Fitzroy Reds: A footy love story

Correct on both counts Jack. The Reds were originally a Melb Uni club. People also tend to forget that Quinlan was already a household name from his time at the Western Oval with Footscray before crossing to Fitzroy at the Junction Oval. That aside, its still a very good article on suburban footy. There should be more like it.

Brilliant.

Mister, It is funny you mention that sign for it is the reason I chose to barrack for the Hawks. After coming here from Ireland in 1971, and being a devout Catholic in a time when it mattered the first point of bemusement on arriving here was one constant question........ ' Who do you barrack for...Paddy...'? I was going to support South for i loved Mopsy Rantall, but, when I saw that sign and was aghast at the seeming 'blasphemy', it had to be Hawthorn So many memories at my short time at Glenferrie, from the collective hush, and associated heartache when Huddo did his knee in 72... the emergence of the 32 in Huddos absence, who became known as 'Lethal; on donning 3.... the daredevil courage of Crimmo, and his under rated career, seriously fine player.. Peter Knights amazing mark in front of the Grand Stand, and run like a hare dashes...to the Thursday BBQ by the trainers... to us leaving....And being reminded how much a home base meant due to everyone and anyone at Carlton making it abundantly clear that we were in no way welcome at their dungheap when we moved there.. When you talk rivalries, old Hawk fans still despise every thing Carlton with all our being....

Brings up the point about how Metro Footy (and to a lesser extent Country Footy in Victoria) is slowly dying because hacks who think they're better than they are are getting paid $1K per game. Perhaps those types of players could spend a season up in country Queensland for example where you have to PAY $200+ to play on sand filled former dump sites just because you love playing the game.

Aren't Fitzroy Reds descended from University Reds (that's Melbourne University Reds ) ? The old VFL Fitzroy team left Brunswick St in the 1960s . Haydn Bunton certainly played there and I guess the young Kevin Murray but perhaps not Bernie Quinlan ( As well as Neil Harvey on the cricket side but I think most of the traditional inner city cricket clubs have moved elsewhere )

Mr F Thanks for the history lesson with the rebranding etc. In that case I would have gone with Sheek's West Melbourne especially in the era of a national competition. Western is an adjective that must describe the Bulldog - I picture a bulldog wearing a cowboy hat with a six-shooter. They still exist as you say and doing OK this year - how do you rate their chances?

Tim speaking of the sacred ground that is the Glenferrie oval (one time, the smallest ground in the VFL). No doubt you have heard the Huddo joke, but nevertheless, it's such a good joke that it is worth re-telling (actually it's more an anecdote than a joke). There was one of those evangelical posters on a noticeboard outside a church in Hawthorn. It asked the worshippers earnestlessy: What would you do if Jesus came to Hawthorn? A lark scribbled underneath the question: Move Peter Hudson to centre-half forward.

Footscray has had to rise from the grave more than a few occasions. We all remember they almost merged with Fitzroy at the end of 1989. On that occasion, current President, Peter Gordon, was a driving force in saving them. They did ok too, but by the end of 1996, they were back in the red (in fact, the sports doco: The Year of the Dog was filmed through 1996, and basically documents a club falling apart, recommended viewing). That's when David Smorgon took over from Peter Gordon, and rightly or wrongly, they thought they had to re-create the club from scratch, so new name, new jumper, new branding, but same colours, nick name and club song. The year was 1997 and we can all recall now that they famously fell to the Crows in the preliminary final after leading all day (and lost to them again the following year). I think most Footscray fans prefer the original name, but those who have been around a long time understand that with the club on its knees twice in the space of 7 years, the management had to try something new. I understand that we can never go back to the Western Oval and that we probably can never be Footscray again, but the quid pro quo is that the club not only survives, but thrives. It's really heartening for me to know that so many long time supporters are still drawn to the Western Oval to watch the reserves, and they are bringing their children with them, so the connection to our spiritual home continues. We often talk about simpler times, being more community minded, etc - my memory of following the club is walking to the ground every second Saturday, along with thousands of others from nearby suburbs. I'm sure many others have similar memories following other clubs in other football codes. In fact, whenever I see older football grounds in England, or even an old ground like Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan, I'm always struck by how similar the facades of these old grounds are, with their brick walls, ticket windows and turnstiles. It seems to me that the changes we have witnessed in and around footy (all footy) simply echo everything else we have witnessed changing over the decades. In summary: we are no longer getting old....we are old.

Great story Luke. When we were first talking, I remember seeing a bunch of photos of you playing in the Fitzroy jumper. It does seem odd, that players who played professionally can go and compete against the amateurs. It happens in rugby league all the time. It goes to show that we put pro players on a massive pedestal, with some thinking it inconceivable of every playing against them. I was on the field with Ed Cowan and Greg Mail earlier this year, and while I felt they were a whole lot better, you do realise that they're just people too. People who are much better than you are, but still people.

