been limited, and mostly academic, interest in relating rugby league to its social and economic context, and even less consideration of the business aspects of rugby league in New South Wales in particular. Academic writing on rugby league in Australia and New South Wales has

included articles and books by authors such as Chris Cunneen,8 Andrew Moore,9

Maree Murray, 10 Max and Reet Howell, 11 Murray Phillips, 12 Brett Hutchins13 and such works as a detailed study of the St. George club by Parsons. 14 Few of these have touched upon the business aspects of rugby league. Andrew Moore's recently published work on the North Sydney District

Rugby League Football Club15 was a marked departure from earlier rugby league writing, in that it deliberately set out to be a social history of the club and the area which it served. For the first time questions were asked, and answered, about how the game affected the North Sydney community and how the society of the area affected the club. The book also included some particular economic analysis in the area of the role of the leagues club and its relationship to the football club, an aspect which is outside the scope of this thesis. However, the business of rugby league was not the central focus of Moore's book.

Braham Dabscheck 16 has focused his analysis of sport on industrial relations and has included rugby league in his list of sports studied. He has explored the impact of issues such as salary caps and draft systems which have been designed to distribute players more evenly across a competition. Some theses have focused on rugby league or at least included it in a wider discussion of or Australia: these include Ferguson's 17 work on

sport and Sydney society in the early twentieth century and Mackay's 18 thesis on South Sydney rugby league. Other theses have been written by Linda Blackwell19 on the Newtown Club and a chronology of the game by R.J. Ryan 20 has also appeared in recent decades. In each of these works the writer's analyses have been directed towards rugby league's place in the social history of its community. This thesis will differ from those already cited in that it provides a primary focus on the business of rugby league and analyses the extent to which the code

2 possessed a business dimension from its inception.

Sport as business A sizeable literature about sport as a business exists. The bulk of that literature covers sports in and America but there have been publications by Australian authors on sports such as Australian rules football and . The overseas literature on the business of sport relates, in the main, to demand or production functions for a particular sport, 21 the 'peculiar economics

of sport'22 or to the development of 'leagues' in America and Britain. 23 These works investigate such economic aspects of sport as labour relations and the operation of cartels. Analysis of the business of sports in America and Britain is confined to the development and growth of 'professional' sports such as soccer in Britain and football, baseball and in America. 24 Some articles have . been .historical. iii -:.nature but most focus on contempoi2ry issues. . Wray Vamplew's work, Pay Up and Play the Game, 25 published in 1988, is one of the few works to address the issue of professional sport from both a business and an historical perspei:;tive. Vamplew's study, which is confined to Britain, covered a number of professional sports for the period 1875 to 1914. An article by Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 26 which explained the economics of contemporary professional team sports, was published in 1986. It looked at uncertainty of outcomes and the objectives of professional sports clubs, the product market, the labour market, the league as a cartel and public policy in relation to a variety of sports across a number of western societies. According to Cairns 'analytically, the rule-making activities of leagues can be seen as a form of cartel behaviour; for the objective of the cartel is to determine a structure of rules constraining the behaviour of the group's individual members to act in the interests of the group as a whole'. 27 Vamplew, too, examined

cartels and sport. In Pay Up and Play the Game28 he outlined four interrelated aspects of cartel behaviour which can be applied to sport to determine the type of business activities in a particular sport. These four aspects are decision­ making, cost minimisation, profit maximisation and maintaining viability.

3 Cartel theory is a useful way of analysing the Sydney Premiership Competition and rugby league at league level although monopolies were more commonplace than cartels in Australia. Nevertheless it must be asked whether Vamplew's contention for British professional sports holds true for Australia. According to him 'Sport has become big business ... this has been no sudden economic miracle, sport became an industry perhaps a century ago. Sports

professionalism goes back even further ... '. 29 Other works about professional sports have been written more from a social than an economic perspective. Furst3° wrote in the 1970s about social change and the commercialisation of professional sports, covering those sports played in America for the period from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s. A

similar article was produced by Nixon31 . in 1974 investigating the amateur/professional dichotomy more thoroughly than Furst, but again the ::westigation, although historical in naturn, was confined to American sport. Debate continues in economic circles about whether the economics of

sport is indeed 'peculiar'. Some economists, such as Vamplew,32 consider that · - those involved in sports operate dlfferently from other sectors of the economy,··,

while others such as Cairns and his colleagues33 contend that many aspects of club and league behaviour are present elsewhere in the economy. Historical writing in relation to sport as a business in Australia has been confined to Australian rules football and cricket and has focussed on the aspects of crowd size, demand and labour relations. Works on the economics of sport have been undertaken by Jeff Borland34 who investigated the demand for

Australian rules football and Bob Stewart35 who researched crowd sizes for this

code. Bruce Chapman36 and Richard Cashman37 analysed the determinants of English-Australian cricket crowds and estimated the increased attendance attracted by a superstar factor such as Bradman, while Cashman also investigated attendance at Australian cricket matches.38 Several Australian authors at the Sporting Traditions V Conference in 1985, entitled 'The Changing $ignificance of Sport', touched upon the financial aspect of sports. However,

rugby league was not included as a case study. Debra Bryant,39 a student of

4 sports history, looked at the business of sport, but confined her analysis to the use of cartel theory for sport in Britain and did not investigate rugby league per se. The articles from the Sporting Traditions Conference and those about overseas sports are useful as they provide a variety of perspectives about the economic and financial aspects of sports, these can be used as a basis for the study of rugby league in New South Wales.

Debates from overseas and Australian investigations The debates arising, particularly from the overseas literature, ·relate to whether-the economics of sport, in particular professional sport, is 'peculiar' .. The industry is considered to be so by some because, to produce a product, the participants need each other, so clubs not only compete but they must co­ operate.40 But, just how peculiar is this situation? The literature explores the history of the development and -growth of sporting 'leagues' and-debates as to what extent (or degree) the economics (or business) of sport differs from other industries within the economy. 41 There is also some discussion of differences between sports on-this issue. The variables which effect crowd size are hotly debated, but agreement has generally been reached that the closer the contest the more likely it is to attract a larger crowd. 42 The Australian literature on the business or economics of sport is still in its infancy. A paucity of data, particularly at club level, has restricted researchers of Australian sport while in America and Britain data has been in abundant supply. The development of 'leagues' in professional sport overseas has been investigated from an historical perspective as well as from a business point of view. Labour market historical debate exists for a number of sports in America and Britain, but is limited to Australian rules football and . This thesis will initiate the debate about the business aspects of rugby league in New South Wales.

5 The professional and class issues in Australian Sport The issue of professionalism was not new to Australian sport in 1907 when rugby league split from . Cashman has noted that 'Although the amateur versus professional debate varied from one sport to another in Australia it was always the issue of class in sport which lay behind it. It led to

separate class organisations in some sports and to class conflict in others.'43 According to Stoddart, 'The issue of "pay for play" was with Australia almost from

the First Fleet',44 and Peter Carris makes plain in Lords of the Ring: a History of Prize-Fighting in Australia, 45 that professional bouts were held by a least 181 O and almost certainly earlier. The elements of class and professionalism were fundamental to the establishment of -- twelve years before the code was established in New South Wales -- which took place in the northern industrial districts of the country.46 The industrial labourers of the north could ill afford to be off work due to sporting participation or injury. If a working-class player was unable to work, his wages were reduced. When rugby union administrators refused a request from representatives to introduce 'broken time payment' for players, 22 northern rugby union clubs ceded from the union. These clubs then formed the Northern Rugby Union which became the British Rugby League in 1922.47 In the USA similar elements of class and professionalism provided the context for the development of pro-football: Pro football's starting date was 1895 ... It was a blue-collar sport from the beginning, and teams formed where there was enough of an industrial base to lend support ... Teams appeared one week and disappeared the next. Players came and went, drawn by the pleasure of playing. If others came to watch, that was fine. If they bought tickets or tossed coins into a helmet passed by the most popular player, that was helpful. 48 These parallel developments at least imply a movement towards simUar types of economic development in the late nineteenth century western societies which facilitated the establishment of professional sport. In Britain and the USA the industrial revolution had been accompanied by the establishment of a

6 working class and an industrial base sufficient to support mass spectator sports. Although Australia's industrial development lagged behind that of Britain and the USA, Sandercock and Turner state that the mass spectator , Australian rules football, was being played for payment in as early as the 1890s. With the birth of the Victorian Football League Australian rules football was 'no longer a game for the pleasure of a handful of gentleman amateurs but had become an entertainment for many thousands of predominantly working­ class supporters, provided by men who were rewarded in one form or another for their services'.49 Rugby league, too, was considered a working-class sport, and because it was established on the basis of 'broken time payment', rugby league was also considered by many to have been professional from its inception.50 But J.J. Giltinan, the founding father of rugby league in Australia, did not accept this view. According to Giltinan, rugby league was: not professional .. . Not one player is to receive a penny for the matches against the New Zealand team as far as I am concerned. And I ought to know, as I alone am responsible for the handling of the money at present. If-a man wants to be paid when the league is thoroughly launched, he must play as a professional, as in cricket under the rules of the New South Wales Cricket Association. 51

In 1907 Giltinan stated that he would 'have nothing to do with the sport if it was not to be constituted and operated as was the NSW Cricket Association'. 52 He also contended that 'men who are at present under disqualification by either the NSW or the Metropolitan Unions will not be allowed to play under the league'.53 Rugby league had been established with the expressed desire to raise funds to give players a 'fair deal' using broken time payments not to provide careers for players. 54 It can be seen that J.J. Giltinan's definition of professional was quite specific and his intention was to establish rugby league in a similar way to the NSW Cricket Association (possibly reflecting his association with Victor Trumper) where a few players (but certainly not the game itself) were professional and others earned dividends from tour profits. Conversely,

7 opponents of the code at the time of its inception and in its early years of growth viewed broken time payment as professionalism, although it was unlikely that any player could earn enough income from broken time payments to support himself and a family. As in other western societies, such as the USA and Britain, was divided along class lines and the issue of professionalism was hotly debated and had a great impact upon rugby league in its early years of establishment and growth.

Thesis structure This thesis will investigate three periods in the history of rugby league in Sydney between 1908 and 1952. The first chapter outlines the 'Creation and Growth' of rugby league in the Sydney metropolitan area, covering the period from 1908 to 1921 and focusing on the Sydney Premiership Competition in the context,of the game as a whole. It will look at the foundation clubs in Sydney, and the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) and analyse their activities during this early period to see whether they can be described as a business:'·--:-;1i; ·second chapter will focus on the period of 'Consolidation', from 1922 to 1945. During this period rugby league suffered the same fate as many other sectors of the economy such as a slowing of revenue generation and a fight for survival during times of economic depression and world war. The Sydney Premiership Competition in particular, as well as the game as a whole, will be investigated. In Chapter Three the 'Expansion' of rugby league in the Sydney metropolitan area will be analysed, from 1945 to 1952. This analysis will again focus on the Sydney Premiership Competition. The thesis ends in 1952 because from this time forward the revenue basis of the NSWRFL and its constituent clubs began to alter from reliance upon paying spectators to receiving grants from licensed Leagues clubs. The revenue change foreshadowed many other revenue generating changes which provided a challenge for rugby league in the decades following the 1950s.

8 Sources The primary sources used for this thesis include annual reports from individual clubs and the NSWRFL as well as minutes of meetings of the NSWRFL. The availability of primary source material at club level is varied. Some clubs have runs of annual reports while others have limited numbers available. The minutes of meetings at club level are lacking for most clubs -- a reflection of the type of administration available at club level particularly for the early years, as well as an indication of the regard for history held by some club administrators. Their failure to collect economic statistics and to properly document their work is a revealing and pertinent feature of the organisation of . rugby league and the primitive way in which it operated at many levels. While the NSWRFL records are much fuller, they have not been well preserved and gaps in records are common. The statistical work, carried out by David Midd!eton,55 particularly in relation. to crm•,d sizes and covering lengthy. time periods, proved to be of immense assistance. One of the tasks of this thesis will · be to tease out the meaning of these statistics. The lack of standardised statistical records for New South Wales c::.nd Sydney (rather than for Australia us-­ a whole which are available) proved to be a hindrance. Financial data for rugby league at both club and league level consists of very basic balance sheet data and the data is inconsistent between clubs and across the time period under consideration, thus making comparisons difficult. Although the sources sometimes provided data, they often failed to provide any insight into, or the background pertaining to, actions taken and decisions made. The challenge has been to attempt to infer from this imprecise data the nature of the prevailing financial situation which prompted the context for actions and decisions taken. Analysis of the annual reports and financial records at both club level and at league level has not been previously undertaken as part of an academic endeavour nor has it been previously married to an analysis of the crowd size data available for the time period. This thesis derives its conclusions from such analysis. Secondary sources consist of the existing literature on the business of

9 sport and material on rugby league. Newspaper reports, both historical and contemporary, theses and articles and books by a variety of authors are also used. These sources cover such diverse topics as local history, the history of rugby league clubs, social and economic background information and details of persons involved in rugby league, and include some general sporting articles which mention rugby league or the business aspects of other team sports in Australia and overseas.

Issues This thesis will analyse the extent to which rugby. league was a-business or a sport or some amalgam of both, and will explore how or whether it differed ·· from other sports. Cartel theory-will be used to provide the framework-for .the .. analysis of the business aspects of the game at both the 'league' and 'club' level. Some subsidiary questions--to- be dealt with in this thesis include-thc-Jollowing: . Does the issue of sport and business vary depending upon the perspective of the league versus the club level? Does the issue of sport and business in rugby - league vary over timebatween 1908 and 1952? Was the issue of rugby league as a business or sport affected by war and/or depression? Were the business-

1ike or cartel-like activities of the NSWRFL (if demonstrated) self-conscious and articulated or did they simply happen?

10 Notes 1. D. Stanley Eitzen, Sport in Contemporary Society: An Anthology, New York, St. Martin's Press, p.162

2. This view point was reported in the non-Murdoch owned press and media from October 1994 until October 1996 by several different journalists and reporters in support of the Australian Rugby League's stance.

3. Several works produced by Sun Books fall into the category along with the works of Jack Pollard. Wayne Pearce's book Local Hero, Sydney, lronbark Press, 1990 and Adrian McGregor's King Wally, St. Lucia, University of Queensland Press, 1987, are also examples of these types of works.

4. Terry Williams, Out of the Blue, Newtown, Newtown District Rugby League Football Club, 1993. - -

5. Ian Heads, The History of Souths 1908-1985, South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, Sydney, 1985: True Blue; The Story of the New South , Sydney, lronbark Press, 1992.

6. Gary Lester, The Story of Australian Rugby League, Sydney, Lester­ Townsend Publishing, Sydney, 1988.

7. David Middleton, Rugby League 1988: Official Yearbook of the ARL, Sydney, Sports, 1988. _ Plus subsequent volumes in this_ series which are . __ produced annually for the Australian Rugby League.

8. Chris Cunneen, 'The Rugby War: The Early History of Rugby League in New South Wales 1907-1915', in R. Cashman and M. McKernan (eds) Sport in History: The Making of Modern Sporting History, St. Lucia, University of Queensland Press, 1979.

9. Andrew Moore, 'The Curse of the Kalahari: The North and the Ghosts of 1921-1922', Sporting Traditions, Vol.5, No.2, May 1989, pp.148-172: Andrew Moore, : A Social History of North Sydney Rugby League, Sydney, Macmillan, 1996.

10. Maree Murray, 'Boys Will Be Boys: The Construction of Men of League', Sporting Traditions, Vol.10, No.1, November, 1993, pp.24-26.

11. Max Howell and Reet Howell, 'Amateurism and the Rugby Revolt', Proceedings of the Sports Science Section 34 of 52nd ANZMS Congress, Sydney, Macquarie University, May 1984, pp.248-273.

12. Murray Phillips, 'Football, Class and War: The Rugby Code in New South Wales, 1907-1918' in John Nauright, and Tim Chandler (eds) Making Men: Rugby and Masculine Identity in the British Isles and Settler Empire, , Cass, 1996, pp.158-180: M.G. Phillips, 'Rugby League and Club Loyalty', in

11 David Headon and Lex Marinos (eds), The League of A Nation, Sydney, ABC Books, 1996, pp.106-111: J. Nauright and M.G. Phillips, 'A Fair Go for the Fans? Super Leagues, Sports Ownership and Supporters in Australia', Social Alternatives, Vol.15, No.4, 1996, pp.43-45: B. Hutchins and M.G. Phillips, 'Selling Permissible Violence: Australian Rugby League and Commodification 1970-1995', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Vol.32, No.2, 1997, pp.161-176.

13. Brett Hutchins, 'Mediated Violence: The Case of Origin Rugby League', Sporting Traditions, Vol.13, No.1, November 1996, pp.19-40.

14. T. G. Parsons, 'Labour, Rugby League and the Working Class - The St. George District Rugby League Football Club in the 1920s', Teaching History, Vol.12, Part 2, August 1978, pp.22-35.

15. Andrew Moore, The Mighty Bears, 1996.

16. Braham Dabscheck, 'Sporting Equity: Labour Market vs Product Market Control, The Journal of Industrial Relations, June 1975, pp.174-190: 'The Wage Determination Process for Sportsmen', Economic Record, March 1975, pp.52-65.

17. David James Ferguson, 'Play for a Purpose: Sport and Sydney Society 1900-1914', BA (Hons) Thesis, University of New South Wales, 1979.

18. Ross Mackay, 'Hard Times, High Stakes: The Political Culture of Sout_h Sydney Rugby League 1928-1935', MA Thesis, Macquarie University, 1982.

19. Linda Blackwell, 'Class, Community and Rugby League', BA (Hons) Thesis, Macquarie University, 1984.

20. Ronald James Ryan, 'The History of Rugby League ', MA Thesis, Department of Physical Education, California State University, Long Beach, 1973.

21. J. A. Schofield, 'Production Functions in the Sports Industry: An Empirical Analysis of Professional Cricket', Applied Economics, Vol.20, 1988, pp.177-193.

22. Walter C Neale, 'The Peculiar Economics of Professional Sports', The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.LXXVIII, No.1, February, 1964, pp.1-14.

23. J. Quirk and M. EI-Hodiri, 'The Economic Theory of a Professional League', in R.G. Noll (ed.), Government and the Sports Business, Washington DC, Brookings Institute, 1974: El Hodiri and J. Quirk, 'An Economic Model of a Professional Sports League', Journal of Political Economy, Vol.70, 1971, pp.1302-1319.

24. Jerry Gorman and Kirk Calhoun, The Name of the Game: The Business of Sports, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1994.

12 25. Wray Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game: Professional Sport in Britain 1875-1914, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988.

26. J. Cairns, N. Jennett and P.J. Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports: A Survey of Theory and Evidence', Journal of Economic Studies, Vol.13, No.1, 1986, pp.3-74.

27. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', pp.3-74.

28. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, pp.112-113.

29. Wray Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, pp.112-113.

30. R. Terry Furst, 'Social Change and Commercialisation of Professional Sports', International Review of Sport Sociology, Vol.6, 1972, pp.153-170.

31. Richard L Nixon, 'The Commercial and Organisational Development of Modern Sport', International Review of Sport Sociology, Vol.9, 1975, pp.107-135.

32. Wray Vamplew, 'The Economics of the Sports Industry', Economic History Review, Vol.35, No.4, 1982, pp.549-567.

33. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', pp.3-74.

34. Jeff Borland, 'The Demand for Australian Rules Football', The Economic Record, September 1987, Vol.63, No.182, pp.220-230.

35. Bob Stewart, 'Sports Spectatorship: What Makes People Watch?', Paper presented to biennial Conference of the Australia [sic] Society for Sports History, 1987.

36. Bruce Chapman, 'An Analysis of the Determinants of English-Australian Crowds: Estimating the Value of ', ANU, Economic History Seminar Series, RSSS, 6 March, 1987.

37. Richard Cashman, 'Ave a Go, Yer Mug!: Australian Cricket Crowds from Larrikin to Ocker, Sydney, William Collins, 1984, p.92

38. Richard Cashman, Australian Cricket Crowds: The Attendance Cycle, History Project Incorporated, 1984.

39. Debra Bryant, 'To What Extent Did Sport in Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Britain Become More a Business and Less of a Sport?', Australian Society for Sports History Bulletin, April/May 1986, pp.2-14.

40. Neale, 'The Peculiar Economics of Professional Sport', pp.1-14.

13 41. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', pp.3-74.

42. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', pp.3-74.

43. Richard Cashman, Paradise of Sport: The Rise of Organised Sport in Australia, , Oxford University Press, 1995, p.71.

44. Brian Stoddart, Saturday Afternoon Fever: Sport in the Australian Culture, Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1986, pp.117-118.

45. Peter Carris, Lords of the Ring: A History of Prize-Fighting in Australia, Melbourne, Cassell, 1980.

46. Robert Gate, Rugby League: An Illustrated History, London, Arthur Barker, 1989.

47. Gate, Rugby League, 1989.

48. Gorman and Calhoun, The Name of the Game, pp.21-22.

49 .. Leonie Sandercock and Ian Turner, Up 1/,lhere Cazaly?: The Great Australian Game, London, Grenada, 1981.

50. The Referee, 21 August, 1907.

51. The Referee, 21 August, 1907.

52. The Referee, 21 August, 1907.

53. The Referee, 21 August, 1907.

54. Rugby League News, 1935.

55. David Middleton, incomplete, unpublished collection of crowd statistics for the Sydney Premiership Competition from 1914, supplied by the compiler.

14 CHAPTER ONE CREATION AND GROWTH OF THE BUSINESS OF RUGBY LEAGUE {1908 - 1921)

This chapter will examine the creation of the code of rugby league in New South Wales and the establishment of the Sydney Premiership Competition. An issue to be considered is whether the code differed in philosophy from other sports of the same period. The business principles, if any, which governed the code's foundation and growth during the period from 1908 to 1921 will be explored at both club and league level. Data from available crowd size statistics and annual reports (both club and NSWRFL) will provide the basis for analysis while secondary sources will be used for the contextual background.

