1908 Episode 12.Odt 16/05/19 Not All Events Went to Plan

Episode No: 12 Title: 1908 Now there are Ten Date Written: 1 Length Words: 6885 Date Recorded: TBD Length Time est at 125 WPM: Date Uploaded: TBD Length Time when recorded: Intro Music Welcome Hello and welcome to Grand Final History. I am Kieran Magee and in this episode we go back to 1908, the 12th year of the VFL, where the competition welcomed its first two expansion clubs, Richmond and University, creating a 10 team league. Carlton were looking to become the first club to complete a hat trick of premierships, St Kilda and South Melbourne would try to maintain their improved from and the remaining clubs wanted to make their mark on this expanded league. Background 1908 was a big year in sport internationally and locally. London hosted the 4th Modern Summer Olympics. The games took 6 months to complete1, a bit different to the 3 weeks we are familiar with today. Australian won one gold medal when the Wallabies Rugby Union team, already on tour in the UK in 1908, beat Britain, represented by the Cornwall Rugby Team2. In the other sporting highlight of the year, Melbourne would host Australian Football’s 50th anniversary Jubilee Carnival. More about that later. In Sydney, where the VFL would tell us the Australian game was thriving, the big news was the establishment of a professional Rugby League competition, breaking away from the amateur Rugby Union3. One key factor in the emergence of Rugby league was the demand by working class players for payment to recognise the commitment they made to the game and the need for financial assistance when recovering from injuries. Rugby Union wanted to maintain an amateur approach, which was easier if you had a profession or career that provided enough income to support your recreational activities. The Rugby league clubs also had access to enclosed grounds that allowed clubs to charge admission, which also helped build a successful, professional competition. Australian Rules clubs in Sydney did not have the advantage of enclosed frounds, not the only reason why Rugby League would dominate in Sydney, but an important factor, Also in 1908, Melbourne was visited by the United States Great White Fleet in August and September. Sixteen battle ships and four destroyers, all painted white, carrying fourteen thousand sailors and marines. They would capture the public’s imagination. When the sailors completed a 10km march from Port Melbourne to the Royal Exhibition Buildings the crowd was even bigger than for the 1901 inauguration of the Commonwealth4,5. Many events and activities were held for the visiting fleet with sailors travelling to the country and country Victorians going Port Melbourne to see the fleet. 1 of 14 1908 Episode 12.odt 16/05/19 Not all events went to plan. The failure of an American officer to pass on an invitation for one event meant that only seven sailors turned up to a reception and dinner at the Exhibition Buildings, where catering had been laid on for 2,8005. Getting our focus back on football, in January the Age published news of an international Football carnival. To be played at the MCG in August to celebrate the 50th year of the Australian game. Or, as some might say, an interstate carnival with NZ playing too. 7 The Queensland Football League was so excited about the Australian game they had composed their own song, I will include a copy on the website. I was hoping it might have been included in the pre-game entertainment at the Gabba for 2020’s unique Queensland based AFL Grand Final but maybe the chorus of “Cooee, Cooee, Cooee” made it a little too old fashioned for the modern TV audience. Richmond and University meant the VFL was now a ten team competition causing a change to the structure of the season. There would be 18 home and away rounds with the top four teams competing in Semi Finals and then the final. The Challenge option would be retained for the team that achieved the minor premiership at the end of the home and away season but there would not be any need for Sectional Rounds as seen in previous seasons. 8 After several seasons where professionalism had been debated in the press, the February League Delegates meeting saw a proposal from Ern Copeland of Collingwood that any players receiving payment be registered as a professional or be subject to disqualification. Mr Con Hickey, who was the chairman of the meeting, said“if the game is to be turned into a professional one I am out of it.” Mr Copeland said “So am I but something should be done”. He clearly recognised that faux amateurism was going to cause more damage than open professionalism. But given the hour was late no decision was made on this issue.8, 9 The proposal was picked up the following week and there was much discussion with some interesting comments. While player payments were against the rules Mr Tom Fogarty, a new delegate from the University club, made the obvious point that “You all think it exists” which was med by laughter. Perhaps, nervous laughter. Then Mr Wilson of Essendon effectively admitted they had payed players, in the past when they were on top, saying “I admit what happened in the years we were on top, We want the game cleansed of men being allowed to run the clubs” Charles Brownlow of Geelong made an amendment to the proposal allowing the league to demand any club or player to furnish a statutory declaration that players had not been paid. This was opposed by several delegates. In the end the vote for the amendment calling for Statutory declarations was 9 for and 6 against but because it did not receive the three quarters majority, that is 12 votes, it was declared lost.11 The season itself opened on Saturday May 2 with Carlton unfurling their premiership flag, again in front of the visiting St Kilda team. This year, despite the saints being coached by 2 of 14 1908 Episode 12.odt 16/05/19 Mick Grace, having switched from the Blues, Carlton won the opening game of their season comfortably. Richmond established a record that can never be improved upon by becoming the first expansion team to win a game in the VFL by defeating Melbourne on the Punt Road oval. In years to come, other expansion clubs may have also won their first game but they were just following Richmond’s lead. The flowing week in Round two, University got their first win of the season and their VFL career when they beat Richmond. University were playing their home games at the East Melbourne Cricket ground, sharing it with Essendon. In Round 3 Carlton played Essendon and selected a new player for the game. Wally Koochew would only play 4 games but has the honour to be the first player of Chinese heritage to play in the VFL. This was a provocation to some supporters. After Wally was selected for his second game a Carlton member wrote to the Carlton committee expressing his outrage that selecting a “Chinaman” was dealing a death blow to the White Australia Policy. In this instance the club backed the player and refunded the membership to the upset supporter. As has been seen in many instances football can be both a bridge to welcoming different cultures and a focus for resentment and bigotry. While Carlton supported Wally Koochew on this occasion it is fair to say the White Australia policy also proved resilient lasting up to the early 1970’s.16 The fourth round game between St Kilda and University saw controversy break out as gambling reared its ugly head. Despite their good season in 1907 the Saints had lost their opening two games but looked to be back on track when they gave South Melbourne their first defeat for the season. But then, in round four, they lost to University. Initial reports congratulated the Students on an unexpected win.12 The Age did point out that the Saints were hopeless in the third quarter when University put on 5 goals without the Saints scoring. University players were praised and St Kilda players were scorned for their poor performance. But on the Friday after the game the scandal broke in The Argus. 13 It was reported that a prominent supporters were paying selected players “honorariums”, or cash payments that were not official, and not paid by the club of course. Because the players were all amateurs, of course. But some players were not happy that their “Honorariums” were less than others and this created dissension and a lack of cohesion. Given the teams form reversal from a win against South to a loss against the newly admitted University, the Club Committee did some investigations. It was stated that one committee member had won 30 or 40 pounds on the match against South Melbourne and at half time two of the leading Saints players had come to him asking for 2 pounds if the team won. The Committeeman refused fearing similar approaches by other players eating up all his winnings. The same committeeman had then placed a bet for St Kilda to win at odds of 5 to 2 against University. But the Saints lost. It was then further alleged that another committee member boasted in the dressing rooms after the game that he had won 23 pounds on the game and some players in the team would do for him what he required. 14 The St Kilda committee met on Thursday from 8.00pm to mid night.

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