I have missed the tribal aspect of footy since we left Glenferrie at the end of 1973. That place had a sacred feel to all old time Hawks fans, and epitomized the Club. Footy for me hasn't been the same since. And worse still with the gradual phasing out of all the Suburban grounds and their unique feels the game has lost so much. The opening of the dreadful boutique stadium Ethihad cemented this with its sanitized feel and dinky little roof. I still love my Hawks, but, more enjoy watching Hastings FC play in the Peninsula league and the old time feel it has.

70s Mo, You've just clarified why they should remain Footscray Bulldogs. Did Hawthorn ever consider rebranding themselves Eastern Hawks? Not on your life!

You are missing the most important part of the nomenclature there MF... it's "footehscray". ;) When I head to Melbourne I usually take in a VFL match or too at the old suburban grounds. It's good to be reminded that for some people still football (of all stripes) is not a product or a brand but an experience of community.

Could you imagine Tottenham Hotspurs renaming themselves "North London" or Chelsea "West London". I hate the name Western Bulldogs with a passion. Most of my non-AFL mates assume it's a team from Weterm Australia

I know Footscray wanted a greater interaction or identification with the western suburbs of Melbourne. I get that. So the obvious name would be West Melbourne Bulldogs. But Western Bulldogs is nonsensical. In any case, wouldn't a majority of Bulldogs fans prefer they just left it at Footscray???

Im from Perth but lived in Brisbane for a while, used to watch the Lions to get my footy fix. Didn't like the tiny chairs at the Gabba or the clowns behind you spilling beer on you, or kicking the back of your chair so stopped going. But I passed through Perth a few years ago and popped in to watch my old club West Perth play Subiaco. Was great sitting on the grass, there was plenty of room, good footy and you could hear the banter between the players and umpire like you could back in the old days. Had a few beers and a pie, was a great way to spend a few hours. Visited my sister in Phoenix in 2011 right in the midst of spring training. Brother in law and I went every Saturday morning to watch these major league super stars do their thing in front of crowds of 2000 people in the Arizona desert. Again, it was fantastic. The big names relaxed and signed autographs, the up and coming players all played like their life depended on it (probably did), and again, in between drinking beers and eating hotdogs we watched some baseball. So to conclude, the second tier of these sports really have something to offer for a fan, that the AFL / NRL Super league etc will never be able to.

I get what you're saying. As a kid, you referred to the 12 VFL teams either by their geographic name or by their nick name, but never both, for example, no one ever said: the Footscray Bulldogs. If it wasn't just plain Footscray, it was the bulldogs, or the doggies or the scraggers, but never "the Footscray Bulldogs". Then in 1982, South Melbourne moved to Sydney, and they became the Sydney Swans. Then in 1987 you had the West Coast Eagles. Ten years later Footscray becomes the Western Bulldogs, Fitzroy merges with the Bears to create the Brisbane Lions and the Port Power joined the comp (initially they tried to distance themselves from Port Adelaide FC). And now we have the GWS Giants. At least with the last one, I can sort of understand it. This club needs to draw fans widely, otherwise it's not going to exist. About one-third of its members come from Canberra, and about 10% come from outside of Sydney and Canberra. Will it be around in 15 years in the same guise? Who knows.

Mister Football, Thanks for that, I'll check that site out - The Footy Almanac. And it might please you to know I still refer to the Bulldogs as Footscray. I mean, Western where, who, what...? That's what I don't get about these shortened team names - Western Bulldogs, or Western Force (super rugby), etc. Is there an Eastern Bulldogs lurking somewhere, or a Northern or Southern Force??? Alternately, West Coast Eagles tells you the coast is on the westside of the country. GWS Giants tells you it's the western districts of Sydney & covering a large area. They're both clear as a bell in their clarity! Nitpicking, I know.....

By the way Sheek, you remind me, last year my club: Western Bulldogs (nee Footscray), introduced their own team into the VFL, and reverted to their original name: Footscray. They also play out of their original home ground at Whitten Oval (once known as Western Oval), and their games attract thousands every home game (basically to watch what is a reserves game). This is precisely the sort of thing you and Luke are talking about. There are many, many such opportunities like that, right across Australia, in the city and country, across all four codes. If you want a simple day out at the footy, the opportunities for that are endless.

sheek rest assured that there are many sports fans like yourself, from across all the football codes, who miss the simplicity of showing up on a weekend to watch your team play, and not have to worry about anything else. John Harms (a regular on Offsiders) runs a site called the The Footy Almanac frequented by many who might still follow their favourite sport, but have a longing to re-visit the past. While it may have started as an aussie rules site, all four football codes are represented to varying degrees. Certainly, I've noticed more of a rugby league presence the last couple of years. Each year the editors produce a book called The Footy Alamanac which features a short article on every single game played during the season - but it's not your usual match description. In the last year or two they have started producing a Rugby League version as well. All in all, it's a good site to frequent every now and then.

Here here well said I prefer this to the high end most of the time