The Creation of the Code and the Sydney Premiership Competition The code of rugby league was launched in New South Wales in 1907 when James Joseph Giltinan formed an alliance with George Smith from New Zealand, to promote a rugby match between a representative team from New Zealand and one from New South Wales. 1 This was several months prior to the establishment of the NSWRFL and the beginning of the Sydney Premiership Competition which officially established the code of rugby league in Australia. Giltinan was assisted by a group of men, now known as the pioneers, who banded together in 1907 using both the visit of the New Zealand team and the Alec Burdon compensation case as the catalyst to establish both the code in

New South Wales and the Sydney Premiership Competition in 1908.2 Along with Giltinan, Alec Burdon and his brother Dick, Victor Trumper, Harry Hoyle, Jack

Feneley, G. Brackenreg and the Moir brothers3 drafted the constitution of the newly formed body of the NSWRFL and played major roles in 1908 in the establishment of both the foundation clubs and the Sydney Premiership

Competition. 4 To establish the foundation clubs and the Sydney Premiership Competition it was necessary for the pioneers to attract both players and

15 spectators. This they accomplished by a number of means, not the least of which was to convert existing rugby union players to players of the new code. The simplest way for these early entrepreneurs to accomplish their goal was to base the new clubs in the more heavily populated suburban areas of Sydney (and the industrial centre of Newcastle), which provided the potential for financing the new code and its competition through paid attendance.5 Using both the cricket and the rugby union examples of successful district-based competitions, the entrepreneurial pioneers arranged and attended meetings around Sydney during the early months of 1908 and established nine clubs in total (including one team based in Newcastle): they were Newtown, Glebe, South Sydney, Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, North Sydney, Western Suburbs,

Cumberland and Newcastle.6 It is notable that most of the districts targeted for the establishment of rugby league clubs possessed dense populations including a large working-class element. This is consistent with the development of other mass spectator (sometimes referred to as professional) team sports in Melbourne and other western societies in the decades prior to the beginning of the twentieth century.

As Gorman and Calhoun7 pointed out, professional football in the USA started in 1895 as a blue-collar sport. In the same year in Britain the Northern Rugby Union (which in 1922 changed its name to the British Rugby League) formed in the industrial north of England,8 while in the 1890s Australian rules football was being played as a professional for the entertainment of what

Sandercock and Turner called predominantly working-class supporters.9 In this respect rugby league differs little from other sports, except that its formation occurred later than some other popular team sports in western societies. The question of professionalism was an issue in rugby league as it was in other sports of the time.

Comparison of rugby league with other sports In Australia generally, and New South Wales in particular, sports (both team and individual) such as cricket, rowing, and Australian rules football

16 experienced debate about professionalism. Until 1905, two types of cricketers existed -- those playing in local competitions and test cricketers who received some payment (although most of them defined themselves as amateurs). In 1905, a national administration body was formed in cricket -- The Australian Board of Control for International Cricket (Board of Control) which replaced its ineffective predecessor, the Australasian Cricket Council. This body had failed because of rivalry between the colonial cricketing associations and because of conflict between officials and players who had benefited financially from international competition. As overseas tours became more and more frequent and more profitable they began to impact upon the domestic competition which was under ti1e control of each colonial cricket administration. From 1905 to 1912, the Board of Control attempted to establish its authority over the hitherto privately-run international tours. The success of the tours was demonstrated by . the 1878 tour in which the players 'banded together in a joint stock company ... [and] for an investment of £50 [received] a return of over £700'. 10 Cricket's Board of Control, however, continued to question who should control touring teams and who should run and finance cricket. In 1912, the Board of Control refused to allow players to elect their own manager to control the tour -- seeking to appoint a person selected by the Board. Reaction was swift and six Australian cricketers withheld their labour. In a letter to the Board these players claimed their traditional right to appoint a manager. After not receiving a reply from the Board, the six cricketers remained in Australia boycotting the 1912 English tour. From 1912, power was effectively transferred from the players to the Board of Control. Test cricketers continued to receive some payment while on tour but they no longer shared in the profits of the tour. 11 The amateur versus professional situation in cricket differed markedly from that of rugby league. Even though Test Cricketers received reimbursement for expenses and time lost from work while on tour they were not considered professional. Conversely, because rugby league players received 'broken time payments' they were derided in the press of the time (i.e. from 1908 until 1952)

for being professional. 12

17 Rowing, too, experienced the professional versus amateur debate. In this case the outcome was different from both cricket and rugby league, although the rationale used for rowing certainly parallels that used for rugby league. According to Max Solling, 13 the first rowing contests in the colony were professional in nature and professionals were dominant until the 1860s. 'All classes participated, and the feature of the 1846 Anniversary Regatta in Sydney was the presence of men of all classes and what is more pleasing still, women of all classes'. 14 After that time the development of amateur rowing became more systematised and began to challenge professional dominance. Manual labourers were excluded from membership of the New South Wales Rowing Association (NSWRA) from its formation until 1903 and for··a variety of reasons, for example, 'the Victorian rationale of recreation [which] maintained that the most appropriate recreations were those which provided the greatest contrast with a man's work'. 15 It was also contended that their occupations gave them an unfair advantage over amateur rowers. Yet another reason was that before the formation of the Association the members of manual labour clubs had rowed in competition for cash prizes which contravened their amateur status. 16 However, the core reason for excluding manual labourers from membership of the NSWRA was related to class and at this level parallels the rugby league case. More than a decade before the formation of rugby league in Sydney, Australian rules football in Victoria experienced an amateur versus professional crisis which-resulted in a solution that differed from those of cricket, rowing and rugby league. Australian rules had become a successful mass by the 1890s. Melbourne's population, transport system and socio-economic structure had created the right environment for success. However, Australian rules had been organised upon district lines and, by 1896, this structure had proved so successful that it produced structural strains within the game. Each team in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) competition represented an area of Melbourne and the clubs associated with the teams had begun to experience growth and a change in the composition of their membership.

18 Sandercock and Turner stated that: At first football clubs consisted of the young gentlemen who played the game. Now the clubs were made up overwhelmingly of supporters whose annual membership fees entitled them to a season ticket and to participate in the election of the club committee. If a club was to hold its membership, it had to give them what they wanted -- exciting football, and victory. 17 To accommodate the wishes of their members, clubs began to attract the better players with the offer of larger sums of money as payment for play. Successful clubs which became wealthier, attracting larger numbers of supporters and increasing revenue, resented sharing gate money with less popular clubs. This led to a split between the more successful clubs and the others, resulting in the formation of two administrative bodies for Australian rules football -- one amateur (the Victorian Football Association) and the other professional (the Victorian Football League). Unlike Australian rules football, rugby league limited its payments to players to 'broken time payments' and reimbursement of expenses. Giltinan had often espoused a view which was also later adopted by H.R. Miller, namely, that the game of rugby league had been established to provide a 'fair deal' for players.18 In contrast to rowing, rugby league did not discriminate against players based on their occupations. In fact, a working-class or labouring-class background could be seen as an advantage when participating in the football code recognised as the working-class sport. However, the so-called professional nature of rugby league was used by other sporting administrators such as those in rugby union, to denigrate the code, particularly in the early years of the code's establishment and growth and the criticism became even more vocal at times of social or economic stress such as during World War I. The question can be posed: Was rugby league different from other sports in regard to issues of commercialisation and professionalism? Although rugby league's differences from other major sports on the matter of professionalism was really one of degree, rugby league virtually from the beginning had a professional image, at least in public perception. Whether this professionalism also meant a commercialisation of the sport is a matter for

19 further analysis.

The Business and Sport of rugby league: The league level The New South Wales pioneers of rugby league failed to maintain contml of the organisation for any length of time. By 1909 Gust two years after the code's establishment and in only the second year of the Sydney Premiership Competition) changes were being wrought on the administration of the code. The clubs which constituted the Sydney Premiership Competition had changed with leaving the competition. 19 A financially disastrous tour of Great Britain by the first Kangaroos in 1909 left J.J. Giltinan in a very vulnerable position.20 While he was returning from Great Britain, Giltinan, Victor Trumper and Harry Hoyle, were voted out of office by the code's management committee, comprised of representatives from each of the remaining foundation clubs. The vote had been precipitated by allegations of financial mismanagement. 21 In what would prove to be a very turbulent period for the new code, E.C.V. Broughton was elected president only to be replaced three weeks later by E.W. O'Sullivan M.L.A, who in turn resigned after some four months in protest against the Kangaroos versus Wallabies matches which were being organised by other members of the NSWRFL management committee. 22 At this point H.R. Miller23 was elected secretary while T. Phelan became treasurer in place of Victor Trumper.24 O'Sullivan's resignation over the privately funded Kangaroos versus Wallabies matches left the way open for James Joynton Smith, the entrepreneur funding the matches, to be elected president of the NSWRFL, a position he would hold for many years. 25 This represented a turning point for the code of rugby league as Smith provided stable and entrepreneurial management for the NSWRFL. His business interests were diverse, and he also entered politics, at one stage serving as Lord Mayor of Sydney and later receiving a knighthood. 26 At the same time as Smith began his presidency of the NSWRFL, the first full­ time secretary, Edward Rennix Larkin, was appointed.27 By 1909 control of the NSWRFL moved from the hands of men like

20 Giltinan (a newly-created entrepreneur), Victor Trumper (a cricketer and small business man), Harry Hoyle (a politician) and the Moir and Burdon bothers (all former rugby union players who became rugby league players) to the stewardship of an established businessman, Smith, and a full-time manager, E.R. Larkin, making the sport more business-like. Throughout this troubled period of the fledgling code the officials of rugby union were attempting to destroy it. Rugby union administrators attempted to thwart the poaching of players and clubs by imposing life bans on players who participated in the new code in any way (including playing in the Kangaroos versus Wallabies matches).28 Rugby union administrators continued to ridicule rugby league publicly at every opportunity and prevented the use of the (the city's premier sporting venue of that period) for rugby league matches until 1911.29 Rugby league possessed a full-time administrator and a growing number of honorary committee members who assumed honorary management positions within the NSWRFL structure30 and the structure of the league remained relatively unchanged from 1908 to 1913. Management was undertaken by the president, honorary secretary, honorary treasurer and the general committee which was comprised of representatives from each of the constituent clubs (usually two representatives from each club). By 1913 the administrative structure had begun to change. Two committees now handled the management of the code, i.e. the general committee and the management committee. In 1914 even more committees were added, namely the appeals committee, judiciary committee and the selection committee. By 1919 the full complement of committees for this period came into existence with the addition of the schools committee, grounds committee and referee's appointment board. 31 These additional committees helped centralise decision-making for the code. This changing administrative structure was also indicative of the changing nature of the code with fewer current players acted as club representatives to the NSWRFL. They were replaced by older men who were usually past players and often elected club administrators though they did not necessarily have any

21 administrative ability, experience or training. These men, however, served the code for a long period and most served rugby league while still in paid employment elsewhere. To provide the players with a 'fair deal' and to fund the established administrative structure, it was necessary for the Sydney Premiership Competition to be maintained as a product for sale to supporters in order to generate profit. An analysis of the surviving income and expenditure statements for the NSW Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) shows that the items upon which income was expended during these early years of establishment and growth included: ground rent; advertising; sick pay; gatemen's wages; players loss of time and expenses; medals and trophies; secretary's salary; junior representative team outfits; medical expenses; general expenses; depreciation; entertainment; travelling expenses; printing and stationery; rent; honorariums; legal expense~~- cables, telephones, telegrams and stamps; junior league; auditor's fees; trainers' fees; and selectors' expenses. 32 It is noteworthy that at this stage the NSWRFL did not pay taxation of any kind. This could have been the case because governments at this time presumably did not see sports as part of the business sector but as serving a community purpose. This range of expenses changed little in the early years except during years of international tours. On the income side of the accounts a lesser number of items appeared and they included: net gate receipts; ground charges; members subscriptions

(less the cost of medallions); and, program and booth rights. 33 This list of income items also changed little during the early period of establishment and growth except during years of international tours. It is now necessary to consider more closely those items of expenditure and income related to the Sydney Premiership Competition to understand the basic business aspects of the sport. The clubs contested the Sydney Premiership Competition at first grade level only during this period and all gate receipts were paid to the NSWRFL before being re-distributed to the clubs. Table 1.1 provides data about receipts and payments to clubs in relation to the Sydney Premiership Competition for the period 191 O to 1916. The earliest

22 surviving documentation from the NSWRFL is the 1910 Annual Report, hence Table 1.1 begins with that year. 34 Data is not available for the years after 1916 because from that time the NSWRFL altered its reporting, no longer including information in a gate receipts account. No explanation was given for this change to reporting. However, it is possible that the procedure for collection and distribution of gate receipts altered at this time. Table 1.1: NSWRFL Gate Receipts and Expenditure

Season Total Gate Total Payments Percentage (%) Receipts to Clubs from of Gate Receipts (£ rounded) Matches(£ paid to clubs rounded)

1910 3,434 1,283 37.4 1911 7,312 3,104@ 42.4 1912 8,135 4,172 51.3 1913 11,288 5,843 51.8 1914 10,798 5,443 50.4 1915 10,898# 4,515 - 41.4 1916* 8,347 3,762 45.1 Source: NSW Rugby Football League Annual Reports 1910 to 1916. Only whole pound figures have been used. • In 1916 The NSWRFL altered its reporting procedures and no longer showed in its in annual report the total amount of gate receipts and their dispersion. #This figure includes gate receipts from patriotic matches combined with club matches. @ There is an addition error in this figure, the true figure is £3049.

Table 1.1 shows that income for the new code grew steadily until 1913 (as evidenced by the steady increase in gate receipts until that time). Until 1913 the share of gate receipts paid to the clubs also continued to increase in total (although club shares of the income changed each year). However, at the commencement of World War I, total gate receipts began to decline and in 1915 the clubs received less than a 50 per cent share of gate receipts. This indicates that, as the gate receipts began to decline due to the effects of war, the NSWRFL required a greater percentage of gate takings in order to cover its costs. These funds were provided by the clubs from their gate receipts. The gate receipt figures demonstrate that, like some other businesses which could

23 not be adapted to war industries, rugby league suffered a downturn. A decline in gate receipts probably occurred for a variety of reasons, including attacks in the press deriding the code's decision to continue to play during the war. 35 In addition, in this predominantly male oriented sport, the effect of young adult males being called to active war service and taking part in essential war industries which left limited free time to participate in or watch sport. This would have lead to a decrease in the size of the potential spectator pool leading to a decrease in crowd sizes and gate takings. The debate about professionalism in rugby league was part of a wider debate but as McKernan has noted: An analysis of the debate acout the role of sport in Australian [sic] indicates that there was a division between the 'professional' view of sport and the 'amateur' view. The pressure of the First World War, which heightened and clarified many of the emerging conflicts in Australian society, brought these divisions about the meaning and purpose of sport into sharp focus ... The amateur view was expressed most frequently and most forcefully by those who may be termed the middle-class opinion makers, for example, headmasters of the Great Public Schools, leading clergymen, and editorialists in the prestigious newspapers ... Most of the adherents of the professional view of sport were to be found among the Australian working class ... those who subscribed to the amateur view demanded the abandonment of sport in wartime because it distracted the nation from its commitment to Empire, while those who held the professional view insisted that sport continue, in order to provide some relief from constant contemplation of the horrors of war. 36

Rugby league's administrators justified their decision to continue to play on several grounds. Although they denied the code was professional, they did not accept the amateur view, noted by McKernan, that play was inappropriate during time of war. League administrators stressed the entertainment value of sport and its role in helping maintain the morale of the home population. Sport was also beneficial for those serving overseas, who also participated in sporting competitions. NSWRFL administrators expressed the additional view that participation in the game assisted men to maintain themselves in peak physical condition, ready to do battle should the need arise.37 Playing of 'Patriotic Games' also provided donations to the war effort. The decision to continue to

24 play the Sydney Premiership Competition during the war years was supported by league followers, the working-class, which supported a professional view of sport as they continued to attend games.38 Analysis of crowd sizes is helpful to understand the effect of war on rugby league. Table 1.2 provides data about annual total and average weekly crowd sizes at Sydney Premiership matches for the period 191 0 to 1921. Table 1.2 Sydney Premiership Competition Crowd Size

Season Total Average Population Average weekly Competition Weekly of Sydney Crowd as a % of .Crowd Size Competition Sydney per annum Crowd size Population (spectators) for all games (spectators) 1910 153,950 10,263 n/a n/a 1911 335,500 19,735 656,800 3.0 1912 284,800 20,343 690,034* 2.9 1913 370,000 26,429 712,943* 3.7 1914# 381,000 27,214 726,702* 3.7 1915 235,800 16,843 731,788* 2.3 1916 184,000 12,267 764,600 1.6 1917 173,500 12,393 762,480* 1.6 1918 198,000 14,143 777,140* 1.8 1919 255,500 18,250 811,910* 2.2 1920# 232,000 15,467 885,000 1.7 1921 283,000 15,722 912,750 1.7 Source: Compiled from Australian Demographic Trend 1986, ABS No. 3102.0 and unpublished crowd data provided by David Middleton. • These figures have been calculated using the annual rate of population growth for NSW supplied by the ABS. The previous year's figures have been adjusted by the rate of growth figure. This was necessary as between 1901 and 1920 only census year figures were available for capital cities. #Indicates a year in which a Great Britain Test was played in Sydney.

Table 1.2 suggests that from 1915 until 1919 rugby league suffered reduced profitability. Crowd sizes (both average weekly and total annual) between 1915 and 1918 were smaller than those attracted to the games in the

25 three years before the war, even though the population of Sydney was increasing during the war years. This reduction in crowd size, like the reduction in gate takings, reflects the decreased number of young adult males in the local population due to war service. War also led to diminished participation rates in the sport of rugby league (see Table 1.3).

Table 1.3 Number of teams participating in each grade of the Siy d ney P remIers. h"Ip C ompetItIon, 1910 - 1921

Season 1st Grade Teams 2nd Grade 3rd Grade Teams Teams 1910 8 12 16

1911 8 . - 16 23 1912 8 17 21 1913 8 14 20 1914 8 14 20 1915 8 14 19 1916 8 11 12 1917 8 8 11 1918 8 8 11 1919 9 8 14 1920 9 9 15 1921 9 9 13 Source: NSWRFL Annual Reports 1910 to 1921.

Table 1.3 shows that the expansion of the league was curtailed by the effects of war. Although the first grade competition (the main attraction for crowds) remained relatively unaltered in size during the war, a number of star players were not available for the competition due to war service.39 The second and third grade competitions (which were not restricted in affiliated team numbers participating until 1925) were reduced from a high of 39 teams participating in 1911 to a low of 19 teams in 1917. Analysis of the goals of the founders, spectator support, participant team

26 numbers and income levels provides a superficial basis for examination of the economics of rugby league. To determine the extent to which rugby league can be viewed as a business it is necessary to apply economic theory to the analysis. On the basis of its usefulness to previous studies, cartel theory provides the most appropriate tool to undertake such analysis. According to Vamplew, 'Sports cartels emerge from the mutual interdependence of clubs in the sense that the revenue of any club depends on the performance of every club. Clubs may be sports competitors but they can be economic partners; and in an effective cartel, although all teams cannot win, all clubs can make profits.'40 Using Vamp!ew's methodology, the initial step in determining whether rugby league operated as a cartel in the period under study, is to ascertain whether it can be assessed as operating on the basis of an ideal-type, profit maximising cartel. 41 Firstly, there has to be a central decision-making organisation with powers to discipline members for rule infractions.42 Decisions about the rules of the game, the form of the competition, representative team selections and discipline of players were all made by the committees of the NSWRFL. These committees were· comprised of representatives from each of the constituent clubs· who were required to put aside their parochialism for the benefit of the league as a whole. Secondly, a cartel must act to influence profits by cost-minimising regulations, usually some form of labour market intervention designed to prevent undue competition for players between member clubs.43 Vamplew included such devices as territorial restrictions on recruitment, impediments on player mobility and determination of the size of the league as means which could be used to minimise costs. Each of these devices was used by the NSWRFL from its inception. At the time of establishment, administrators drew up maps of territories44 which determined the boundaries within which the clubs could recruit (see Appendix 2 for an indication of territory boundaries as at 1922). Player mobility was also restricted by the 'residential rule' which required a player to be a resident within the club's boundaries for at least one year (although this residential time period altered while the rule was in vogue) before

27 he could play for that club. The NSWRFL also had the ability to determine the size of the league as well as the size of the Sydney Premiership Competition. Clubs affiliated to the NSWRFL could field only one first grade team in the Sydney Premiership Competition, but could field as many teams as they liked in second and third grade until 1925 when the NSWRFL standardised the size of the competition at all three grades i.e. the same number of teams would be fielded in each grade and this was a reflection of the number of clubs affiliated to the NSWRFL which were entitled to play in the Sydney Premiership Competition. For a team to take part in the Sydney Premiership Competition a club had to be-affiliated (on an annual basis) to the NSWRFL. Affiliation was a decision made by the NSWRFL upon receipt of an application. By the same token the NSWRFL also had the right to disaffiliate a club. The NSWRFL did not disaffiliate any club between 1908 and 1921, but it did affiliate several new clubs. In 1910 Annandale joined the competition, while Cumberland and Newcastle did not to re-affiliate in 1909 and 1910 respectively. In 1921 University and St. George were affiliated increasing the size of the · league at that time, compared to · the year of establishment, by one club. 45 The third function a cartel must perform is to maximise revenue by improving the product offered for sale. Vamplew wrote that 'this can be done by rule changes aimed at rendering the sport more attractive to spectators, by product diversity in the form of new competitions and special matches'.46 The NSWRFL altered the rules of the game to make it more attractive to spectators by making it faster and more skilful.47 Product diversity was also a device used by the NSWRFL to maximise revenue. In 1912 a new competition known as the

City Cup48 was introduced, it was a knockout competition played in addition to the Sydney Premiership Competition. Although the Competition was usually played over only a three week period it attracted additional attendance. In total 65,000 people watched the competition in 1912, while 51,000 attended in 1913. This competition also suffered a downturn in patronage during the war years attracting only 33,000 spectators in 1914, 22,000 in 1915, 31,000 in 1916,

28 35,000 in 1917, (no crowd figures are available for 1918), 32,000 in 1919, 25,000 in 1920 and 41,000 in 1921. From these figures it can be seen that the City Cup Competition was a minor competition, in terms of the number of games played and the size of crowds attracted, in comparison to the Sydney Premiership Competition. The Sydney Premiership Competition also underwent structural changes as well as rule changes to make it more attractive to spectators. In 1912 play-offs were introduced to decide the winner of the competition, replacing the first-past-the-post system which had been used until this time. 49 It had been the case previously that one outstanding team would lead the competition for several weeks prior to the end of the season and this diminished crowd sizes. Cairns and his colleagues have pointed out in their economic analysis that crowd size is largely determined by the closeness of the competition both at the individual game level and at the overall competition level.50 Finally, the cartel has the task of maintaining the viability of the league or sports industry sector, for there have to be sufficient participants to provide saleable products. 51 Vamplew enumerated such devices as maintenance of equity of sporting competition which could include equitable gate sharing between both weak and strong teams. There is no evidence from the primary source material consulted that the NSWRFL shared gate receipts equitably. The NSWRFL was quite willing at this time to disaffiliate a club should it prove not to be financially viable. There does not appear to have been any policy in vogue to rescue a financially struggling club during this period. A league may also, according to Vamplew, have to take action to confront rival organisations to preserve the cartel's monopolistic and monopsonistic powers.52 During this early period, the NSWRFL had little opposition to the preservation of its monopolistic powers over its own code of football. However, opposition from rival codes such as rugby union (which provided both players and teams to the new code of rugby league) needed to be guarded against. Vamplew was also of the opinion that 'in many respects sports cartels resemble industrial ones, but there are a few differences ... there is less danger

