Sydney Showgrounds Soccer Scenes in McCloud

This week on Twitter a user called Aaron Eugol posted a video of an old television show which contained images of soccer being played in Sydney.

Hey Vossy, here's some stuff you may have missed.

The great Ray Warren's appearance in U.S. drama series McCloud in 1976 as a soccer commentator....yes I'm serious. pic.twitter.com/mrh8gQbbF9

— Aaron Eugol (@ajl247) August 14, 2019

McCloud was an American television series of the 1970's. A detective series, it went the fish out of water route placing a cowboy detective in New York City. If you were to judge it from the clip, you may assume it was actually a comedy.

The football game is interrupted as the Yank detective, in Sydney to thwart the American mob's move into organised crime within that city, pursues a criminal on horseback. Well, they are both on horseback actually because that totally makes sense.

The clip features rugby league commentator/racecaller Ray Warren covering a soccer match between fictional Sydney and Melbourne teams at the Sydney Showground. Australia's FIFA referee Tony Boskovic is prominent, as is another leading referee Peter Rampley. David Jack and Mick Attarian on Twitter both recognised young keeper Mike Fraser, who sets the ball off on it's path to disarming a gun-firing criminal. Fraser would go on to play 65 games in the NSL.

One kit appears to resemble A.P.I.A. Leichhardt's, and another is similar to what could have been worn by Marconi. Most of the players are young, possibly from a youth team if they were all actually footballers. One can be spotted pretty much laughing during the game.

Tony Boskovic

The player called "Phillips" who gives "Sydney" the lead

Peter Rampley leads the chase as players and officials go all Benny Hill after the game is disrupted

Mike Fraser about to launch the ball....

Which the bloke with the gut latches onto to and knocks the gun out of the baddies hand!

Great tekkers!

Rabs Warren, a monkey's uncle.

It deserves a special place in the pantheon on football appearing in Australian movies and television, that's for sure.