29 than with conventional economic cartels of a price-cutting war or a member unilaterally electing to increase output over the prescribed limit'.53 Using the NSWRFL as the basis for analysis from 1908 to 1921 it is possible to agree with Vamplew that no price-cutting war was possible nor was it likely that any affiliated team would unilaterally elect to increase its output over the prescribed number of games in the competitions run by the NSWRFL. However, it was possible for a club to elect to play additional games, either in country areas or overseas, in addition to their commitments to the NSWRFL's competitions, with the express outcome of increasing the club's income. However, in general, comparison of the NSWRFL from 1908 to Vamplew's ideal cartel suggests that the NSWRFL conformed in many respects to the operation of a sports cartel. As Cairns pointed out: Many aspects of club and league behaviour are present elsewhere in the economy. Thus the economics of sport is not worthy of independent treatment because special issues are raised. Rather, its claim to be distinguished and recognised and a distinct area of study lies in the scope it gives for fruitful analysis of relevance to a wide range of economic activity. 54

The club level If the League was acting in a cartel-like manner in its business operations, then it begs the question whether the clubs were also acting in this manner. It is highly unlikely that an individual club would exhibit cartel-like behaviour as it did not have the same business concerns and goals as the NSWRFL. On the contrary, it is more likely that rugby league clubs acted in the manner of utility maximisers in their business operations. The data and actions of individual clubs will now be analysed to determine the type of business activities they undertook. Primary source records at the club level of rugby league are sparse during this period. Given this situation South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club (Souths) has been used as an example of the operation of a district rugby league football club. Although some early annual reports are available for Souths, they do not provide a full set of data. Beginning in 1913 the statement

30 of receipts and expenditure show that Souths received income from such items as proceeds of matches (which included the Sydney Premiership Competition, practice matches, the City Cup and season tickets); members' subscriptions; donations from individuals; audiation fees (Moore Park J.F.C. and Alexandria 3rd F.C.); sales of social tickets and the sale of four photos_ss By far the largest part of the club's income came from the proceeds of the Sydney Premiership Competition (£1005 of the total £1279 income in 1913). The second largest item of income for the club was the receipts from the City Cup matches (for example in, 1913, this amounted to £84/0s/1 0d). On the expenditure side of the statement the items listed included: bonuses to players; trainers wages; training requisites, powder etc; training quarters including lighting, caretaker, locker hire; -training loss of time, seconds; outfits, jerseys, hose etc; entertainments (Bathurst Trip, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, picnic, Lane Cove, social Oxford Hall); refreshments for players at half time; presentations; special grants to South Sydney Federal F.C. and injured player (Taylor) Kinkora F.C.; printing and stationery; stamps; photos; petty cash; sundries (including hire of , hire of Sir Joseph

Banks Grounds, wreaths, cab fares, advertising and Bank charges).s6 As was the case for the NSWRFL, the club's list of expenses did not include payment of tax of any kind. The largest expense incurred in 1913 was player bonuses amounting to £833 out of a total of £1279, while the second largest item of expenditure was the group of entertainment expenses related to the Bathurst trip, the picnic at Lane cove and the Social at Oxford Hall (a total of £104/13s/7d). Therefore, the players received 65 per cent of the total income of the club in the year 1913, while in 1914 the players received only 50 per cent of receipts, even though the income earned by Souths from the NSWRFL increased by almost 10 per cent as they finished the year as competition premiers. In 1917 players received 66 per cent of total income. Due to the lack of other club records for comparison it is impossible to ascertain whether this pattern of expenditure was typical of all clubs during this period. However, it is highly likely that this pattern was similar across all clubs based on records for

31 subsequent years which support this contention. 57 One aspect of club income during the period, 1910 to 1916 which is known is the amount paid to each club each season from the gate receipts of the Sydney Premiership Competition. From these records it is notable that the - successful clubs, in any given season, received one of the largest shares of gate takings. This indicates a positive relationship between success and the attraction of larger attendances, which in turn increased income to the club. Table 1.4 demonstrates the operation of this nexus.

Table 1.4 Percentage of Gate Receipts paid to each Club

Season Total Payments made to % Premier Gate individual clubs received for the Receipts (£/s/d) by each season Paid to club Clubs (£/s/d) 1910 1283/9ll South Sydney 282/3/3 22.0 Newtown 266/9/4 21.0 Premiers Eastern Suburbs 190/12/0 14.8 Balmain 167/18/0 13.0 Glebe 144/14/4 11.2 North Sydney 107/11/11 8.3 Annandale 78/17/0 6.1 Western Suburbs 45/3/9 3.5 1911 3104ll/8* South Sydney 688/19/10 22.6 Eastern Suburbs 553/1ll 18.3 Premiers Glebe 527/9/0 17.3 Newtown 476/16/10 15.6 North Sydney 214/10/10 7.0 Balmain 20311n 6.7 Annandale 201/13/11 6.6 Western Suburbs 178/14/1 5.8

32 Season Total Payments made to % Premier Gate individual clubs received for the Receipts (£/s/d) by each season Paid to club Clubs (£/s/d)

1912 4172/2/5 Eastern Suburbs 920/10/2 22.0 Premiers South Sydney 764/2/9 18.3 Glebe 7 44/4/7 17.8 Newtown 543/1/0 13.0 Bal main 37 4/16/11 9.0 North Sydney 349/14/10 8.4 Annandale 312/9/6 7.5 Western Suburbs 163/2/8 3.9

1913 5843/2/2 South Sydney 1190/17/10 20.4 Eastern Suburbs 1078/15/2 18.8 Premiers Glebe 875/2/8 15.0 Newtown 768/13/11 13.1 Balmain 681/18/1 11.7 North Sydney 599/18/3 10.2 Annan dale 376/14/0 6.4 Western Suburbs 271/2/3 4.6 1914 5443/19/1 South Sydney 1201/5/7 22.1 Premiers Eastern Suburbs 1023/5/1 18.8 Glebe 824/19/9 15.1 Newtown 685/10/1 12.6 Balmain 662/19/8 12.2 North Sydney 597/14/6 11.0 Annandale 234/15/9 4.3 Western Suburbs 213/8/8 3.9 1915 4515/13/5 Balmain 1138/12/7 25.2 Premiers South Sydney 890/6/2 19.7 Glebe 811/16/3 18.0 Newtown 556/10/8 12.3 Eastern Suburbs 530/3/1 11.7 North Sydney 235/6/1 5.2 Annandale 185/13/9 4.1 Western Suburbs 167/4/10 3.7

33 Season Total Payments made to % Premier Gate individual clubs received for the Receipts {£/s/d) by each season Paid to club Clubs (£/s/d) 1916 3762/2/11 Balmain 721/13/9 19.2 Premiers South Sydney 707/10/1 18.8 Glebe 648/17/6 17.2 Eastern Suburbs 546/14/11 14.5 Newtown 426/5/11 11.3 North Sydney 255/19/11 6.8 Western Suburbs 227/19/11 6.0 Annandale 227/0/11 6.0

• An error in addition in the accounts appears to have been made and the total should be 3049/7/8. Source: NSWRFL Annual Reports 1910 - 1916.

Success on the field meant increased income and the consequent likelihood of further success. Although the success of the NSWRFL might depend on the close and uncertain competition, as far as individual clubs were -concerned their interests were, r.ot surprisingly, best served by winning. Accordingly there was potential for tension between the goals of the NSWRFL as a whole and those of the representatives of the individual clubs. The men in charge of Souths consisted of politicians, players and ex-players. In these early years the Hon. Fred Flowers M.L.C. was patron while the Hon. H. C. Hoyle M.L.A. was president (later in this period to be replaced by another politician the Hon. E. Riley M.H.R), with E. Fry (a former rugby union player) and C. White (a current player) as vice-presidents. Players were also represented on the general and finance co.mmittees, namely W. A. Cann, H. Hallett and H. Butler. Samuel George Ball began his career with Souths as treasurer in 1907 when the club formed. By 1910 Ball was secretary of Souths, a position he held until his retirement in 1966. As was the case in most clubs, the position of secretary was honorary in these early years. Unlike the NSWRFL the focus of clubs was local, and local players were prominent on club committees during this period. The NSWRFL had a more entrepreneurial outlook, with paid rather than honorary employees in some managerial positions

34 and an entrepreneur at the helm. Examples of similarities between clubs and the NSWRFL can be found during this early period. Just at theses early changes to administration of the NSWRFL led to a period of stable administration, so too, this was the case with the clubs. The Newtown club, for instance, in 1909 saw Bill Noble replaced by Joe Edwards as secretary. Jack Chaseling became Newtown's representative to the NSWRL in 1909 and proceeded to serve Newtown for 32 years, until his death in 1942. North Sydney Rugby League Football Club also experienced administrative change during its early years. 58 The first honorary secretary of Norths was William Hedge, but by July 1908 he had resigned. Hedge was replaced by Herbert Odbert who remained in office for nine years, until 1917 at which time he was replaced by J.L. Dargan.59 However, the Deane family, owners of Deane's Sports Depot were probably the most stable influence on the club during this early period. Each club sent elected delegates to the NSWRFL. Delegates were required to ensure that their club's interests were served and then report back to their own clubs any matters of policy discussed at the league level.60 The differences between league and club administration are obvious. The focus of the delegates was their own club while the focus of the NSWRFL's administrators was on the Sydney Premiership Competition, the continuation and expansion of the code and representative matches. Often these differing concerns led to tensions between the NSWRFL and its constituent clubs. In 1909, for example, Balmain refused to take the field to play the deciding game for the Sydney Premiership Competition. The NSWRFL had decided this final game would make an ideal curtain raiser for the international match being played that year, while Balmain were of the opinion that the final game of the Premiership Competition held greater importance than simply to act a preliminary game. There was also some concern about the non-distribution of the gate takings.61 Other tensions were generated, for instance, with the redistribution of territory. When a club was disaffiliated this redistribution was welcomed by the clubs which received expanded territories. However, if affiliation of a new club

35 meant redistribution of territory away from one or more existing clubs then much tension occurred between the NSWRFL and some individual clubs. However, the central decision-making body, the NSWRFL general committee, usually made the final decision claiming it to be in favour of the whole rather than to the advantage of some of the constituent parts, namely one or more club.

Conclusions It can be seen from the foregoing analysis that the NSWRFL in may areas operated in a manner similar to that of a sports cartel. However, in the area of maintaining equity in the Sydney Premiership Competition through equal distribution of gate receipts it did not display these cartel-like characteristics. At club level it can be seen from the example provided (which is indicative of the behaviour of many clubs) that clubs were driven by their own need to survive in their own local area and saw their representation on the NSWRFL committees as the means to safeguard each of their own · individual club's interests rather than contribute to the development of the NSWRFL and the game as a ..whole. · In this respect, none of the clubs -could be considered to be operating along the lines of a cartel. Most were simply expending a large percentage of their income to attempt to win the Sydney Premiership Competition, indicating that rather than profit maximisers they were utility maximisers. This chapter has also shown that, like other businesses, war diminished the operation of both the sport and the business of rugby league, reducing both crowd sizes and profitability. The code had to adapt its operations to suit the changed economic and social climate during the war. Neale has argued that a 'peculiar economics' operated in sport. He stated that 'Analytical interest has centred on the "peculiar economics" of this industry. The participants need each other because to produce at all requires a basic interdependence."62 However, there is debate in the literature about how peculiar the economics of sport are. According to Cairns: Many aspects of club and league behaviour are present elsewhere in the economy. Thus the economics of sport is not worthy of

36 independent treatment because special issues are raised. Rather, its claim to be distinguished and recognised as a distinct area of study lies in the scope it gives for fruitful analysis of relevance to a wide range of economic activity. 63

The following chapters will continue this analysis of the business versus sport behaviour of both the NSWRFL and its constituent clubs. The impact of other social and economic change will also be highlighted, particularly the impact of war and economic depression.

37 Notes 1. Ian Heads, True Blue: The Story of the NSW Rugby League, Sydney, lronbark Press, 1992, p.33

2. Heads, True Blue, p.49.

3. Heads, True Blue, p.33.

4. Heads, True Blue, p.49.

5. NSWRFL, Minutes of Meetings 1922 - See Appendix 1.

6. Heads, True Blue, p.49.

7. Jerry Gorman and Kirk Calhoun, The Name of the Game: The Business of Sports, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1994, p.21.

8. Robert Gate, Rugby League: An Illustrated History, London, Arthur Barker, 1989, p.13.

9. Leonie Sandercock and Ian Turner, Up Where Cazaly? The Great Australian Game, London, Granada, 1981, p.55.

10. Richard Cashman, Paradise of Sport: The Rise of Organised Sport in Australia, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1995, p.66.

11. Cashman, Paradise of Sport, p.66.

12. Heads, True Blue, p.55. and Gary Lester, The Story of Australian Rugby League, Sydney, Lester-Townsend Press, 1988, p.41.

13. Max Selling, The Boatshed on : Glebe Rowing Club 1879- 1993, Glebe, Glebe Rowing Club, 1993, pp.3-13.

14. Solling, The Boatshed on Blackwattle Bay, pp.10-13.

15. Solling, The Boatshed on Blackwattle Bay, pp.10-13.

16. Solling, The Boatshed on Blackwattle Bay, pp.10-13.

17. Sandercock and Turner, Up Where Cazaly?, p.55.

18. Rugby League News, 1921.

19. Heads, True Blue, p.55.

20. Heads, True Blue, p.55.

21. Heads, True Blue, p.55

38 22. Heads, True Blue, p.55.

23. Heads, True Blue, p.55.

24. Andrew Moore, The Mighty Bears!: A Social History of North Sydney Rugby League, Sydney, Macmillan, 1996, p.24.

25. Moore, The Mighty Bears!, p.24.

26. Heads, True Blue, p.56.

27. Heads, True Blue, p.56.

28. Heads, True Blue, p.56.

29. Heads, True Blue, p.56.

30. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1910 -1921.

31. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1910 - 1921.

32. NSWRFL Annual Report 1910.

33. NSWRFL Annual Report 1910.

34. NSWRFL Annual Report 1910.

35. Heads, True Blue, p.131.

36. Michael McKernan, 'Sport, War and Society: Australia 1914-1918', Sport in History: The Making of Modern Sporting History, Queensland, University of Queensland Press, 1979, pp.1-2.

37. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1915-1918. As expressed in the 1915 Annual Report 'The season opened with a desire to preserve the continuity of the game and provide a legitimate means of recreation for players and patrons who were unable for one reason or another to serve in His Majesty's Forces'.

38. McKernan, 'Sport, War and Society', pp.1-2.

39. NSWRFL Annual Report 1915. 'Every Effort was made, with the players available to build up a competition capable of maintaining the best traditions of the League. Owing however, to the continuance of hostilities many of your players were called to the colours. The call for recruits met with a ready response, some 2,000 of your players in all joining the ranks'.

40. Wray Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game: Professional Sport in Britain 1875-1914, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988, p.112.

41. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.112.

39 42. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.113.

43. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.113.

44. NSWRFL Minutes of Meetings 1922 - See Appendix 1.

45. NSWRFL Annual Report 1920-1921.

46. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.113.

47. Heads, True Blue, p.55.

48. NSWRFL Annual Report 1912.

49. Heads, True Blue, p.55.

50. J. Cairns, N. Jennett and P.J. Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports: A Survey of Theory and Evidence', Journal of Economic Studies, Vol.13, No.1, 1986, pp.2-80.

51. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.113.

52. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.113.

53. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.113.

54. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane; 'The Economics of Professional Team Spo.ts', pp.2-80.

55. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1913.

56. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1913.

57. Comparison of data for a number of clubs for the period 1936 - 1940 shows great similarity between clubs of that era, which could have been the case in this early period of establishment and growth.

58. Moore, The Mighty Bears!, p.24.

59. Moore, The Mighty Bears!, p.62 and p.91

60. Moore, The Mighty Bears!, p.24.

61. Heads, True Blue, p.91.

62. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', pp.2-80.

63. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', pp.2-80.

40 CHAPTER TWO CONSOLIDATION OF THE BUSINESS OF RUGBY LEAGUE (1922 -1945)

Chapter One demonstrated that the establishment of rugby league in Sydney can be analysed using cartel theory. The NSWRFL's operations were consistent in many respects with those of a cartel while its constituent clubs were far less likely to be administered as profit-making businesses. However, rather than being peculiar, the economics of sport at league level in rugby league was similar to other sectors of the economy. This chapter will continue the analysis begun in Chapter One and will investigate the response of the code of rugby league to war and depression. The predisposition of the NSWRFL toward business behaviour and the clubs toward utility maximisation ·will be further assessed using cartel theory. The conclusions will provide insight into the future business development of rugby league during the period.

Consolidation of the Code and the Sydney Premiership Competition Until the 1920s the code had been predominantly confined to Sydney and with organised competitions running in these cities. Rugby league was played in country NSW and Queensland, but it was not until 1920 that NSW country areas were organised into six sectors for the purpose of competition. These sectors were South Eastern district; Northern district; Central Northern

district; Western district; Southern district; and North Coast district. 1 By 1922 this structure was revised and the towns of NSW outside the Sydney

metropolitan area were reorganised into twelve groups across the State.2 The election of a State Labor government in 1920, facilitated the spread of the rugby league code into the public high schools system, joining the Catholic schools which had competed in a number of rugby league schools competitions

since 1913.3 By 1921, 102 public schools competed in rugby league

competitions. 4

41 Further evidence of the code's consolidation during the 1920s was the establishment of the Australian Rugby League Board of Control (ARL) in 1924.

The Board was charged with running the international aspects of the game. 5 The establishment of an International Board of Control for rugby league was also mooted in 1927 but did not come to fruition for another two decades. During the 1920s the code expanded into Victoria, due mostly to the initiative of NSW and

Queensland ex-patriates.6 The NSWRFL also instituted playing the match of the day in the Moore Park area. 7 In 1926 regular broadcasts of matches on radio stations 2FC and 2BC were introduced.8 At the same time as the code was growing in popularity across NSW and Australia, the Sydney Premiership Competition was being conso!idated, with the constituent clubs of the league voting to disaffiliate the Glebe Club from the NSWRFL in 1929. Glebe had not been performing well on the field and crowds attracted to its games had been declining. The Club had lost the. lease on its home ground () to soccer and had been without a home ground since 1927.9 From 1929 to 1933 there were limited changes to the code either at club, league, competition or national level. The expansion of the code at the junior and school levels began in the 1920s and continued through much of the 1930s. The figures quoted in the 1936-37 NSWRFL Annual Report provided evidence of continuing expansion: Number of School Teams 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 Intermediate High Central 73 78 84 87 93 Commercial & Junior Technical 54 54 57 58 60 Primary Schools 63 74 80 82 84 ------Total 190 206 221 227 237

At league level there were consultations with the officials of the Australian rules code of football in 1933 designed to merge the two codes. However, as was the case in 1908 and 1914 when similar attempts were made, the 1933 talks ended in failure, even though a hybrid game was formulated and played. 10 In

42 1934 the NSW Country Rugby League (CAL) organisation was established and affiliated to the NSWRFL, formalising competition in country NSW.. 11 This country structure also facilitated the NSWRFL's promotional activities. The Sydney Premiership Competition 'bye' provided the opportunity for a match against a country team in a country area, each week. Further diversification of the products on offer occurred at this time with the introduction of interstate matches under lights. 12 In the 1937-38 NSWRFL Annual Report the NSWRFL again announced boundary changes to clubs stating that 'an adjustment of Club boundaries has been made to become operative during the ensuing season. Portion of the territory of Eastern Suburbs has been ceded to South Sydney, portion of Canterbury-Bankstown to Newtown and portions of Western Suburbs to Newtown.'13 These changes reflected the changes taking place in the suburban composition of Sydney. , Newtown, for instance, had experienced a decline in population as the ~rca became less residential and more dedicated to - light industry. South Sydney suffered a similar fate to Newtown. At Wests, by contrast, there was an increase in the density of population in a number of the

suburbs within the district. World V✓ar 11 subsequently provided the next round of change for the code with the suspension of representative football contests from 1942 to 1945. 14

The Business and Sport of rugby league: The league level During the 1920s the management of the NSWRFL and the Sydney Premiership Competition (the NSWRFL's foremost product on sale) remained vested with those men who assumed the reins in 1909. Administration of the NSWRFL, however, changed markedly during the 1920s. Numerous new sub­ committees were formed (some were later abandoned) during the period 1922 to 1945. Each sub-committee focused on a different aspect of the code or the Sydney Premiership Competition and all were subservient to the management committee. Membership of these sub-committees was honorary and the full-time paid positions with the NSWRFL remained unchanged. 15

43 Although the code's administration at league level became more complex and the code consolidated off-field, on-field there were some difficulties at the Sydney Premiership Competition level. In 1925 many journalists believed that the standard of play in the Sydney Premiership Competition was poor. 16 This alleged lack of on-field performance had repercussions upon the NSWRFL financially, 17 as attendances had been steadily declining since 1922 (see Table 2.1 ). The decline in spectator attendance during 1924 and 1925 was attributed to the poor standard of on-field play as well as to competition from other mass spectator sports, such as soccer. Soccer in particular achieved prominence because of a very successful tour of Australia by an English team in 1925. The NSWRFL attempted to rectify the situation through the institution of rule and competition structure changes designed to make the game faster and more appealing to spectators. 18 The remedies instituted by the NSWRFL appeared to have had the -desired effect and during the 1926 ~sason spectator numbers returned to near the 1922 level. T a bi e 2 .1 S,y d ney p rem1ers h"Ip C ompeff 1 10n C row d s·1ze 1922 - 1940 Season - Total Average Weekly Population of Average Weekly Competition Competition Sydney Crowd as a % of Crowd Size per Crowd Size for all Sydney annum games Population (Spectators) (Spectators)

1922 441,400 23,231.6 934,540 2.5% 1923 414,400 21,810.5 952,620 2.3% 1924" 277,000 19,785.7 974,540 2.0% 1925 199,600 15,656.8 996,100 1.5% 1926" 434,300 20,680.9 1,019,860 2.0% 1927 419,300 19,966.7 1,044,770 1.9% 1928" 344,024 21,501.5 1,066,400 2.0% 1929 426,660 21,333.0 1,176,900 1.8% 1930" 291,000 17,117.6 1,190,590 1.4% 1931 372,700 20,705.5 1,200,830 1.7% 1932" 319,500 17,750.0 .1,273,880 1.5% 1933 282,000 16,588.2 1,237,130 1.3% 1934 353 225 19 623.6 1 241 900 1.6%

44 Season Total Average Weekly Population of Average Weekly Competition Competition Sydney Crowd as a % of Crowd Size per Crowd Size for all Sydney annum games Population (Spectators) (Spectators)

1935 439,683 21,984.0 1,245,590 1.8%

1936* 284,188 16,716.9 1,251,150 1.3%

1937 172,673 19,185.9 1,256,500 1.5%

1938* 300,238 17,661.0 1,263,220 1.4%

1939 408,065 24,003.8 1,274,930 1.9%

1940 416,407 24,494.5 1,294,080 1.9% Source: Compiled from Australian Demographic Trend 1986, ABS No. 3102.0 ·and unpublished crowd data provided by David Middleton. * Indicates years of international tours to Australia.

An analysis of the Table 2.1 reveals that economic depression adversely . effected attendance figures initially in 1930. Both total annual and average weekly crowd sizes decl:ned between 1929 and 1930 by approximately 31 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, as did the average weekly crowd as a percentage of the Sydney popuiation. This decline in crowd sizes was, however, of similar proportions to those experienced in 1925 where annual crowds declined by approximately 27 per cent and average weekly crowd sizes declined by approximately 20 per cent. From this it could be concluded that the impact of the economic depression was not as severe as could have been expected initially. Although there was an increase in both total annual and average weekly crowd sizes in 1931, the figures again declined in 1932 and 1933. It is possible that by 1934, when crowd sizes again increased, that the population chose to spend its limited disposable income on 'escapism'. This was a trend similar to that reported in cinema which also reported increased attendances during the depression. Another reason for increased football crowds was reported in Rugby League News19 during this period that often the gates were opened after the first grade kick-off to let the unemployed attend the game free of charge. These non-paying spectators did not swell the reported crowd figures which were usually based on ticket sale figures. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II crowd sizes again increased: in 1939 they rose by

45 approximately 35 per cent. Although international matches continued throughout the economic depression there appears to be no correlation between increased crowd sizes and international matches. Any spin off from these international matches does not appear to have been large enough to show an effect on the crowd size figures. Nor was any positive effect from international tours in the pre war years evident, it appears to have been negated by the effect of war. However, one positive effect from international tours during this period can be noted though it was confined mainly to ·the NSWRFL. Even though the clubs axperienced a decline in crowd sizes and a commensurate decUne in income level during the economic depression, the NSWRFL was able to make a financial gain through the success of the Australia versus England fixture. It was reported in 1932-33 that 'The takings, £6513/17s/9d, and attendance 70,204 for this fixture were a record for Australia and a world's record for a Rugby Football Lsague fixture'. 20 For the Sydney Premiership Competition its worst year in the 1930s was 1937 -­ well after the depression. This again demonstrates that the depression had a relatively minor impact on rugby league crowds. It is difficult to obtain a clear picture of crowd figures during World War II and from 1941 onwards it is difficult to obtain official crowd size data. There was no explanation provided by the NSWRFL for not reporting attendance figures. Their annual reports were, however, preoccupied with reports of patriotic matches and donations to support the war effort. Possibly they thought the size of the crowd during this period was irrelevant given the situation. The NSWRFL also instituted a policy during the war years of allowing free entry to all games to those in uniform. In addition to crowd sizes, income levels of the code and its patterns of expenditure provide another aspect on the business activities and profitability of rugby league. During the period 1922 to 1945 the items listed in the income and expenditure statements for the NSW Rugby Football League changed from those previously listed. · In addition to those items of expenditure listed in Chapter One such items as referees' fees, accommodation and grants to clubs were included

46 in 1922 and continued throughout the period, 21 while from 1931 to 1933 family endowment appeared as an expense. 22 The entertainment tax imposed by the government in 1918 did not appear as a separate item in the NSWRFL's accounts, however, when figures were reported in the press or in Rugby League News or sometimes in the President's report in the Annual Report they were

often reported as gross and net of tax. 23 In 1932 workers' compensation insurance appeared as a separate item and remained in the accounts until 1940 by which time the format of the accounts had again altered.24 In 1937 income tax appeared as a separate item and remained until the change in format of the

accounts in 1940.25 In 1939 the accounts showed the costs of produci!lg the programs in greater detail and included rule books as an expenditure. 26 On the income side items were now grouped into one or two entries, namely gate receipts, interest, rights, programs and seasons tickets in one group and balance in the other.27 By 1924 this description of income had been even further refined

to sundry receipts and balance, only to revert to the 1922 list again in 1928.28 In 1933 the list of receipts was expanded to include advertising and in 1934 the · share of proceeds of the Australian team's tour of England during 1933-34 was ··

listed as a separate income item. 29 For one year only, 1939, the income account showed receipts in greater detail, listing gate receipt revenue by competition matches and Queensland tour matches, and showing season tickets, the State Championship, broadcasting fees, sale of rule books and interest as separate items and listing sale of programs and advertising revenue separately before

combining them as one total.30 The method of account keeping continued to be that adopted in 1917 which failed to indicate how much of the gate receipts were paid to clubs in total. To garner that missing information it is necessary to consult individual club records, and these are not readily available for each club and every year. Therefore, to provide an indication of the profitability of the NSWRFL and its main product, the Sydney Premiership Competition, it is necessary to analyse the NSWRFL's income and expenditure in terms of total income which included the NSWRFL's share of gate receipts not only from club matches but from other

47 sources as well. Consideration of the excess of income over expenditure (the balance) which the NSWRFL was able to accumulate each year during the period 1922 to 1945 also provides an indication of the NSWRFL's profitability. This analysis, coupled with the size of the Sydney Premiership Competition crowds furnishes an indication of not only the financial position and business activities of the NSWRFL, it also demonstrates the effect of both war and economic depression on the game of rugby league (see Table 2.2). The 1937 season possessed the lowest level of attendance and income for the NSWRFL during the period under consideration. The management of the NSvVRFL were very concerned by this turn of events, but provided the following rationalisation of the situation in Rugby League News: we are passing through a phase of declining attendances because of circumstances over which neither players nor administrators have the slightest control. Even if all the supermen of the past could be gathered together on the one field, it would be a matter for grave doubt whether the crowds would be lured away from the fascination which at present has them so strongly in its grip. 31

It is not known why this decline took place, nor did tha NSWRFL officials know, but they possibly speculated that it may have been a long-term aftermath of economic depression. However, the decline could just as easily have been due to other causes such as the increase in popularity of other forms of popular culture such as talking films, dance or other sports. Secretary Miller addressed the clubs at a general committee meeting in 1937 at which he admonished administrators for not considering the game's market when determining ticket prices. His basic message to club administrators was that they should be more aware of their core audience and price their product accordingly. In his address Miller referred to the spectator as the buyer and viewed the game as a service to the public. He was critical of the club administrator's management which he rated as poor, and berated them for leaping to decisions before gathering the appropriate facts. It was, according to Miller, necessary to pursue the market systematically, and, to cater for people's preferences having first determined what they were. Miller was of the opinion that: A fair estimate of the wealth of our patrons is 6 per cent wealthy, 61

48 per cent a little above the basic wage and 33 per cent at below the basic wage. Our administration is only a means to an end, and that is, service to the public and players, and to make money ... In these days when every threepence counts, an extra threepence cost is a calamity. If prices of admission can be traced as the reason for our depleted attendances it will be common sense to reduce them ... We must not by unnecessarily high prices prevent our football from reaching the very thousands that need football amusement most. Reduction in prices is the only hope for the basic wage earner to get a decent share of the benefits of open air spo rt .... 32

T a bi e 2 .2 NSWRFL G aet R ece1p. t s an dPaymen t s t o Cl u b s

Season Total NSWRFL Income Balance of Income over Total Sydney (£/s/d) Expenditure Premiership Crowd size (£/s/d) (spectators) per annum

1922 15,653/10/3 6,213/2/0 441,400

1923 n/a n/a -- 414,400

1924* 17,287/10/1 7,093/13/0 277,000

1925* 13,634/14/5 5,378/13/0 199,600

1926~ 17,827/1/1 9,083/4/8 'I -- 434,300

1927 19,933/7/7 12,691/10/7 419,300

1928 24,486/17/8 16,714/12/3 344,024

1929 17,789/10/7 14,289/3/1 426,660

1930* 16, 726/4/10 11,863/12/8 291,000

1931 15,499/12/3 14, 172/3/11 372,700

1932* 19,244/4/2 15,069/19/0 319,500

1933 11 ,463/17/2 2,841/9/10 282,000

1934 12, 158/11/0 535/1/6 353,225

1935 14, 176/13/8 374/15/5 439,683

1936* 16,920/17/9 930/12/9 284,188

1937 8,899/14/4 1,115/16/7 172,673

1938* 10,487/17/2 1,097/19/4 300,238

1939 15,083/3/4 (of which 3,861/16/7 408,065 8,711/0/3 was club matches

1940 10,826/12/7 937/8/7 416,407

1941 12 598/13/1 887/10/1 n/a

49 Season Total NSWRFL Income Balance of Income over Total Sydney (£/s/d) Expenditure Premiership Crowd size (£/s/d) (spectators) per annum

1942 11,948/12/4 1,422/13/8 n/a

1943 16,741/1/7 1,388/5/5 n/a

1944 15,990/16/11 253/19/3 n/a

1945 17,913/12/1 1,491/12/5 n/a Source: NSWRFL Annual Reports 1922-1945 and unpublished crowd data from David Middleton. *Years of international tours to Australia. n/a = not available.

Analysis of Table 2.2 reveals a slump in income in 1925. This was thought to be largely-due to the poor standard of play which was widely reported in the contemporary press. A lack of uncertainty of outcome of both games and the overall competition may also have deterred some fans from attending. Income levels and the 'balance' for the NSWRFL continued to grow until the beginning of the economic depression by which time the fluctuations in income levels mirrored those of crowd sizes. The excess of income over expenditure, appeared to be a little more erratic. For example, even though income increased in 1935 the ·balance reached its second lowest point for the period to the end of the war. Conversely, in 1937 income dropped to its lowest level for the period while the balance for that year was over £1,000. By the end of World War II both income levels and the balance were beginning to increase. The business activities of the NSWRFL during this period were diversified in an effort to sustain the code and assure its future. In 1937-38 the NSWRFL stated that 'The sustained success of club football will be stimulated by a still more thorough organisation of supporters and members. Season tickets will be issued during next football season for representative fixtures.'33 This decision to issue representative fixture season tickets was based on the success of the issue of club season tickets for the first time in 1937. It was reported in the NSWRFL Annual Report of 1937-38 that 'The issue of club season tickets met with remarkable success in its first year of issue. The sales, by club were:

50 Gents Ladies & Children Balmain 260 107 Cante rbu ry-Bankstown 396 153 Eastern Suburbs 720 275 Newtown 221 105 North 214 South Sydney 342 181 St. George 349 129 University 6 Western Suburbs 330 135

It is clear from these figures that males supported the game to a greater extent than females and children, although the numbers in these latter two categories were sizeable and reflects the growing family orientation of the game. The popularity of individual clubs is also reflected in these figures: Eastern Suburbs and North Sydney attracted the largest numbers of season ticket holders. The failure of University to attract supporters is also reflected in these figures and the NSWRFL farewelled the club from the Competition at the end of · this season. However, the NSWRFL was also not averse to reversing its decisions in the interest of the competition as a whole. In the short space of two seasons the NSWRFL had reversed its stance on club season tickets and reported in its 1939-40 Annual Report that 'During the year under review, the issue of District Club Season Tickets was discontinued and a reversion was made to the previous system of issuing Season Tickets available for all matches'.34 It is possible that the NSWRFL found that some supporters were not club specific but supported the code in general and were attracted to a close and entertaining game regardless of which teams were playing. By issuing season tickets on a club basis the NSWRFL was effectively curtailing the contribution of this section of supporters to the coffers of the NSWRFL in general. This fits with Stewart's35 analysis of crowds and their reasons for spectating. While some spectators attend to support a particular side, others are more interested in the game in general. It also supports the contention by Cairns36 that fans were often attracted by the closeness of a game or the competition in general rather than supporting a particular team.

Using Vamplew's methodology37 to analyse the records of the NSWRFL it

51 can be seen that the organisation continued to exhibit traits of the basic functions of an ideal-type cartel. Firstly, in terms of decision-making, the NSWRFL retained the power to discipline members for rule infractions throughout the period 1922 to 1945. The proliferation of sub-committees to govern numerous aspects of the game and the Sydney Premiership Competition during the period 1922 to 1945 demonstrated the NSWRFL's power to make rules, enforce them and discipline members. Secondly, a cartel must act to influence profits by cost-minimising regulations, usually some form of labour market intervention designed to prevent undue competition for players between member clJ,Jbs. 38 These labour market interventions extended to the international arena as well. It was reported in the 1937-38 Annual Report that a ban would be imposed on the poaching of Australasian players by English clubs.39 During the period 1922 to 1945 the residential qualification rule remained in force and until 1938 the NSWRFL and the clubs used a retention committee and/or fund to assist in keeping players in the competition. The NSWRFL continued to determine the size of the league and during this period they disaffiliated the Glebe Club and allowed the Canterbury-Bankstown Club to join. This change to the composition of the league also led to a change in the boundaries for neighbouring clubs, impacting on clubs such as Wests which lost territory when Canterbury-Bankstown joined, while Balmain gained from the demise of Glebe. The third function a cartel must perform is to maximise revenue by improving the product offered for sale. Vamplew wrote that this can be done by rule changes aimed at rendering the sport more attractive to spectators; by product diversity in the form of new competitions; and, special matches. 40 At the end of the 1925 season the NSWRFL altered both the on-field rules of the game and the structure of the competition to make the game more attractive to woo spectators back to the game. During the period 1922 to 1945 the NSWRFL also introduced a match of the day and offered interstate games played under lights. In support of the war effort the NSWRFL also presented matches to provide income for the patriotic fund and support other patriotic endeavours.41

52 Finally, the cartel has the task of maintaining the viability of the league or sports industry sector, for there has to be sufficient participants to provide saleable products.42 Devices to achieve the maintenance of equity of sporting competition include the introduction of equitable gate receipt sharing between both weak and strong teams. A related factor of cartel practice is action to confront rival organisations to preserve the cartel's monopsonistic and monopolistic powers. It is difficult to glean from the available primary source material whether the distribution of gate receipts was equitable and assisted weaker teams. There is no evidence available to suggest that in this regard the NSWRFL was acting like. a cartel. However, if a team proved to be uncompetitive, as was the case with Glebe in 1929, rather than continue to support a team which was failing to attract crowds the NSWRFL reduced the size of the league and maintained its internal competitiveness. Likewise, in the late . 1930s. and early .. 1940s the NSWRFL exerted its power over an affiliated organisation by refusing to meet the demands of the NSW Country Rugby League (CRL), the NSWRFL disaffiliated the organisation between 1940 and 1941. · During· ti1e period ·under considerai:ion (1922···!945) the NSWRFL received limited competition from rival organisations as it had established its supremacy as the preferred winter sport particularly in Sydney. Rugby union and soccer, although vying for spectators and grounds with rugby league, were not a threat to the survival of the NSWRFL during this period of consolidation.

The club level At club level rugby league appeared to be conducted more as a sport than a business. The activities of clubs, based on analysis of the available primary source material, appear to be those of utility maximising organisation rather than profit maximising in nature. This would indicate that clubs were more intent upon spending their financial resources and using their human resources to win the current year's Sydney Premiership Competition and continue to do so in subsequent years. Club's were less interested in the promulgation of the code for the sake of its future and in ensuring that the competition results were close

53 in order to attract spectators. Club officials were of the opinion that if the club played well and won matches then crowds would be attracted and income generated -- their records indicate they did not have a view of the equity of competition nor an understanding that the closeness of a game or the competition attracted more spectators for the code on the whole. Between 1921 and 1936 the records of South Sydney District Rugby Football Club (Souths) are the most consistent available. Therefore, this club will be used as a case study for the period to 1936. According to the statement

of receipts and expenditure for the 1922 season43 Souths received most income from the premiership matches, £1400/8s/1d out of total receipts.of.£1892/1s/6d. The next highest item of income received was from -the sale of programs at £106/7s/1 0d. The largest item of expenditure for Souths in the 1922 season was

honorariums paid to the first grade which amounted to £1010/16s/3d.44 Honorariums to first and reserve grades and the coach amounted to a. total of - £1223/1 0s/1 0d -- the largest item of- expenditure for that season. The next - largest item was training costs covering trainers, caretaker and lighting at

£213/3/0.45 - Payments·-to· officials did not appear •in the club's--statement of income and expenditure with the exception of the coach. The duties of administrative officials with the club were undertaken in an honorary capacity.46 It is also interesting to note from the 1922 Annual Report that the patron of the Souths Club was the Hon. Fred Flowers M.L.C. and the President was also a member of parliament, namely the Hon. E. Riley M.H.R. Flowers and Riley continued to hold these positions with Souths until 1926 when Riley was replaced by W. J. McKell M.L.A. By 1930 W.J. McKell had become patron (following the death of Fred Flowers the previous year) and C.J. Lynch became

president of Souths.47 The club's assurance fund appeared as a separate statement of receipts and expenditure and totalled £101 /16s/9d in 1922. The largest receipt item was the payment of £60/1 0s/0d from the NSW Rugby Football League while the

largest item of expenditure was listed as payments of £92/1 0s/0d.48 Annual Reports in general reported on the on-field performance of the

54 teams, including the first, reserve and third grade teams in the Sydney Premiership Competition or reported the Junior League competition in their area. In 1923 Souths reported on negotiations for their first grade team to visit to play a series of matches. However, the tour did not take place as several key first grade players were unable to get the time away from their jobs to undertake the tour. 49 In 1923 the largest item of income for Souths was again receipts from Sydney Premiership Competition matches (£1731 /2s/1 Od out of total receipts of £2142/4s/6d). The next largest item of income for the club was the combined figure of receipts from league season tickets and special stand SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) tickets (£107ns/4d). The largest item of expenditure for the club was honorariums to the first grade (£1122/1 s/Od) -­ which was by far the largest share of expenditure on honorariums that included injured players, reserve grade and the coach (a total of £1407nsnd).50 It is lnteresting to note that during the period there was a large gap between the size of the highest and second highest items of income and expenditure. By far the greatest income generator for clubs was Sydney Premiership matches while their greatest expenditure by a significant margin was honorariums to players. --This - supports the contention that clubs were utility maximisers -- interested only in the Sydney Premiership Competition and winning it -- they did not look for other ways to earn income nor did they expend their income to any great extent on items other than players. From the 1925 Souths Annual Report we learn that the NSWRFL curtailed the competition 'mainly owing to the lead established by South Sydney, and the premiership for 1925 was played in a series of twelve matches'.51 This set of events, coupled with the press reports of the alleged poor standard of play, again supports the contention by Cairns that crowds are attracted by the closeness of the game or conversely are deterred by a foregone conclusion. 52 Given that Souths won all twelve matches they played it would seem that after a few weeks the Souths spectators concluded that each match their team played would be a foregone conclusion. This in turn had effected the crowd size and therefore, on the income levels of the clubs.

55 The established pattern of reporting on receipts and expenditure for Souths, continued throughout the period to 1945. The club's concern with its on­ field performance was evident from the Annual Report for the 1936 season which noted that: Your committee is concerned at the low position the First Grade team occupy in the 1936 premiership table, and have discussed the subject to some length ... As a result a sub-committee was appointed to go into ways and means to try and improve the standard of play in the coming year and their recommendations have been endorsed by your General Committee.53

The Annual Report for the 1941 season provided evidence of the utility maximising nature of Souths. The amount of income earned from receipts from the Sydney Premiership Competition was £758/0s/3d while expenditure to the first, reserve and third grade teams and the coach totalled £803/2s/4d. This seemed to .ir.:!:cate that the club was willing to pay from its less substantial sources of income other than Sydney Premiership Competition match receipts to field teams whose purpose was to win that competition. 54 Conversely, it may be represemat:ve · of the poor quality of financial management available at club level. This state of affairs was repeated in the 1942 season when income received from Sydney Premiership Competition receipts totalled £1,246/5s/2d and expenditure on first, reserve and third grades totalled £1,258/Ss/0d. 55 Expenditure on participation in the Sydney Premiership Competition was also larger than income from it in the 194456 and 194557 seasons. From 1936 to 1945 (with the exception of 1943) the Annual Reports of other clubs are available and comparisons can be made of their income, expenditure and reporting patterns (see Table 2.3 for details). From Table 2.3 it can be seen that the two main sources of income for most clubs in most years were the Sydney Premiership Competition matches gate receipts and proceeds from the sale of season tickets. Other competitions run by the NSWRFL such as the cup tie matches and practice matches provided income to a lesser extent -­ as did some other non-competition matches. In the main, the major expenditure items for clubs each year was confined to a small group, including bonuses to

56 players and training expenses, and each of these items were essential for the clubs to attain their goal of winning the Sydney Premiership Competition.

Table 2.3: Major items of Income and Expenditure per Club (in£)

Club Season Highest and Second Highest and Second Highest item of Highest item of Income (£ rounded) Expenditure (£ rounded)

Newtown District 1936 Match Receipts 566 Bonuses 455 Rugby League Season Tickets 196 Trainers 113 - Football Club 1937 Match Receipts 525 -Bonuses 315 Club Season Tickets 146 Training Expenses 185

1938 Match Receipts 318 Training Expenses 144 Season Tickets 160 Bonuses 120

1939 Match Receipts 265 Bonuses 220 - · .. I Season Tickets 117 Training Ex~ses 131

1940 Gate Receipts 1,210 Bonuses 1,037 Season Tickets 110 Training Expenses 230 -· .. -·. - -. --·-- 1941 Gate Receipts 1,357 Bonuses 1,684 NSWRFL Grant 376 Country trips 455

1942 Gate Receipts 589 Bonuses 837 Cup tie matches 397 Training Expenses 113

1943 n/a n/a n/a n/a

1944 Gate Receipts 3,611 Bonuses 3, 175 Cup tie matches 342 Training Expenses 421

1945 Gate Receipts 2,696 Bonuses 2,610 Cup tie matches 311 Training Expenses 349

57 Club Season Highest and Second Highest and Second Highest item of Highest item of Income (£ rounded) Expenditure (£ rounded)

Western Suburbs 1936 Match Receipts 507 Bonuses 423 District Rugby Season Tickets 196 Training Expenses 165 League Football Club 1937 Match Receipts 416 Junior League 226 Bonuses Season Tickets 198 169

1938 Match Receipts 278 Bonuses 139 Season Tickets 144 Training Expenses 133

1939 Match Receipts 424 Bonuses 304 Season Tickets 117 Training Expenses 147

1940 Match Receipts 472 Bonuses 323 Grounds refunds 181 Training Expenses 116

1941 Match Receipts 796 Bonuses 1,086 Special Grant 350 Training Expenses 131

1942 Match Receipts 640 Bonuses6g NSWRFL Grant 150 Training Expenses 86

1943 n/a n/a n/a n/a

194~~ Match Receipts 1,134 Bonuses i291 Special Grant 250 Training Expenses 176

1945 Match Receipts 2,425 Bonuses 2,936 NSWRFL Grant 360 Training Expenses 178

58 Club Season Highest and Second Highest and Second Highest item of Highest item of Income {£ rounded) Expenditure {£ rounded)

Balmain District 1936 Match Receipts 535 Bonuses 532 Rugby League Season Tickets 196 Training Expenses 132 Football Club 1937 Match Receipts 322 Bonuses 243 Junior Fund 38 Training Expenses 127

1938 Match Receipts 518 Bonuses 635 Season Tickets 197 Training Expenses 133

1939 Match Receipts 1,722 Bonuses 1,866 Ground Fund Refund 166 Training Expenses 128

1940 Match Receipts 1,082 Bonuses 1,303 Ground Fund Refund 246 Training Expenses 100

1941 Match Receipts 1,793 Bonuses 1,893 Ground Fund Refund 178 Training Expenses 131

1942 Match Receipts 1,990 Bonuses 2,077 Ground Fund Refund 142 Training 106

1943 n/a n/a n/a n/a

-- 1944 Match Receipts 2,786 Bonuses 3,566 Special Grant 250 Training Expenses 219

1945 Match Receipts 2,817 Bonuses 3,358 Queensland Tour 1,243 Queensland Tour 813

59 Club Season Highest and Second Highest and Second Highest item of Highest item of Income (£ rounded) Expenditure (£ rounded)

St. George District 1936 Match Receipts 282 Bonuses 217 Rugby League Season Tickets 196 Training Fees 135 Football Club 1937 Match Receipts 383 Trainers Wages 124 Season Tickets 157 Bonuses 107

1938 Match Receipts 281 Bonuses 222 Season Tickets 132 Trainers 96

1939 Match Receipts 1,278 Bonuses 1,047 Practice Matches 166 Honorariums 175

1940 Match Receipts 1,859 Bonuses 1,330 Season Tickets 11 0 Honorariums 164

1941 Match Receipts 2,724 Bonuses & Hons 2,392 Season Tickets 109 Trains. & Gatemen 144

1942 Match Receipts 3,109 Bonuses & Hons 3,010 Non-Comp. Matches 391 Wages 140

1943 n/a n/a n/a n/a

1944 -- Match Receipts 2, 146 Bonuses 2,015 Cup tie matches 380 Honorariums 358

1945 Match Receipts 1,642 Bonuses 1,510 Practice Matches 212 Wages 101

60 Club Season Highest and Second Highest and Second Highest item of Highest item of Income {£ rounded) Expenditure {£ rounded)

Canterbury- 1936 Match Receipts 663 Bonuses 526 Banks town Season Tickets 196 Training Fees 132 District Rugby League Football 1937 Match Receipts 334 Bonuses 260 Club Season Tickets 238 Training Fees 106

1938 Match Receipts 1,044 Bonuses 948 Season Tickets 321 Honorariums 162

1939 Match Receipts 1,053 Bonuses 859 Trial Matches 43 Honorariums 141

1940 Match Receipts 1,473 Bonuses 1,020 Season Tickets 110 Honorariums 161

1941 Match Receipts 1,754 Bonuses 1,419 Cup tie matches 196 Honorariums 220

' l942 Match Receipts 3,091 Bonuses 2,502 Balance 273 Honorariums 359

1943 n/a n/a n/a n/a

1944 Match Receipts 842 Bonuses 1,019 Grants 305 Players Equipment 142

1945 Match Receipts 1, 143 Bonuses 1,409 Grants 381 Training fees 135

61 Club Season Highest and Second Highest and Second Highest item of Highest item of Income (£ rounded) Expenditure (£ rounded)

Eastern Suburbs 1936 Gate Receipts 736 Bonuses 585 District Rugby Season Tickets 196 Training 232 League Football Club 1937 Gate Receipts 7 43 Bonuses 553 Season Tickets 408 Training 225

1938 Gate Receipts 721 Bonuses 605 Season Tickets 253 Training 183

1939 Gate Receipts 789 Bonuses 582 Season Tickets 117 Training 182

1940 Gate Receipts 1,362 Bonuses 1,049 Ground Rebate 113 Training 175

1941 Gate Receipts 2,349 Bonuses 1,951 Cup tie matches 147 Training 206

1942 Gate Receipts 1,780 Bonuses 1,370 City Cup matcnes 153 Training 139

1943 n/a n/a n/a n/a

1944 Gate Receipts 1,325 Bonuses 942 Cup tie matches 146 Training 160

1945 Gate Receipts 3, 167 Bonuses 2,443 Ground Rebate 299 Training 221

Source: Annual Reports for 1946 to 1952 for Canterbury-Bankstown, Easts, Wests, St. George, Balmain, Newtown

In other areas related to club administration and reporting, each of the sample clubs listed in Table 2.3, exhibited similar traits. For example, Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (Easts) chose a member of Parliament in 1936 -- the Hon Hugh Latimer M.L.C. as their Patron and they too reported on the on-field performance of the club. 58 However, unlike Souths, Easts did not have a players' committee. Canterbury-Bankstown District Rugby League Football Club (Canterbury-Bankstown), which joined the Sydney Premiership Competition in 1935, reported in a similar fashion to both Souths and Easts. Rather than establishing a players' committee Canterbury-Bankstown chose to use donations and the sale of bonds59 to establish a players' retention

62 and benefit fund. In 1936 'its scope was enlarged to embrace the securing, assisting and retaining of players, and to partly or wholly defray the fees of an efficient coach for the first grade team ... Disbursements of the fund embraced grants to unemployed players, fares, assistance to players injured and incapacitated, also medical and massage treatment not covered by the

assurance fund.'60 The fund continued throughout the period to 1945. Likewise, Balmain District Rugby League Football Club (Balmain) established a 'propaganda fund'61 which operated similarly to Canterbury-Bankstown's retention fund. Balmain used donations, social game gate receipts and a transfer of 1O per cent of the players' bonus payments from the general fund to create income for the propaganda fund and expended these receipts on retaining players and funding the organisation of social functions.62 Canterbury­ Bankstown, Easts and Balmain did not employ any full-time administrators between 1936 and :t945 all positions being honorary. Like.. the other clubs in the Sydney Premiership Competition which were affiliated to the NSWRFL, the St. George District Rugby League Football Club (St. George) used honorary officials · and in its Annual-Fieports ·between 1936 and 1945 related the same type of on­ field information as did other clubs. 63 The Annual Reports of both the Newtown District Rugby League Football Club (Newtown) and the Western Suburbs Rugby League Football Club (Wests) were similar to those of the other clubs

during the same period. 64 Yet another example of the different business perspectives of clubs to those of the NSWRFL, and the different practices from club to club, is illustrated in Table 2.4. This table shows some clubs paid a considerable percentage of their total receipts to players (in 1936 Balmain paid 90.32 per cent of its total receipts in player payments) other clubs paid relatively small amounts (in 1937 St. George paid only 16.15 per cent of its total receipts to players). From Table 2.4 it can be seen that there was great variation in each year across the sample clubs concerning the percentage of total receipts paid to players. There also appears to be no correlation between winning the Premiership Competition and player payments. They appear to neither increase nor decrease in response to

63 Table 2.4: PLAYER PAYMENTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL RECEIPTS (In Pounds) l

Western South I Canterbury- Eastern Season I St. George Suburbs Sydney Bankstown Suburbs

-- Player Player Player Player Player

Total J Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments as Player's Payments Player's Payments Total Receipts Receipts Bonuses• as % of Receipts Bonuses• as% of Receipts Bonuses• as% of Receipts Bonuses• %of Bonuses• as%of Receipts Receipts Receipts Receiots Receipts 1936 946 4231 44.71 834 290 34.77 813 257 31.61 : · Iff]:it.it 539 47.28 1,080 667 61.76 1937 819 1691 20.63 960 410 42.71 780 126 16.151 885 260 29.38 :-:=-·:·:·:·:=:=:-:-:=:=:=:=:·:=:·:qw1a•636 54.22

948 55.93 1,245 1938 609=== 139~=~ ____22.82 1,120:·~=- . :==536 47.861 8431 248 29.42::::r=;:i:i::::i:::::::~·i11: _____ .- _ 688 55.26 • 1939 869-- 304 34.98 1,830,--- 1,125.. -- 61.481 1,7261 1,223 70.86 1,5601 ---QOO !'>7-· ---flQ 1,211 662 54.67 1 n-,,:;I 1940 883 323 36.58 1,178 591 <;A "171 1,799 1,204 66.93 1941 1,626 1,086 66.79 1,506 803 1,419 53.69 2,941 2,265 77.01

1 ____08? : _=-: ::c::56.75 1,787:-~:: 1,258.'::: ::::I- ~::~;?!'>n.,I ~::;flfl ""l I 2,090 1,680··· 80.38 19421 614 ::.=.:::I :::; I I I I 1943 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a .. n.a. n.a. I I n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 1944 2,167 1,291 59.58 2,822 2,140 75.83 3,094 2,3741 76.731 1,981 1,019 51.44 1,690 1,095 64.79

1945 3,690 2,936 79.57 2,400 1,160 48.33 2,150 1,51 oI 10.23 I 2,485 1,409 _ 56.70 . 3,771 2,840 75.31 --__ ·- . - Manly­ First Place in Newtown Balmain Warrglnah Competition

Player Player Player Player Total Player's Payments Total j Player's Payments Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments as Season I I I Receipts Bonuses• as % of Receipts Bonuses• as % of Receipts Bonuses• as % of Receipts Bonuses• % of Receipts Receipts Receipts Receipts 1936 961 4551 47.35 5891 532 90.32 - - - Easts 1937 1,069 3151 29.47 4981 243 48.80 - - - I I Easts Canterbury- 1938 ____ 605 1_20__ 1_9.8~3,,,_,,,,_, ,,,, .. ~<1()) 6351 :·.---1 I I I I I I Bankslown~-....-.- .... I I I 1939 630 252 40.00 ,,,::::,,,,,,,,,,::::::-ZJ~- 1,866, a .. ,.,,, Balmain 1940 1,773 1,037 58.49 ...... (fr21 1,411 Easts ~~I 1941 3,029 1,6841 55.601 2,5371 2,132 84.04 I I I I ---Easts Canterbury- 1942I 1,3041 8371 64.191 2,381 I 2,0891 87.74, Bankstown I ,5.•~~ 4,026 76.57 n.a. n.a. n.a. Newtown A-.~ 3,465 10.82 4,292 3,572 83.22 I I .NPwtown ·-·· 3,846 2.s10 s1.86 tJ @WJ$.l~i3,788 10.31 Easts • Does not include other payments to players such as travelling expenses ,training payments and outfits n.a. = not available I indicates the highest earning club for the season Note: These clubs were selected because they were the only clubs with a run of comparable data for any period Source: Annual Rei:><>_rtsfor Wests, Souths, St. George, Easts, Canterbury-Bankstown, Newtown, Balmain, Manly, Parramatta 1936-1945

64 winning the competition. This would indicate that the residential rule imposed by the NSWRFL was having an effect upon playing strength at the clubs during this period. ltwas not necessary for clubs to offer financial inducement to attract or keep players as they were required to be a resident in the club's district for a year before they could play for that club and could not play for another club if they did not live in that area. Therefore, to change clubs a player had to opt out of rugby league for a season. From Table 2.4 it can be seen that some clubs in particular years, paid out a very large proportion of their income to players. Clubs could do this because the NSWRFL covered the cost of other expenditure items such as the cost of grounds. It is also evident that clubs did not develop any long-term financial strategy, income acquired in one season was usually expended in the same season. This type of behaviour is more likely to be associated with utility maximising organisations rather than profit maximising organisaticns.

Conclusions During this period the major source of funding for both the NSWRFL and the clubs remained gate receipts fiom Sydney Premiership Competition matches or international fixtures. Therefore, war or economic depression, poor performance or unattractive competitions or games all had an effect on the crowd sizes and income level of the NSWRFL and each of the clubs. From this analysis it can be seen that during the socially and economically expansive years of the 1920s both the NSWRFL and the clubs were able to consolidate their place in the sports industry of Sydney and Brisbane including the country areas of New South Wales and Queensland. Promulgation of the code occurred at the junior and school level during this decade consolidating the game in terms of players and supporters. The depression of the 1930s led to reduced levels of activity at both club and NSWRFL level and to reduced attendance and income overall during this period. However, the decline did not appear significant when compared with other declines experienced by the code. The war years appeared to have a lesser impact on the income levels of the

65 NSWRFL overall. For various reasons the NSWRFL was again able to achieve the levels of income it enjoyed prior to the economic depression. However, it did not reach the peaks experienced in the late 1920s. While general trends of income and crowd figures can be established, the situation varied from one club to another during the economic depression and the war. In particular the NSW CRL fared very badly during the war years. Depletion of the ranks due to enlistments and movement of people to the city to work in essential war industries led to the collapse of the competition in some country areas. 65 Paying and retaining players was germane to pursuing each club's goal of winning the Sydney premiership Competition and a large percentage of each club's resources was spent in most seasons during this period in payments to players. Although clubs did not pay full-time employed administrators, when selecting. people . to fill the positions of patron or president, prominent. male citizens were preferred officers. This was undoubtedly done to give clubs a higher profile within the community. ·· During the period 1922 to 1945 the NSWRFL continued its practice- of'_: determining the size of the league and ensuring that all affiliated members adhered to the rules and regulations of the game and the competition and supported the principles espoused by the NSWRFL. This was evident in H.R. Miller's speech to club representatives in 1937 in relation to product and pricing. The residential qualification rule remained in force during this period with a view to maintaining an even distribution of players and spectators to provide a close competition for supporters which would in turn be reflected in the profitability of NSWRFL and the clubs. War and economic depression appeared to have effected crowd sizes and the quality of the competition. However, the NSWRFL and clubs, considered it essential to provide the wherewithal for players to be able to remain with clubs during the depression and to make the competition as attractive as possible for spectators. By organising patriotic games during World War II (often played on Sundays and therefore not effecting greatly the Sydney Premiership Competition

66 as would have been the case if games had to be played on Saturdays) and by altering the construct of the Sydney Premiership Competition to ensure the outcome remained unknown until the final game, the NSWRFL created greater interest in the game and the Sydney Premiership Competition and the clubs benefited through increased income. This period of consolidation (1922-1945) witnessed limited expansion of the Sydney Premiership Competition (disaffiliating Glebe and affiliating Canterbury-Bankstown to the NSWRFL) and the NSWRFL remained relatively unchanged in terms of its constitution and leadership. However, the game . enjoyed a period of expansion- in Country NSW, Country Queensland and_ Victoria and in the junior·and school ranks. This expansion of the game -· particularly in country New South Wales, was encouraged and supported by the NSWRFL. This provided the clubs with additional income from weekly country games played during. the -week of the bye in the Sydney Premiership. Competition. The extent to which rugby league was a business is evidenced by the NSWRFL's cartel-like behaviour and its need to generate· an -excess· {)f·income over expenditure. Although financial statements were included in the annual reports, there was very limited explicitly stated information at either the NSWRFL level or club level about policy matters or new initiatives which might be expected in the annual reports of business organisations. Some of the operations of the NSWRFL, its record-keeping and account statements, demonstrated that some of its business operations were primitive and even rudimentary. If any policy matters or new initiatives were reported it was more likely to be found in the NSWRFL's annual report than that of any of the clubs.

67 Notes 1. NSWRFL Annual Report 1920-1921 .

2. NSWRFL Annual Report 1921-1922.

3. NSWRFL Annual Report 1921-1922, p.11-12, 'Competitions were conducted amongst the High Schools of the P.S.A.A.A. for the first time for which five entries were received for the Senior Grade; eight entires were received for the Fourth Grade; and 12 were received for the Fifth Grade, making a total of 25. The First, Second, Third Grades were combined, and conducted as a Senior Competition. The respective winners were : Senior Grade, Randwick; Fourth Grade, Cleveland Street; Fifth Grade, Randwick. The following entries were received for the Primary Schools Competition of the P.S.A.A.A.:- First grade, 4; Second Grade, 6: Third Grade, 35; Fourth Grade, 32: Total 77. The entries show an increase of 17 on those of last season.'

4. Rugby League News, 14 May, 1921, 'In less than two seasons the game has completely ousted the union code in the primary schools: and when it is stated the familiar method of deliberate ostracism that is apparent in the high schools the entry from the source is satisfactory. In all, 102 public schools -- 77 primary, 25 secondary -- competed in rugby league competitions in 1921.'

5. Ian Heads, True Blue: The Story of The NSW Rugby League, Sydney, lronbark Press, 1992, p.167.

6. NSWRFL Annual Report 1923-24, p.8, 'Early in the Season a movement was inaugurated and the League code established in Melbourne .... Your Committee consider that there are great possibilities of the game being firmly established in Melbourne, and congratulate them on the progress which has been already made.'

7. Heads, True Blue, p.175.

8. Heads, True Blue, p.175.

9. Heads, True Blue, p.198. •On the night of November 11, 1929, the NSW Rugby League axed Glebe from the premiership, by the narrowest of voting margins 13 - 12. The Referee recorded a chilling epitaph that week: •The expected has happened. The axe was raised to decapitate Glebe District from the Rugby League. It fell on Monday night..." The club was landlocked, with industrial projects encroaching on formerly residential areas. Harry Hamill explained the NSWRFL decision this way "Glebe... was eliminated owing mainly to the once compact, thickly populated district being encroached upon by factories and warehouses, the population consequently having to migrate further out to the suburban areas".•

10. Heads, True Blue, p.201.

11. Heads, True Blue, p.205.

68 12. NSWRFL Annual Report 1933-34, p.19.

13. NSWRFL Annual Report 1937-38.

14. NSWRFL Annual Report 1941-1942, p.32, •Next season will open with the desire to preserve the continuity of the Game and further supplement our Patriotic effort. It will be impossible, from our depleted ranks, to expand our activities. However, every effort will be made with the players available to build up a Competition capable of maintaining the past traditions of our League with our players who are not yet eligible for Military Service and those engage in reserved and/or essential war industries who are able to secure leave of absence. Steps are also being taken to provide football for members of the Army, Navy and Air forces. Interstate fixtures will nt be played. Premiership fixtures will commence on the 8th April. The usual Season Tickets will not be issued.'

15. NSWRFL Annual Reports, 1923-24 to 1944-45. In 1923-24, six committees were listed in addition to the Management Committee, namely the Appeals and Protest Committee, Judiciary Committee, Selection Committee, School 1s Committee, Grounds Committee. and Country Committee. By 1924-25 two additional committees were added, the Referees 1 Appointment Board and the Examination Board. Also a representative to the NSW Referees Association is listed. In 1926-27 administration had expanded to include Board of Control Representatives and Grounds Conference which ceased to exist by the 1929/30 Annual report. In 1921 /32 a Special Committee was formed which disappeared the next year. In 1932/33 the NSW Leagues 1 Club Nominees and Publicity Committee were added and in 1933/34 a Junior Sub-Committee was formed which disappeared in the 1940s. From 1934/35 to 1940/41 a Retention Committee operated at League level and in 1939/40 the Schools and Junior Committees were combined and a Radio Committee was formed. In 1941 /42 a Match of the day Committee was formed and the Management and Grounds committees were combined with the Finance Committee while the Selection Committee was split into the NSW Selection Committee and the Sydney Selection Committee, In 1942/43 a War Funds Committee was in operation (until 1944/45) and the selection committees were combined into one again.

16. News, 2 May 1925, •for some time past the pioneers of the league code have remarked upon the tendency of the game to slow down. This to a certain extent has been due to the lax interpretation of the rules, particularly the play the ball rule.'

Rugby League News, September 1925, ' ... a season of mixed hopes and disappointments ... To admit that the standard of play at the present time is below that of a few seasons ago is merely reiterating what has been said time and again. But that the standard has reached bedrock and will again gradually ascend the scale, there is no gainsaying.'

17. Heads, True Blue, p.172.

18. NSWRFLAnnual Report 1925-26 pp.16-19.

69 19. Rugby League News, 1932-1935.

20. NSWRFL Annual Report 1932-33.

21 . NSWRFL Annual Reports 1922 to 1945.

22. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1931-1933.

23. For example Jersey Flegg stated in his 'Comments by the President' in the 1943-44 NSWRFL Annual Report that 'by the takings, which amounted to approximately £50,000 (which included £10,000 Entertainment Tax) ... 'Likewise in of 16 March 1944 it was reported that 'the gate receipts £2887, after the deduction of £77 4 entertainment tax.'

24. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1932-1940.

25. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1937-1940.

26. NSWRFL Annual Report 1939.

27. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1922-1923.

28. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1922, 1924, 1928.

29. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1933-1934.

30. NSWRFL Annual Report 1939.

31. Heads, True Blue, p.218.

32. Unpublished speech by H.R. Miller, copied from the book of minutes of meetings, 1937.

33. NSWRFL Annual Report 1937-38.

34. NSWRFL Annual Report 1939-40.

35. Bob Stewart, •Sports Spectatorship: What Makes People Watch?', Paper presented to the biennale conference of the Australia [sic] Society for Sports History, 1987, p.12.

36. J. Cairns, N. Jennett and P.J. Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', Journal of Economic Studies, Vol.13, No.1, pp.3-74.

37. Wray Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game: Professional Sport in Britain 1975-1914, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988, p.112.

38. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.112.

70 39. In the NSWRFL Annual Report 1937-38 it was reported that 'The Rugby League has decided that the signing on by English Clubs of Australian and New Zealand players shall cease and that the ban shall operated until the end of the 1940 season. It is anticipated that by that time the advantage from both the English and Australian standpoint, will be so apparent that the period of the ban will be extended. The decision will improve the standard of our football and give the football public added incentive to attend our fixtures. 1

40. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.112.

41 . Heads, True Blue, pp.175-207.

42. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.112.

43. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1922.

44. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1922.

45. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1922.

46. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1922-1945.

47. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1922-1945.

48. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1922.

49. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1923.

50. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1923.

51. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1925.

52. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports', pp.2-80.

53. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1936.

54. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1941.

55. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1942.

56. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1944.

57. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1945.

58. Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1936.

59. Canterbury-Bankstown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1936.

71 60. Canterbury-Bankstown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1936.

61. Balmain District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1936.

62. Balmain District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1936.

63. St. George District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936 - 1945.

64. Newtown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936 - 1945 and Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936 - 1945.

65. NSWRFL Annual Report 1941, p.25, •The extremely ominous nature of the overseas situation constitutes the gravest threat to the continuity of sport ever experienced in the history of Australia.'

72 CHAPTER THREE EXPANSION OF THE BUSINESS OF RUGBY LEAGUE (1946 -1952)

In Chapters One and Two the analysis of rugby league illustrated that the establishment and consolidation of the code in Sydney took place at two levels at least -- namely the league level and the club level. Each of these sectors operated differently to fulfil its individual goals for the sport and business of rugby league. The operations of the NSWRFL displayed many features similar to those of a cartel and examples of cartel behaviour are provided in each of the previous periods. Conversely, the NSWRFL's constituent clubs were far less likely to be administered as profit making businesses. War and economic depression effected the profitability and organisation of the code, and the clubs and league each reacted to the constraints imposed by these social and economic conditions in different ways. The NSWRFL's response was to attempt to maintain the code's viability while the constituent clubs adapted their behaviour to maintain their goal of winning the Sydney Premiership Competition. This chapter will continue the analysis and investigate the response of the code of rugby league to the changed economic and social conditions after World War II. The activities of the NSWRFL will again be analysed using cartel theory. Analysis of the constituent clubs will be undertaken to monitor any change in their behaviour as utility maximisers. The results of these assessments for the period 1946 to 1952 extend the earlier analysis to draw conclusions about the business and sports aspects of the code of rugby league over time.

Expansion of the Code and the Sydney Premiership Competition The code had experienced some forms of expansion during the previous period analysed, particularly in the junior and school ranks and the country areas of NSW and Queensland and particularly during the 1920s. However, the Sydney Premiership Competition remained fairly static in size until 1947. In the

73 NSW Rugby Football League Annual Report of the 1946 season the secretary of the NSWRFL referred to that season as the most prosperous since the game's inception. 1 He was referring to the revenue generated by the activities of the NSWRFL, but exactly what constituted revenue was not clearly defined by the administration. A graph (see Graph 3.1) of the total receipts of the NSWRFL from 191 0 to 1952 (actual and trend), indicates that during the 1920s the NSW RFL had experienced higher levels of total receipts than was the case for 1946. The trend, however, in receipts for the NSWRFL was steadily increasing throughout the entire period from '191 O to 1952 despite a dramatic drop during the 1933 season and the lower level of receipts from then until the 1950s, by which time receipts again reached, and then exceeded, the levels of the 1920s. The 1946 season was also memorable for the departure of H.R. Miller from the NSWRFL. This was a momentous change for the code as Miller had served the NSWRFL for decades and had been a paid employee since 1915 when he became secretary.2 Miller's departure was not voluntary, and it resulted in much acrimony which continued for a number of years for a variety of reasons. Miller's fa!led attempt to introduce a night rugby league football competition in 1948 was one reason for the acrimony. Eventually NSWRFL officials voted to remove all pictures of Miller from the NSWRFL's headquarters and Leagues Club.3 In 1946 the ban on NSW player movements to England was lifted and this led to a depletion of the playing ranks. In Rugby League News during 1947 the NSWRFL President, Harry (Jersey) Flegg stated that: The League has no regrets about these losses. When the game was founded in 1908 its first principle was that the players must come first. If a player can better himself or his family by going to the country or overseas, then he must be allowed to do so.4

Even though the NSWRFL's President supported the founding tenant of a 'fair deal for players', the ban on international player movements was re­ introduced in 1947. The stated reason for this action was to preserve the standard of the game in Australia. It was stated that it was not intended to prevent players from bettering their position or getting a 'fairer deal'.5 However,

74 ...... 01

Pounds

....>. I\.) w ~ 01 a:, 9 p 9 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 f t -I )> 1918 ~ CD (") ::::, 1919 a. c ~ 1920 ;;u CD G) 1921 (") ~ CD Q) 1922 "O "O en :::::r 1923 - w 1924 ~ -I 1925 0 ~ 1926 z 1927 (./) ~ 1928 ;;u,, 1929 r ;;o (./) 1930 CD CD (") ~ 1931 "O~- g 1932 en I 1933 u)> 1934 C: ~ 1935 Q) ::::, 1936 a. 1937 -I m::::, 1938 a. 1939 -"O 0 C: 1940 ::::, a. 1941 e 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 this was one of the unintended outcomes of the ban as Australian players with English clubs were receiving large reimbursement for broken time payments. The 1947 season witnessed the first expansion of the Sydney Premiership Competition since Canterbury-Bankstown had joined in 1935. When Canterbury-Bankstown affiliated to the NSWRFL it simply replaced Glebe, which had departed from the competition in 1929. The two new clubs, which joined in 1947, expanded the number of teams in the Sydney Premiership Competition. The two clubs, Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club (Parramatta), to the west of the central business district (CBD) and Manly District Rugby League Football Club (Manly),- to the north of the central business district (CBD) each had developed a healthy junior competition for some time prior to their affiliation. They were now considered capable of each fielding three grade teams in the

Sydney Premiership Competition.6 This expansion mirrored the spread of Sydney itself, as shown in Diagram 3.1. Between 1941 and 1956 the suburbs of Sydney spread both west and north. 7 Alpin noted that 'the internal combustion engine produced dramatic changes in the size, form and character of suburban

Sydney after \\/0ild War 11'. 8 From its inception the NS\o\lRFL concentrated on placing clubs in centres of population to provide a ready-made spectator base. It is, therefore, not surprising that as the composition of Sydney suburbs changed the NSWRFL continued its policy of affiliating clubs in new population centres generating additional spectators. This in turn helped generate more income both for the NSWRFL and its constituent clubs after 1947.

Although mooted as early as 19269 it was not until 1948-49 that the establishment of an International Board of Control for rugby league came to fruition. 10 With the coming of peace both interstate and international fixtures were again played and the NSWRFL began to look overseas to develop its product even further. The newly appointed secretary of the NSWRFL, Keith Sharp (who replaced H.R. Miller in 1947), travelled to the United Kingdom, America and France in 1948 to lay the groundwork for a tour of Australia by a

76 Diagram 3.1: Metropolitan Expansion of Sydney (Adapted from D. Jeans and P. Sperritt 'The Open Air Museum')

N

~) ·. ) .

0::.··0

1788 • 1859 - 1860 • 1881 ~ 1882 • 1917 ~ 1918 • 1940 D 1941 • 1950 D . 1957 • 1971 D 1971 • 1981

0 a ""

77 French rugby league team and to investigate the possibility of a world championship series of matches between all nations playing the code. Sharp also investigated the likelihood of introducing the game to the . 11 By 1948 H.R. Miller, the dismissed former secretary of the NSWRFL, had again surfaced as a rugby league administrator and entrepreneur. He unsuccessfully attempted to establish a rebel night football competition. 12 By 1952 the newly expanded competition enabled the NSWRFL both to regain the financial ground lost during the economic depression and World War II, and to expand its income which exceeded previous levels.

The Business and Sport of rugby league: The league Level By the late 1940s the NSWRFL was a well established organisation with some four decades of operation providing a basis for expansion. The establishment and consolidation of the code in these decades appears to confirm Howard Nixon's analysis of the development of modern sport. The · NSWRFL also fits Nixon's analysis of the essential features of a commercial

organisation. 13 Nixon wrote that: The pervasive development in sport of professional work roles from amateur, play-like ones has been accomplished by the increasing concern with commercial gains among those involved in sport. These trends toward professionalisation of athletes and commercialisation of sport activities have been predictable developments in the sport institution in societies like the United States. For one finds that in highly industrialised, capitalist societies, the pursuit of profit or economic rewards, in general, tends to become a primary characteristic of social behaviour. Furthermore, these professional, commercial orientations tend to be reflected in the way organisations are structured. Thus, in highly industrialised capitalist societies the business corporation becomes a dominant kind of bureaucracy; for above all else it is a complex, formal organisation oriented to the pursuit of profit. In this context it is not surprising that the organisations of sport tend to embody elements of the central societal tendencies toward professionalisation, commercialisation, and bureaucratisation. 14

The tendency toward bureaucratisation by the NSWRFL was illustrated by

78 the proliferation of sub-committees, each committed to managing one function of administration of the code or the Sydney Premiership Competition. However, unlike the process outlined by Nixon 15 in regard to American sport, the NSWRFL began its organisational development in the 1920s during its period of consolidation, much earlier than America in the 1950s. The pursuit of profit had been a tenant of the NSWRFL since its inception. In order to fulfil its goal of providing a 'fair deal' for players and to continue to promulgate and develop the code, the NSWRFL needed to make a profit. Therefore, it is not surprising to read in the NSWRFL Annual Report of 1948 that: With the passing of the post-war boom period, it is essential that our officials devote their undivided attention to the requirements of the code to ensure its continued development and expansion. The future success of our great game is in the hands of the present administrators, whose creative efforts in the past will require to be vigorously pursued, if we are to preserve and consolidate the ground already won for Rugby League Football. 16

It would seem, however, that as Nixon 17 goes on to point out, the degree of professionalism, commercialisation and bureaucratisation may differ between sporting organisations and large commercial organisations such as Ford or Coca Cola. There was also some difference between the ownership and management of large commercial organisations and those of sporting organisations. Rather than securing a profit to pay dividends to shareholders, the NSWRFL sought to secure a profit to promote and diversify its product further and generate income to fund its growth and that of its constituent clubs. Although to a lesser degree than some large commercial organisations, the NSWRFL had become, essentially a more bureaucratic and commercial organisation by 1950 than it was in 1908. Its mode of operation was also similar to that of a cartel, where the good of the group was considered before that of the constituent parts. This had been the case since its inception. The profitability of the NSWRFL after the war was illustrated in Table 3.1. This table shows that, with the exception of 1948, the income of the NSWRFL continued to grow during the period 1946 to 1952 though the balance, i.e. the excess of income over expenditure, fluctuated during this time. During this

79 period the NSWRFL began the practice of placing this excess into an accumulated funds account. By this practice the NSWRFL was building a balance to fund the future expansion of the code rather than simply fund activities from year to year. The crowd sizes (which include attendances at all fixtures run by the NSWRFL, international or domestic, not just the Sydney Premiership Competition) indicated that from 1946 to 1952 the game continued to become mor popular. With the exception of 1948 and 1952 the crowds continued to increase. The NSWRFL was pleased, however, with the total crowds for 1952 given that the weather during the season was very inclement. 18 The downturn in the 1948 season was attributed by the NSWRFL to the general economic conditions, namely the end of the post-war boom period. 19 It is possible that a perceived poor standard of play on the part of some clubs contributed to this downturn experienced in 1948 as did the inclement weather. The Annual Reports of some clubs, such as Souths,20 Manly, 21 Easts, 22 Newtown,23 and Canterbury-Bankstown24 each expressed disappointment with the performance of their first grade teams, either for the whole season or part of the season. Table 3.1 NSWRFL Total Income and Crowd Sizes 1946 - 1952

Season Total NSWRFL Balance of Income Total Crowds Income (£/s/d) over Expenditure (spectators per (£/s/d) annum all fixtures) 1946 21,758/16/7 1,003/18/4 1,032,826 1947 25, 167/9/1 968/3/1 1,049,369 1948 23,421/12/7 257/19/0 982,446 1949 29,537/13/3 2,527/6/2 1,006,880 1950 39,049/10/5 2,461/15/2 1,166,982 1951 47,559/0/0 n/a 1,213,087 1952 51,478/12/3 1,459/7/5 1,184,093 Source: NSWRFL Annual Reports 1946 to 1952

The primary source material consulted for this period (1946-1952) provides no indication of the formula for disbursement to clubs by the NSWRFL

80 of Sydney Premiership Competition gate receipts. In the earlier period Heads25 reported that the gate receipt split was two thirds for the clubs playing the fixture and one third for the NSWRFL and disbursement took place each week. However, the figures provided previously in this thesis for the period 191 0 to 1916 and those in the NSWRFL Annual Reports 1946-1949 and 1952, indicate that the clubs received annually less than half the takings from the matches (see Tables 1.1 and 3.2 for details). It is possible that agreement was reached between the clubs and the NSWRFL for the parent body to fund more items of expenditure in return for a larger share of the gate takings. Durlng this latter period the NSWRFL also paid grants and reimbursements to clubs, an item which had not previously appeared in the accounts at either club or NSWRFL level. Table 3.2 Disbursement of Sydney Premiership Competition Gate Receipts to the Clubs

~ Season Total Sydney Share of % of Sydney Total Sale of Premiership Sydney Premiership Programs Competition Premiership Competition (number) Gate Competition Gate Receipts Grate Receipts (£/s/d) Receipts paid to Clubs paid to Clubs (£/s/d) 1946 37,410/2/1 16,972/16/10 45.4 513,751 1947 50,471/18/9 23,831/11/6 47.2 501,286 1948 41,875/3/4 19,530/3/0 46.6 548,548 1949 60,557/18/9 28, 739/15/10 47.5 477,081 1950 56,876/18/10 26,655/5/0 46.9 539,037 1951* 71,619/4/8 33,411115n 46.6 568,701 1952 68,605/15/11 32, 197/12/0 46.9 554,830 ·The figures for 1951 were generated from data in the 1949 Annual Report due to the lack of a report for 1951. Source: NSWRFL Annual Reports 1946-1949 & 1952

Analysis of Table 3.2 indicated that crowds in the 1948 season may have

81 been a matter for concern for the NSWRFL and the clubs. However, it is possible that the anomalous season was 1947. The novelty of two new clubs (Manly and Parramatta) may have attracted new spectators. This combination of circumstances may have inflated the figures for 1947 and set up unrealistic expectations for subsequent seasons. In 1948 the combination of inclement weather, a perceived poorer standard of play and the absence of the novelty factor may have contributed to a slight downturn which appeared worse due to the inflated figures of 1947. During this period the income of the NSWRFL was also largely expended on ground charges (rising from £4,678 in 1946 to £9,403 in 1952).26 ___ The next group of expend;ture items required far less funds. However, like ground charges, each of these items increased during the period. Gatemen's wages and payroll tax rose from £1,684 in 1946 to £3,729 in 1952; referee's fees rose from £1,889 in 1946 to £3,356 in 1952; and, assurance costs rose from £2,089 in 1946 to £3,567 in 1952.27 Increases in each of these items reflected the·­ added costs associated with the growth in the size of the Sydney Premiership Competition and the increase in the number of touring sides, with visiting teams ·· from Great Britain, New Zealand and France. Income (or revenue as it was listed in the NSW Rugby Football League Annual Reports) for the NSWRFL was generated from gate receipts (from Sydney Premiership Competition matches and other games including Test matches and representative matches) program revenue, interest and advertising.28 The administration and structure of the NSWRFL remained the same as the 1920s. The one change in administration, which took place during the period, was the resignation of J.K. Sharp from the position of secretary of the NSWRFL. Sharp resigned his position to take up the position of secretary and manager of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust. 29 In 1951 Harrold Matthews, who had been an official with the Balmain Club since 1916, replaced Sharp as secretary of the NSWRFL. Using Vamplew's methodology3° to analyse the records of the NSWRFL it can be seen that the organisation continued to exhibit some traits similar to that

82 of an ideal-type cartel. In terms of decision-making the NSWRFL retained the power to discipline members for rule infractions throughout the period 1946 to 1952. As discussed previously, a cartel usually acts to influence profits by cost­ minimising regulations, usually some form of labour market intervention designed to prevent undue competition for players between member clubs. 31 During the period 1946 to 1952 the residential qualification rule remained in force as did the international player ban with England (except for one year). The NSWRFL continued to determine the size of the League and the Sydney Premiership Competition and during this period two new teams were admitted. This change in the composition of the League also led to change in the boundaries for neighbouring clubs. In 1908 Wests had been allocated a vast sparsely populated area from which to draw spectators and players. As the suburbs of Sydney changed over time {cee Diagram 3.1 for details) the population density of West's area increased. As this density increased and more clubs joined the Sydney Premiership Competition, Wests lost territory: firstly to St. George in 1921; and Canterbury-B~nkstown in 1935; and to Parramatta in 1947. It is obvious that the NSWRFL was considering the good of the code as it expanded the competition in line with population growth and spread. However, this set of circumstances led Lou Moses, the secretary of Wests, to quip in 1947 at a general committee meeting of the NSWRFL, 'Thanks for letting us keep

Rookwood'.32 However, any suggestion from Western Suburbs that the expansion was unfair fell on deaf ears. Because the adverse effects of boundary changes were confined to only one member club of the NSWRFL other members were unsympathetic and changes were made. By affiliating new clubs in population growth areas in Sydney the NSWRFL was continuing the pattern that they had established from the code's inception. Areas likely to provide a substantial new spectator base could maintain if not expand the profitability of the NSWRFL. From Table 3.2 it appears that, after the first year of increased income, the NSWRFL concentrated on maintaining its profitability. If Wests had remained in control of its large area,

83 with an increasing population density, and no new clubs had been formed, Wests may have been able to realise a dominant position in the competition. Such a situation as Cairns33 had pointed out eventually leads to a downturn in spectator support and less profitability for the league, and in the longer term less profitability for the club. It has also been argued previously that a cartel is typically concerned to maximise revenue by improving the product offered for sale. Vamplew wrote that this can be done by rule changes aimed at rendering the sport more attractive for spectators, by product diversification in the form of new competitions and special matches.34 Rule changes were again introduced during the period 1946 to 1952.35 In addition, the trip by secretary Sharp in the earlier part of this period also bore fruit in 1951 with a very successful tour by the French rugby league team. Not so successful, however, was the tour of the American rugby league team. 36 Finally, the cartel has the task of maintaining the viability of the league or sports industry sector, for there have to be sufficient participants to provide saleable products.37 Devices to maintain the equity of the sporting competition have included practices such as the equitable gate sharing between both weak and strong teams. Although there is no evidence from the NSWRFL's and club records to indicate how gate money was shared among clubs, the actions of the NSWRFL in sharing out areas of population from which to draw players and spectators and instituting the international player ban to maintain the standard of play in Australia indicate that it was attempting to maintain equity of the sporting competition. The NSWRFL also took action to confront rival organisations to preserve the cartel's monopsonistic and monopolistic powers. During the period under consideration (1946-1952) the NSWRFL received a challenge from a rival competition, namely the night competition which H.R. Miller attempted to establish in 1948. Miller had intended to use existing NSWRFL resources. It was reported that a prominent NSWRFL referee would officiate wearing a mask to protect his identity and prevent disqualification by the NSWRFL. Ten

84 footballers from St. George were to have played under false names, also to escape lifetime disqualification by the NSWRFL. The rules of the existing game of rugby league were to be altered with scrums being replaced by a bounce of the ball. There were conflicting reports in the press that admission would be free or would cost 2s/6d and Miller accused the NSWRFL of mounting a vendetta against the game.38 The end result of the misinformation and adverse publicity was that the game never took place. Whether or not the NSWRFL was mounting a vendetta against Miller it was able to stifle this attempt at a new competition in a very short space of time. In this manner the NSWRFL was exhibiting cartel-like behaviour.

The club level Between 1946 and 1952 although intermittent, the annual reports of some nine clubs are available for analysis. Each club reported in the same way .. during this period, and their concentration on on-field performance and reporting results is common across all clubs analysed. It is again clear from these reports that their primary goal was winning the Sydney Premiership Competition.39 For example, Newtown in the 1946 season were 'pleased to record that, notwithstanding the Club's failure to attain Premiership honours in any of its three grades, the season generally has been a successful one. The first grade side were again in the first four for the fourth successive season and the third grade were grand finalists.'40 Manly opened their 1952 season Annual Report with the statement that 'The winning of the Club's first premiership by the Third Grade team completed a season full of interest.'41 Souths reported in 1952 that in all three grades the club 'had the honour of competing in the respective Grand finals which were played at the Sydney Cricket Ground ... Members and supporters were in high hopes that the First Grade team would win their third premiership in succession by defeating Western Suburbs, but this was not to be

•42

During this period the statement of receipts and expenditure (sometimes referred to as income and payments) revealed that for all clubs their largest

85 supply of income came from the Sydney Premiership Competition matches (see Table 3.3 for details for each club). The next highest item of income received varied from club to club and year to year during this period. In each year all clubs received grants, but the grants did not always constitute the second highest income item for each club each year. The largest item of expenditure for each club from 1946 to 1952 was bonuses (usually paid to first grade players but often paid to other grade players as well). During several seasons between 1946 and 1952 Newtown used a bonus payment system to encourage better play by reserve and third grade players, offering one back and one forward from . reserve grade the same bonus as first grade players .for each game and offering one back and one forward from the third grade the same level of bonuses per

game as reserve grade players.43 The second largest expenditure item also varied from club to club and year to year (see Table 3.3 for details). However, regardless-of the nature of the second highest exp9nditure item it w3s always much smaller in outlay than bonus payments. As officials were honorary in all clubs there was a very small amount of expenditure on honorariums for each club·. , There was no indication of which officials received this minimal amount,

(whether it represented payments to coaches or to the secretary).44 During the period 1946 to 1952 some clubs reported their assurance fund as a separate statement of receipts and expenditure while other clubs did not report it at all in their Annual Reports. 45 For those who reported their assurance funds the largest income item was the grant from the NSWRFL.

86 Table 3.3: Major items of Income and Expenditure per Club (in£)

Club Total Highest and Highest and Second Receipts Second Highest Highest item of {£ item of Income {£ Expenditure {£ rounded) rounded) rounded)

Newtown District 1946 Match Receipts 2,208 Bonuses 2, 178 Rugby League Football 3,603 NSWRFL Grant 460 Jnr League & Grounds 385 Club 1947 Match Receipts 2,641 Bonuses 2,374 3,533 NSWRFL Grant 500 Jnr League 299

1948 Match Receipts 2,429 Bonuses 1,628 3,415 NSWRFL Rebates 736 Jnr League 346 .

1949 Match Receipts 2,796 Bonuse~ _3,927 3,941 NSWRFL Refund 1,021 Jnr League 315

1950· Gate Receipts 4, 119 Bonuses 3,927 5,508 NSWRFL Rebates 1,166 Jnr League 387

1951 Gate Receipts 1,821 Bonuses 1,368 3,803 NSWRFL Rebates 1,827 Jnr League 523

~ - ·.;... 1952 n/a n/a n/a n/a -· n/a

Western Suburbs 1946 Match Receipts 1 ,860 Bonuses 2,263 District Rugby League 3,181 NSWRFL Grant 460 Training Expenses 178 Football Club . ·"'·· 1947 Match Receipts 3,756 Bonuses 3,700 4,688 NSWRFL Grant 500 Training Expenses 199

1948 Match Receipts 3,491 Bonuses 3,788 5,148 NSWRFL Rebates 523 Outfits 291

1949 Match Receipts 3,455 Bonuses 3,810 3,331 NSWRFL Refund 1,085 Outfits 265

1950 Gate Receipts 3,743 Bonuses 3,798 5,288 NSWRFL Rebates 1, 124 Outfits 328

1951 Gate Receipts 3,543 Bonuses 3,682 5,598 NSWRFL Rebates 1,917 Outfits 432

1952 Gate Receipts 4,690 Bonuses 4,604 6,962 NSWRFL Grants 1,616 Outfits 432

87 Club Total Highest and Highest and Second Receipts Second Highest Highest item of (£ item of Income (£ Expenditure (£ rounded) rounded) rounded)

Balmain District Rugby 1946 Match Receipts 3,221 Bonuses 4,105 League Football Club 7,894 Trial Matches 947 Brisbane Trip 1,679

1947 Match Receipts 3,501 Bonuses 3,987 4,933 NSWRFL Grant 500 Trainer & Ambulance 258

1948 Match Receipts 3,725 Bonuses 3,257 4,517 Trial Matches 679 Trainer & Ambulance 250

1949 Match Receipts 4,480 Bonuses 4,613 5,676 NSWRFL Refund 1,079 WA Trip 258

1950 Gate Receipts 3,844 Bonuses 4,600 5,680 NSWRFL Rebates 1,330 Blazers 299

1951 Gate Receipts 2, 123 Bonuses 2,581 3,921 NSWRFL Rebates 1,396 Guarantees 239

1952 Gate Receipts 1,895 Bonuses 2,150 3,349 NSWRFL Grants 1,170 Advertisinq 93

St. George District 1946 Match Receipts 3,464 Bonuses 3,705 Rugby League Football 4,510 Practice Matches 453 Training Fees 129 Club --· 1947 Match Receipts 2,966 8onuses 2,882 4,150 NSWRFL Grant 500 Trainers & Coaches 169

1948 Match Receipts 2,786 Bonuses 2,007 4,449 NSWRFL Grants 528 Junior League 190

1949 Match Receipts 8,495 Bonuses 6,779 8,495 NSWRFL Refund 1,172 Outfits 188

1950 Gate Receipts 2,930 Bonuses 2,247 4,740 NSWRFL Rebates 1,097 Trainers 233

1951 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

1952 Gate Receipts 4,755 Bonuses 4,088 7271 NSWRFL Rebates 1 418 Outfits 340

88 Club Total Highest and Highest and Second Receipts Second Highest Highest item of (£ item of Income (£ Expenditure (£ rounded) rounded) rounded)

Canterbury-Bankstown 1946 Match Receipts 2,108 Bonuses 2,592 District Rugby League 3,365 Grants 687 Training Fees 131 Football Club 1947 Match Receipts 4,298 Bonuses 3,802 5,343 NSWRFL Grant 500 Trainers & Coaches 171

1948 Match Receipts 1,727 Bonuses 1,770 2,975 NSWRFL Grants 605 Outfits 192

1949 Match Receipts 1,410 Bonuses 1,727 2,825 NSWRFL Refund 827 Outfits 202

1950 Gate Receipts 1,572 Bonuses 1,893 3,088 NSWRFL Rebates 821 Outfits 215

1951 Gate Receipts 2,088 Bonuses 2,719 4,152 NSWRFL Rebates 1,642 Outfits 282

1952 Gate Receipts 1,875 Bonuses 1,552 3,430 NSWRFL Rebates 1,188 Outfits 317

Eastern Suburbs 1946 Match Receipts 3,370 Bonuses 2,191 District Rugby League 3,890 Refund 115 Junior Comp 301 Football Club 1947 Match Receipts 1,614 Bonuses 1,663 .. 2,810 NSWRFL Grant 500 Junior League 260

1948 Match Receipts 904 Bonuses 1,033 1,760 NSWRFL Grants 448 Trainers 135

1949 Match Receipts 1,453 Bonuses 1,571 2,530 NSWRFL Refund 831 Trainers 163

1950 Gate Receipts 1,667 Bonuses 1,910 2,841 NSWRFL Rebates 840 Outfits 188

1951 Gate Receipts 2, 196 Bonuses 2,575 3,859 NSWRFL Rebates 1,373 Outfits 288

1952 Gate Receipts 1,824 Bonuses 2,100 3 396 NSWRFL Rebates 1 186 Outfits 383

89 Club Total Highest and Highest and Second Receipts Second Highest Highest item of (£ item of Income (£ Expenditure (£ rounded) rounded) rounded)

South Sydney District 1946 Match Receipts 908 Bonuses 1,050 Rugby League Football 2,499 Grant 480 Trial Games 224 Club 1947 Match Receipts 2,048 Bonuses 2,103 3,136 NSWRFL Grant 500 Outfits 154

1948 Match Receipts 1 ,570 Bonuses 1,616 3,348 NSWRFL Grants 650 Junior League 197

1949 Match Receipts 5,279 Bonuses 5,620 7,677 NSWRFL Refund 1,177 Outfits 321

1950 Gate Receipts 4,521 Bonuses 4,278 9,319 Trial Matches 1,419 Share Gates 556

1951 Gate Receipts 6,252 Bonuses 6,951 10,994 NSWRFL Rebates 2,376 Rent, Training 457

1952 Gate Receipts 6,019 Bonuses 6,013 10,028 NSWRFL Rebates 1,197 Outfits 538

Parramatta District 1946 n/a n/a Rugby League Club n/a n/a n/a

1947 Match Receipts 1 ,136 Bonuses 1,417 2,124 NSWRFL Grant 500 Outfits 153

1948 Match Receipts 1,092 Bonuses 1,189 2,052 NSWRFL Grants 400 Outfits 191

1949 Match Receipts 2,051 Bonuses 2,529 3,363 NSWRFL Refund 906 Outfits 211

1950 Gate Receipts 1,714 Bonuses 2,131 6,061 NSWRFL Refund 843 Outfits 267

1951 Gate Receipts 2,281 Bonuses 3,062 4,093 NSWRFL Rebates 1,368 Outfits 360

1952 Gate Receipts 1,299 Bonuses 1,692 2 813 NSWRFL Rebates 1 106 Outfits 402

90 Club Total Highest and Highest and Second Receipts Second Highest Highest item of (£ item of Income (£ Expenditure (£ rounded) rounded) rounded)

Manly District Rugby 1946 n/a n/a League Football Club n/a n/a n/a

1947 Match Receipts 1,016 Bonuses 1,273 2,011 NSWRFL Grant 500 Outfits 188

1948 Match Receipts 893 Bonuses 942 1,796 NSWRFL Grants 400 Outfits 181

1949 Match Receipts 933 Bonuses 1,295 2,092 NSWRFL Grants 771 Trainers 197

1950 Gate Receipts 1,213 Bonuses 1,400 2,284 NSWRFL Refund 789 Outfits 206

1951 Gate Receipts 4,086 Bonuses 5,265 7,005 NSWRFL Rebates 1,773 Outfits 282

1952 Gate Receipts 3,367 Bonuses 3,746 5,654 NSWRFL Rebates 1,466 Outfrts 315 Source: Annual Reports for 1946 to 1952 for South Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown, Easts, Wests, St. George, Parramatta, Manly, Ba/main, Newtown

Even though there is no consistent pattern of annual increase in club receipts (see Table 3.3), the level of total receipts, the trend over the period is a positive one. However, it is evident that in most years a majority of clubs relied upon grants or rebates from the NSWRFL for one of their largest sources of income. There was a small group of items of secondary expenditure mostly related to participation in the Sydney Premiership Competition, namely outfits and training expenses. Expenditure on the local junior league was another prominent expenditure item. Club reporting practices for the period 1946 to 1952 continued those of the previous periods.. As Table 3.4 shows, some clubs paid a considerable percentage of their total receipts to players (in 1949 St. George paid 82.5 per cent of its total receipts in player payments), while other clubs paid relatively smal I amounts (Newtown paid only 37 .18 per cent in 1951 of its total receipts to players). It is interesting to note that the extremes in player payment percentages were not as great as had been the case during the period

91 Table 3.4: PLAYER PAYMENTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL RECEIPTS (In Pounds)

Western South Canterbury­ Eastern Season St. George Suburbs Sydney Bankstown Suburbs

Player Player Player Player I I I Player Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments Total Player's IPayments as Total Recei ts Player's Payments Receipts Bonuses* as% of Receipts Bonuses* as% of Receipts Bonuses* as% of Receipts Bonuses* % of p Bonuses* as% of Receie_ts Receipts Receipts I I Rec~ipts I__ _ _I __ . I Receipts I 19461 3,181 I 2,302I 72.37 2,499 1,050 42.02 4,510 3,705 62.151,,. -:-:,.,.~.;.~J 2,5921 77.031 3,8901 2,7171 69.851---

1 1:1.,a,1 ;:: ~•~;:~ ~:!:: :~=,,,;;; ~::-;~:~111!1 ~::: ~:: ~:: ::: :!~1 I , 1949 5,331 3,940 73.91 .•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•::•::•.•:·..?..i~?!.. 5,620 73.21 ::;:::;:;:;:,:::::::::::JM.I:~,:7,006 62.50 2,625 1,760 63.01 2,530 1,806 71.36I I 1950 5,268 3,796 71.62:f'lffff$;~1(f 4,387 47.oa 4,740 3,051 64.37 3,068 1,939 62.79 2,641 1,910 67.23 1951 5,596 3,662 65.77fil'l)l16l&i 6,951 63.23 9,444 7,227 76.52 4,132 2,719 65.60 3,659 2,575 66.73, 1 1952 6,962 4,626 66.45 JJIIJH:6li'!ii 6,013 59.96 1.211 4,502 61.92 3,430 1,552 45.25 3,396 2, 1oo 61.04 1·························1 Manly­ First Place in Newtown Balmain Parramatta Warrginah Competition

Player Player Player Player Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments Total Player's Payments as Season I Receipts Bonuses* as%of Receipts Bonuses* as% of Receipts Bonuses* as% of Receipts Bonuses* % of Receipts Receipts Receie_ts Receie_ts 1946 3,603 2,176 ~it:\: ·it;~'' 4,105I 52.00I I - - St. Georae , , , Canterbury-

1947 I 3,532I 2,416I 66.40I 4,933I 3,967I 80.62I 2,011 J 1,261 63.70 2,124 1,417 66.71 Bankstown 19461 3.415I 1,6201 47.67I 4,517I 3,258I 72.13I 1,796I 976I 54.34I 2,os2I 1,1691 57.941 wests I 19491 3,941 2,327 59.05 5,676 4,613 61.27 2,092 1,313 62.76 3,363 2,529 75.20 Souths 1950 5,506 3,927 71.30 5,660 4,600 60.99 2,264 1,421 62.22 3,061 2,131 69.62 Souths 1951 I 3,603I 1,414I 37.16I 3,9211 2,sa1I 65.63I 7,005I 5,324I 76.001 4,093I 3,062I 74.61 I souths 19521 n.a. I n.a. I n.a. I 3,349I 2,1soI 64.201 5,654I 3,795I 67.12I 2,813I 1,6921 60.151 wests

• Does not include other payments to players such as travelling expenses ,training payments and outfits

~.:~.:.: ~~! !vailable 1 }{'}}}}{'}' indicates the highest earning club for the season Note: These clubs were selected because they were the only clubs with a run of comparable data for any period Source: Annual Reports for Wests, Souths, St. George, Easts, Canterbury-Bankstown, Newtown, Balmain, Manly, Parramatta 1946-1952

92 of consolidation between 1922 and 1945. There remained, however, great variation each year between clubs in the percentage of total receipts which they paid to players. Just as the primary source material consulted gave no indication of the formula for gate receipt disbursements to clubs, so too the clubs did not report how disbursements to players were formulated. It is possible, indeed likely, that some clubs paid more than recompense for broken time payments to players (as did Newtown during this period when it used bonus payments as an incentive to improve play). It is also possible that some clubs reimbursed players in all three grades .while others paid only first and/or reserve grade players. In some clubs payments may have been based on the wage attracted by a player's occupation and in some clubs players may have earned more than in other clubs. It is also possible that the number of players used in a season impacted upon the total amount paid during a season. If some clubs required more replacement players this could have increased their player payment costs. There appears to be some correlation during the period 1946 to 1952 between winn:ng the Premiership Competition and being the highest income earning club that season. This was attributable in part to playing extra games in the semi-final and final series as well as the . Each of these games usually attracted a larger crowd than normal Saturday matches which split the audience between several games on the same day. However, there appears to be no correlation between the size of the percentage of player payments, winning the Sydney Premiership Competition and being the highest income earning club. This may have occurred because player payment agreements were reached prior to the commencement of the season. Therefore, if the club had a poor season attracting crowds which in turn lead to a lower level of income, then the percentage paid to players would represent a larger percentage of total income. Conversely, if the club fared well during a season better than anticipated expenditure on players could represent a smaller percentage of total income. Player payments did not vary as a result of· winning the competition or an increased season income level. This suggests that payments were probably

93 based on agreement at the beginning of the season. financially for the club.

Conclusions During this period from 1946 to 1952 it appeared to be business as usual for both the NSWRFL and its constituent clubs. There were few changes in organisation structure from previous periods. What altered was the level of income earned and expenditure made by both the NSWRFL and the clubs. The income levels for both followed a trend of steady increase, even though on an annual basis they fluctuated. Overall crowd sizes increased steadily over the entire period as well, despite- -slight annual fluctuations. This growth-in both crowd sizes and income levels was reflective of the changed social and economic conditions within which both the clubs and the NSWRFL now operated. It was no longer necessary for clubs or the NSWRFL to have a retention fund as-players had now returned from war and were able to find local employment again. However, some residual impacts of depression and war were still felt by clubs. Newtown noted in its Annual Report of 1946 that the l1igh injury toll for that season was· attributable to the ill health of players · -~.­ following their long period of war service.46 The principles governing both the NSWRFL and the clubs throughout this period remained the same as in previous periods. The NSWRFL continued to exhibit features which represented cartel-like behaviour through its actions while the clubs expended a majority of their income on players as all were striving to win the Sydney Premiership Competition each year. This would indicate that rather than altering their aims to be profit driven, the clubs remained utility maximisers. During the period 1946 to 1952 the NSWRFL continued its practice of determining the size of the league, increasing it by 20 per cent in 1947, and ensuring that all members of the league adhered to the rules and regulations of the game and the principles the NSWRFL espoused. This period of expansion (1946-1952) witnessed growth in the Sydney Premiership Competition (with the entry of Parramatta and Manly), increases in

94 crowd sizes and a trend to greater levels of income. Conversely, the NSWRFL remained relatively unchanged in terms of its constitution and leadership, with the exception of the position of secretary which changed hands twice during the period.

95 Notes

1. NSWRFL Annual Report 1946.

2. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1915 and 1947.

3. Ian Heads, True Blue: The Story of the NSW Rugby League, Sydney, lronbark Press, 1992, p.257.

4. Rugby League News, April 1947.

5. Sporting Life, April 1951, p.16.

6. NSWRFL Annual Report 1947.

7. Max Kelly ed. Sydney: A City of Suburbs, Kensington, University of New South Wales Press, 1987, p.194.

8. Graeme Alpin, 'The Rise of Suburban Sydney', in Max Kelly (ed) Sydney: City of Suburbs, Chapter 9, New South Wales University Press, Kensington, 1987, p.204.

9. Heads, True Blue, p.181.

10. NSWRFL Annual Report 1948-49.

11. Heads, True Blue, p.257.

12. Heads, True Blue, p.257.

13. Howard L Nixon, 'The Commercial and Organisational Development of Modern Sport', International Review of Sport Sociology, 1974, Vol.9, No.2, pp.107-135.

14. Nixon, 'The Commercial and Organisational Development of Modern Sport', pp.107-135.

15. Nixon, 'The Commercial and Organisational Development of Modern Sport', pp.107-135.

16. NSWRFL Annual Report 1948, p.7.

17. Nixon,'The Commercial and Organisational Development of Modern Sport', pp.107-135.

18. NSWRFL Annual Report 1952, p. 7.

19. NSWRFL Annual Report 1948, p. 7.

20. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1948.

96 21. Manly-Warringah District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1948.

22. Eastern Suburbs Distinct Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1948.

23. Newtown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1948.

24. Canterbury-Bankstown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1948.

25. Ian Heads interviewed by the author September 1988.

26. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1946 to 1952.

27. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1946 to 1952.

28. NSWRFL Annual Reports 1946 to 1952.

29. NSWRFL Annual Report 1950.

30. Wray Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game: Professional Sport in Britain 1875-1914, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988, p.112.

31. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.112.

23. Heads, True Blue, p.251.

33. J. Cairns, N. Jennett and P.J. Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports: A Survey of Theory and Evidence', Journal of Economic Studies, Vol.13, No.1 , 1986, pp.3-80.

34. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.112.

35. Heads, True Blue, p.266-270.

36. Heads, True Blue, pp.266-270. 'New rules were in place for the '51 season - the most significant being that penalty kicks had to be taken at the spot where they were awarded .... The rule change allowed players to "tap" the ball on the mark. The five yard ruck rule created space that was of enormours benefit to dashing sides such as France and South Sdyney.'

37. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.112.

38. Heads, True Blue, p.257.

39. Annual Reports for Newtown, Western Suburbs, South Sydney, Manly, Parramatta, St. George, Canterbury-Bankstown, Balmain and Easts for 1946 to 1952.

40. Newtown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1946.

41. Manly-Warringah District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1952.

97 42. South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1952.

43. Newtown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1946.

44. Annual Reports 1946 to 1952 for South Sydney, Balmain, Canterbury­ Bankstown, Parramatta, Manly, Newtown, Easts, Wests and St. George.

45. Annual Reports 1946 to 1952 for Balmain, Easts, Canterbury-Bankstown, Wests, St. George, South Sydney, Newtown, Parramatta, Manly.

46. Newtown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1946.

98 CONCLUSIONS Vamplew might just as easily have been referring to Australia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when he wrote of sport in Britain: The emergence of professionalism in sports such as football, rugby and cycling was very much a product of the wave of commercialisation which engulfed the leisure sector in the late nineteenth century. The same economic tide also left its mark on sports with a longer tradition of professionalism, such as cricket and horse-racing. Change was accompanied by controversy and almost every sport had its debate on the merits, or otherwise, of recognising professionalism and on the safeguards which would have to be imposed should it be accepted. 1

Vamplew proceeded to claim that 'the essential difference between amateurs and professionals ... was class rather than economics'. 2 There was, however, more to the establishment and growth of rugby league in the Sydney metropolitan area than merely the class distinction between the professional and amateurs. Rugby league in the Sydney metropolitan area, which was a mass-spectator sport, was also an industry as Mandie suggested: Professional mass-spectator sport is and has been an industry, even in Australia. We seem, as a people, and as sports historians, reluctant to acknowledge that fact. We have been romantics, concentrating upon myths and legends, upon the attractive superficialities of sport. 3

According to the officials of the time the premise upon which rugby league was built was a 1fair deal for players'. To put this premise into practice it was necessary to establish both an administrative and competition structure which attracted spectators and generated funds to be used to provide that 'fair deal'. The administrative structure put in place evolved over time. It began with a group of entrepreneurial pioneers who established the code on a district basis. Clubs were formed and affiliated to the NSWRFL which had the responsibility for developing the code and administering the Sydney Premiership Competition. This competition was the saleable product which was the primary objective of the NSWRFL. The district basis for clubs was designed to encourage a local following which in turn would generate the funds needed to run the Sydney Premiership Competition, the NSWRFL as well as

99 the clubs. From its inception the code had an interstate and international aspect which provided some of the diversity of product necessary to encourage and maintain attendances for all products of the code. The international aspect of the code caused some difficulty for the pioneers, leading to the replacement of first group of administrators in 1909 following a financially disastrous first Kangaroos tour. This new group of NSWRFL administrators continued the development of the code along similar lines to the pioneers. They maintained the residential rule instituted in 1908 which was created to establish and maintain equity in the competition by sharing the players and spectators as equally as possible among all the clubs affiliated to the NSWRFL. The administration of the code took place at two distinct levels, namely the league level and the club level. Administrators at the centre versus those at the periphery were driven by differing goals. The NSWRFL was administered in a manner which could be compared to that of a cartel. The decisions made by the NSWRFL and the rules put in place were all designed with the good of the group as a whole, or the code in mind. The NSWRFL administrators operated to make a profit, although, unlike other commercial organisations, this profit was not distributed to shareholders but was used to guarantee the future development and growth of the code and to sustain the 'fair deal for players'. In this sense the NSWRFL was more like a family business than a multi-national corporation. Aspects of management and ownership of the NSWRFL were basically vested in one group. Clubs each sent representatives to the NSWRFL. These representatives assumed positions on the various management and sub-committees of the NSWRFL to administer the game and the Sydney Premiership Competition. The exception to this was the paid employees of the NSWRFL, the president and the secretary, who did not hold a position with a constituent club. These people proposed policy for the NSWRFL and ensured it operated from the group perspective. This was essential if the Sydney Premiership Competition was to flourish and provide the income necessary for all participating parties. However, club officials could be described as utility maximisers, i.e. rather than

100 administering their activities to maximise profits, their main activity being to win the Sydney Premiership Competition. Each year the clubs expended most of their resources on attempting to win the Sydney Premiership Competition. The primary source material consulted yields only a few examples of conflict between the club representatives on the NSWRFL committees and the men in paid employment at the League. Examples of this conflict can be found in 1937 when H.R. Miller made his speech to the general committee meeting about the club administrators' lack of marketing and business acumen and again in 1947 when Wests objected to the loss of territory for the third time. The institutions and the withdrawal of club season tickets was yet another example of the NSWRFL acting for the good of the group rather than for its individual members. The existence of such conflict was one of the characteristics of cartels according to Cairns. 4 The basic principles governing the actions of cartels were applicable to any industry including sport: Despite the variety of objectives assumed for the various sporting cartels examined by economists, the significant similarity between these (and all other cartels) concerns the inherent conflict of the interests of a single member and the group as a whole. The conflict prevails whether the objectives of the group are couched primarily in profit seeking or in non-profit seeking terms ... The conflict between club and league interests has been an issue explored in connection with uncertainty of outcome as a determinant of sporting attendances. In every case it has been necessary for leagues to establish rules to regulate the behaviour of individual clubs in the interests of cartels overall, for example, by establishing a constitution with a rules structure designed to provide for competitive balance. These issues are of course hardly unique to sporting cartels ... 5

Using Vamplew's definition of an ideal type of cartel to analyse the data and actions of the NSWRFL a number of examples can be located to substantiate the claim that the NSWRFL operated in a cartel-like manner. By the 1920s the NSWRFL, unlike the clubs, had developed into a bureaucracy with a proliferation of sub-committees each responsible for a different aspect of the administration of the game or the Sydney Premiership Competition. Paid officials, although few in number during the period 1908 to 1952, were a feature of the NSWRFL which did not exist at club level.

101 The administrative structure of the NSWRFL which evolved in the 1920s remained throughout the period to 1952. The sources of income for the NSWRFL did not expand markedly during this period and gate takings either from the Sydney Premiership Competition or other matches, continued to be the major source of funding for both the affiliated clubs and the NSWRFL. From 1921 the NSWRFL also earned income from the sale of a match program each week which included advertising to defray the costs of production. Little change took place in the list of items of expenditure for both the NSWRFL and clubs during the period 1908 to 1952. For the clubs, expenditure consisted of items used to participate in the Sydney Premiership Competition and for developing the code of rugby league in their local area and participating in inter and intra-state games. Expenditure items for the NSWRFL revolved around the organisation of the Sydney Premiership Competition and Interstate and other representative matches. However, by the decade of the 1940s any excess of income over expenditure for the NSWRFL was being used for the future development and expansion of the code. The NSWRFL possessed central decision-making through its management committee and was vested with the power to discipline members for rule infractions. The constitution vested such powers in the central body. Decisions about competition and game rules were made by the paid employees and the management committee of representatives. Likewise, throughout the period the NSWRFL established and maintained such labour market restrictions and the residential qualification rule and the ban on international player transfers. The NSWRFL also determined the size of the League and the Sydney Premiership Competition through its ability to affiliate and disaffiliate clubs. The NSWRFL also developed the products offered for sale during the period, introducing the City Cup and playing interstate representative matches under lights at night. The final aspect of an ideal type of cartel outlined by Vamplew concerned the maintenance of equity in the competition. Although the NSWRFL encouraged competition equity through its district boundaries, there appears to have been no attempt by the NSWRFL to ensure income equity for clubs through equal distribution of gate receipts. Throughout the

102 period those clubs which proved to be unviable or uncompetitive in the Sydney Premiership Competition due to lack of crowds or income were disaffiliated. Also, unlike larger commercial organisations or some other sporting organisations the NSWRFL undertook limited investment in grounds (purchasing only one ground at Goulburn during the period under review), but it did invest in a building to house its headquarters and a licensed club. Although war depleted the playing ranks, the decision by the NSWRFL to continue to play throughout World War I and World War II bore fruit in the long run. During World War I the NSWRFL was subjected to criticism from some sections of the press and other sports for its decision to continue to play. The impact of both World Wars was to lower the level of income achieved during these years. The impact of economic depression was more severe than both world wars in lowering the levels of receipts achieved. Despite fluctuations, the general trend in receipts or income level for the NSWRFL was one of steady increase. Primary source material consulted for this thesis gave no indication of any formula used for the distribution of gate receipts between the NSWRFL and constituent clubs nor for the distribution of bonuses to players by clubs. The !fair deal' promised to players was recompense for medical expenses and broken time payments. Therefore any suggestion of regular payments for play under any other conditions was not published unless in relation to representative matches or those played by defecting rugby union players in the early years. The evidence would suggest, however, that bonuses paid to players amounted to more than recompense. The primary source material consulted at club level does, however, give an indication that the clubs were acting as utility maximisers, when in some cases they distributed more funds to players than were earned from their Premiership matches. This meant they were willing to use their income from other sources to fund their participation in the Sydney Premiership Competition. The path the NSWRFL would follow was established with its constitution in 1908. What is difficult to ascertain is whether the cartel-like behaviour of the NSWRFL was a conscious decision or evolved more indirectly and even by

103 chance. It would appear from the sources not to have been the result of any conscious decision to behave in a manner more typical of business enterprises but to have been a result of the NSWRFL management's perspective of the best way to attain the outcomes it believed it should achieve Throughout the period 1908 to 1952 the sport of rugby league was administered at two levels, namely at league level and club level. Each administrative level acted differently when achieving their individual goals.

104 Notes

1. Wray Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game: Professional Sport in Britain, 1875-1914, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988, p.183.

2. Vamplew, Pay Up and Play the Game, p.183.

3. W. F. Mandie, 'Sport and Money' in R. Cashman and M. McKernan, Sport: Money, Morality and the Media, Kensington, New South Wales University Press, 1981.

4. J. Cairns, N. Jennett and P.J. Sloane,'The Economics of Professional Team Sports: A Survey of Theory and Evidence', Journal of Economic Studies, Vol.13, No.1, 1986, p.71.

5. Cairns, Jennett and Sloane, 'The Economics of Professional Team Sports: A Survey of Theory and Evidence', p.71.

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112 Williams, Terry, Out of the Blue, Newtown District Rugby League Football Club, 1993.

Reports

Balmain District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936-1952.

Canterbury-Bankstown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936-1952.

Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936- 1952.

Manly-Warringah District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1947- 1952.

New South Wales Rugby Football League Annual Reports and Financial Statements tor the period of 1910-1952.

Newtown District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936-1952.

Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1947-1952.

St. George District Rugby League Football Club Annual Report 1936-1952.

South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1913-1952.

Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Annual Reports 1936- 1952.

Theses

Blackwell, Linda, 'Class, Community and Rugby League', BA (Hons) Thesis, Macquarie University, 1984.

Ferguson, David James, 'Play for a Purpose: Sport and Sydney Society 1900- 1914', BA (Hons) Thesis, University of New South Wales, 1979.

Gregory, Philip, 'Recreation and Community: A Study of the St. George Area

1 to 1914 , MA Thesis, University of New South Wales, 1981.

Mackay, Ross, 'Hard Times, High Stakes; The Political Culture of South 1 Sydney Rugby League 1928-1935 , MA Thesis, Macquarie University, 1982.

113 Ryan, Ronald James, 'The History of Rugby League Football in Australia', MA Thesis, Department of Physical Education, California State University, Long Beach, 1973.

Wheatley, Nadia, 'The Unemployed Who Kicked: A Study of the Political Struggles of the NSW Unemployed in the Great Depression', MA (Hons) Thesis, Macquarie University, 1976.

Worthy, Jane, 'A Good Working Man's Home: Annandale in the Depression 1929-1935', BA (Hons) Thesis, University of New South Wales, 1986.

Newspapers

News

Northern Herald

The Referee

Rugby League News

Sporting Life

Sydney Morning Herald

Unpublished Material

Heads, Ian, interview with the author.

Middleton, David, Unpublished, incomplete compilation of Crowd data for the Sydney Premiership Competition and the City Cup.

Miller, H. R., 'Unpublished Speech made in 1937'.

New South Wales Rugby Football League Minutes of Meetings, 1922.

Stewart, Bob, 'Sports Spectatorship: What Makes People Watch?', paper presented to the biennial Conference of the Australian Society for Sports History, 1987.

114 APPENDIX 1

MINUTES

Pasted in after the Notice of the Meeting of 25/10/37 of the NSWRFL was this):

Report H R Miller

Our administration is only a means to an end and that is service to the public and players, and to make money.

We must successfully satisfy, and to do this we must look at things from the buyers point of view. What we want to see are more facts. Then we want to see those facts systematically arranged so that we may discover what relations they bear to each other. Maybe the facts that can be secured are few, ut the fewer they are the more we need them. The more careful we ought to be to be absolutely certain of these [sic] we can check up. The narrower we make the gap we have to jump will out [sic] eyes shut the more likely our jump is to be successful.

Tests are the sporting as well as the intelligent way to settle business differences. One test is worth ten opinions. So long as straws show which way the wind blows it's silly to be stingy with your straws. We must get ourselves into a testing frame of mind. When we are certain that our patrons are in sympathy with us we need never worry about anything else. It is better to serve the patron than to try to 'sell' him. To find out things should be our first straw.

To come to a decision on nothing more scientific than a savage resolution is like navigating a ship without bothering about maps, winds, tides or ocean currents.

We must legislate along tested methods that cannot fail. This is common sense, anything else is folly.

To find out what people prefer and to turn those preferences to our own advantage has a almost incalculable advantage.

We must go after this market systematically. If you do better than that ask fro a medal and retire while your laurels are still green.

Tests are often astonishing profitable. Failure to test is due to sheer mental laziness. We must not be like the dog that say [sic] on a prickly cactus and howled to break his heart because he was too lazy to .

Facts are the foundation of any business. Facts are callous. Recognised or not they keep right on. It is stupid to be wrong in business. It is easy to be right.

115 Human tides set strong: study them, dont fight them. An intelligent trained observer can predict with astonishing accuracy.

Attendances can be built up like anything else. Nothing happens without cause, particularly among large numbers of people.

We must give a general diffusion of satisfaction among the largest possible number.

Only to the intelligent do problems present themselves. To the simple everything is simple. The football we can sell is the football we should give to our public for at least part of our season. Perhaps once in fifty times a guess may be right, but fifty times in fifty an actual test tells you what to do and avoid. Tests often prove something makes no difference, even that is well worth knowing.

We must seek a closer acquaintance with prospective patrons and forget this make believe and let's pretend. Until tested, judgement is only o guess.

We must not think that other people are interested in what interests us. The public makes its own judgements. What people don't want they disregard with supreme contempt for its excellence, what pleases them they take. We must not thrust on the public football the public would not choose for itself. We must have a sympathetic grasp of the other man's viewpoint. We must surrender our own viewpoint to flatter that of whomever we hope to interest. They consider everything from a strictly selfish viewpoint. We must seek a 'yes' response. We seek to convert prospects into patrons.

You must pick out a list of imaginary prospects and put yourself in the place of each one in turn and ask yourself candidly whether such a person would buy the football entertainment for the price you are selling it if he or she had th choice.

Carefully study the real preferences of those far less able people who nevertheless make or break our choice.

We must try to proximate the average patron.

This procedure will work miracles for us. Our football must have the ability to interest. The people who come to our fixtures expect the best in everything and they should never be disappointed.

The patron is King. We must think backwards, starting with new patron's preferences and not lose with their wants, tastes or desires.

Legislators must always reckon against force of habit, affection for old, and slowness to act. To continue any habit is a sort of pleasure. The change is trouble.

116 We cannot live by sitting on the shirt tail of progress shouting Whoa'. We must take advantage of known human motives.

If we are willing to approach prospective patrons on their own terms we will achieve astonishingly large profits in a surprisingly short time.

We must comprehend the true potentialities of a field many times larger than our present clientele. It is hard, you will probably echo, it's damn near impossible, but it is not.

We must not confuse what people should d with what people will do.

We must not be swayed by personal preferences, likes or dislikes, in arriving at important decisions.

We must enquire as to how our probable decisions will strike public fancy. Salesmanship and buymanships must be studied side by side. This has been necessary ever since the snake made the first sales talk to Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The final o.k. comes from thousands of our patrons. The difference between our preferences and theirs has been our final financial stagnation.

We must have destruct of our personal convictions. It takes a real picture of real football to make a person football hungry. We must strive for the best football for the greatest number.

The present is not a time for everybody talking and nobody doing. Better football means more football.

We must concentrate on profitable business and discontinue our unprofitable business.

We have to please or starve. Our legislation should be found on more football fro more people. Still more people seeing still more football. only with lower prices can this come about.

The surface of this market has been scarcely scratched. We must aim to serve instead of to sell.

Cost was the forerunner of Instalment selling. Instalment selling was roundly denounced by the orthodox. To-day a few preach against it. In these days when every threepence counts, an extra threepence cost is calamity.

If prices of admission can be traced as the reason for our depleted attendances it will be common sense to reduce them. We should deliberately dedicate a moment to seeking a means to making some other somebody happy.

117 A challenge, (we might call it 'the most humanising challenge of modern time'), to the legislator is to increase the standard of football while lowering the price of admission.

Our ultimate success depends on how well as can furnish our patrons with the class of football they want at the prices they can pay.

We must strive to add value to our football or lower the cost. We must reduce prices to create enough new demand.

Do not let other influences confuse the issue. Prospective patrons cannot pay more than they can pay. We must not by unnecessarily high prices prevent our football from reaching the very thousands that need football amusement most.

Reduction in prices is th only hope for the basic wage-earner to get a decent share of the benefits of open-air sport. It may open the vast market now too poor to buy any appreciable share.

Mass attendance implies and requires mass appeal and mass appeal implies and requires widely scattered cost satisfaction.

No matter who tells you to the contrary the mind of the populace makes the market. Cost does the rest. We can blaze the trail with a reduction of prices and stagger competition.

Suppose, instead of 60,000 people to jam the Cricket Ground for representative football - we could arrange for them to be distributed every Saturday at club matches, we could say that we have reached our objective. A fair estimate of the wealth o our patrons is: 6% wealthy 61 % a little above the basic wage 13% at and below the basis [sic] wage.

It will therefore be seen that price appeals to 9 out of every 10 people, this leaves very little buying power for football, we must get admission prices low enough to appeal to the multitude.

There is a general tendency to expect less expensive entertainment.

We can lower prices without killing profit by opening up vastly wider patronage. Working eye to eye with prospective patrons will bring new and unexpected profits.

We will soon find out what has been unnecessarily wasted as soon as we ask in advance what return we are likely to get for expenditure and afterwards ask ourselves what return we did get.

118 We can reduce prices of admission by getting rid of every pounds worth of expense not absolutely necessary, and by an intelligent avoidance of waste and a gradual abandonment of expenditure now regarded as essential.

Net profits are synonymous with wisdom. A share of the savings passed on to the public in lower prices will open up vast new patronage.

The public are entitled to this compensating reduction in prices. We must fight for this saving for our patrons, and see that this saving is passed on to the public in conspicuously low prices.

Legislation calls for intelligent alertness and vigilant curiosity.

As football gets cheaper more people can see it.

We will find more joy in studying patrons wants and pride in satisfying them at prices low enough to give the greatest satisfaction to the most people.

119 APPENDIX 2

CLUB BOUNDARIES

Western Suburbs - Commencing at Leichhardt Canal and , along western side of Long Cove to Iron Creek, along Iron Creek, to Dobroyd Parade, along Dobroyd Parade to Parramatta Road, along Parramatta Road to St. Luke's Park, along fence to , along foreshores of Canada Bay and to , along foreshores of Parramatta River to Carlingford Railway Une, along Carlingford Road to Railway Une to Pennant Hills Railway Station, along Pennant Hills Road to Thompson's Corner, along Castle Hill Road to the store, then including the Shire of Baulkham Hills, back west to the , along Nepean River to Camden, along Railway Une to Campbelltown, along main southern line to Liverpool, then from Liverpool along Southern Road to , along Georges River to Milperra Road, along Milperra Road to Canterbury Road, along Canterbury Road to Parramatta Road, along Parramatta Road to Long Cove Canal. _ . _

., ...... :IIJGU, 1(.Ql&Ai,t,,.~C•~- _____ c,.,:·l'n•,\;,,6.'!"lb :!_T:ll(f_

--Wt.ilt.."-1:'~~- i"'" ...... =-"""" '='-·-· , ' I ( I

.. ·. >\ . \ . -,_A.:,.-· -Cill.~ . --•·. ' . • ---·-·· .,~·· .. \ ; : ...... _., •...... , .. :.·___ ,.], ... ,. : ...... ·;,~ ..... ,..... :""-, .. --··- ... --,-.:.. .. ·--·- : ...--..--.------· Eastern Suburbs - George Street at Dawes Point, along George Street to Uverpool Street, via Uverpool Street to Oxford Street, to Anzac Parade, via Anzac Parade to Rainbow Street, via Rainbow Street ..... _,,___ to ocean, via foreshores to point of corn mencement.

tlffl C ----rnecr -r: -

120 ' -- ,. ___ ..,~_

South Sydney - Commencing at George and Uverpool Streets, via George Street to City ·Road, via City Road, to Forbes Street, via Forbes Street to Garden Street, via Garden Street to Henderson Road, via Henderson Road to Mitchell Road, via Mitchell Road to Huntley Street, via Huntley Street to Alexandria Canal, to , along foreshores to Rainbow Street, via Rainbow Street to Anzac Parade, via Anzac Parade to Flinders Street, via Flinders Street to Oxford Street, ~o, ◄ ,, via Oxford Street to Liverpool Street, via Uverpool Street to point of "· - ~ .,. commencement...... I e I I , = ' ..

North Sydney - Commencing at North Head, along foreshores of and to Terry's Creek, along Terry's Creek to Pembroke Street, along Pembroke Street to Railway Une, along Railway line to Mount Colah Station, then in a line east to Cockle Creek, via Wat.ers of and to Barrenjoey and Pacific to point of commencement.

c..:...._.:~:~___. ___. ... - •:....r •... ;-·- ••. o•.-.• . , ~ -._, - :\,:-) . ·- ····--· •""\,\ ~ "{ -- :-.·.:-:.'.~:· ~:..,.··,.,~~ , ..... _, ....,. ... ,,,. ----;.-.. .. -t ... _...... ,,~ -1• • ,r •...... ·-, .. . • ., • ...... ,,. .. --• ... ., _., :-,. ,.,-. · ... -· ... •-...... - •• - i ...... ------...... ;. .. ' 121 Newtown - Commencing at George Street at City Road, via City Road to Forbes Street, via Forbes Street to Wilson Street, via Wilson to , via Cornwallis Street to George Street, via Garden Street to. Henderson Road, via Henderson Road to Mitchell Street, via Mitchell Street to Huntley Street, via Huntley Street to Alexandria Canal, to Cook's River to Tempe Railway Station, along East Hills Railway to Sharpe Street, via Sharpe Street to Canterbury Road, via Canterbury Road to Parramatta Road, along Parramatta Road to point of commencement.

N('WTQWN OISTR'CT ----- . . ··- ·-·7 ...... \ • 4, . ..'> ~ ... ' ''. -·.. : I ..;,+r , :_. ! t- ••- - • T II l. r: L. r. D r : _, (A,/l!f•f4f~• ., _,

i

1- .... i,.. ,~~"------_/;' ~.__...:::----~ I §.,,-.-_,' .._...... ,.:.:: P. C., :. I ·, .:- ✓~·· j 11 ., r K 11 ,_ 1.. C (, ... ,_f\.,. ...-r-- ... ,.,_ ... ~,- .. -·-•· ~ ..... ,.-, ... __ ,. ··""- , ...... __ ,..., __ , __ ,..,,...,.,.,.,,u••,.•A...... ,,. •-4·,•·-•.- .. .,,••.,.• ...... _ . .,, .. -· ,.___, .... , ...... ·- ···--- •.. -· • ••4•·-·· -· ,..,,,, ,... J, •. ______., - ...... , ...... , ...... , •• _,_ ... ·-- •.•--· . , _ _,._,1,_ ...... _ ..... , ...... ' .... ·- ·-·· , ..... - .... • - ·-- ,.•• - .· ,· l•J~l•f••• ... -•P·•,.••.-•:-••••- .... • - -•-•• -"•V ·••- ' '-- --..;·:::-

122 Balmain - Commencing at Dawes Point, along George Street to Parramatta Road, to Long Cove

_____IIAL_M~~~ Canal, along Long Cove Canal to foreshores of Creek, via I Iron Cove Creek to Parramatta ~ Road, via Parramatta Road to St. Luke's Park, being western side of boundary of Municipality of Drummoyne, along fence of St. Luke's Park to Canada Bay, along foreshores to , by Gladesville Bridge to Northern Shore of Parramatta River, along Parramatta River to Carlingford Railway Line, along Railway Line to

·- ..•. ______!.:i., .. Pennant Hills Road, by Pennant Hills Road to Carlingford Road, by Carlingford to Railway Line, along Pembroke Street to Terry's Creek, along foreshores of Terry's Creek to Lane Cove River, along foreshores to point of commencement.

N.5.~,._.!NCl;!'!'.[001C3AI L LCACU.

,~i ,.; ,· !

'-"""' ..... ,__ _ -· I .___ ,,,,_...... ,.,,,_ .. ., ...... ~ _.,_., ,_.,_..,~._ _..,.,, ...... __ .. _.,,,...... ,._. ______... , .. ,,, .. ,_ ..... tv_-.. 1 ...... ,.....,.3'(-,.,r,.,,,_,,,~·-• :~.-,.. _,. J,...,,_.....,....c,- ,_ _...,,_ ...... ,tJ,-,,- ..•.• ,.,,.., .. _,_ .___..__ /r ',_ _,..._, ... :...,--:'i,,ow•/•'<#6••·--"·... -•"'· ..... -,_··-~ ::::,.,._-c:.;-::::.:..::::..' ~:·~:: ..::.:·::: ;...::::::.:---:: "'-"" ~ --·· .,~ ...... """"' ... --···· ''-' .. .,

~ .,, .. ''" c-:.=•··'-=-=--.....l ··, ,..

-.L! ···: St. George - Tempe Railway Station, along East Hills Railway to Sharpe Street and via Sharpe Street to Canterbury Road, and via Canterbury Road to Milperra Road to Georges River, along Georges River to , via Woronora River to Loftus Junction, to Audley, to River, along foreshores to Tempe Railway Station.

123

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