George Campbell Returns To Aberdeen

Since the beginning of the game in Melbourne, the Scots have been significant contributors to Victorian football. Many early games were drawn along Scotland v England lines, before Harry Dockerty would revive organised competitions in 1909. The importation of Scottish players throughout the 1950's and 1960's saw the standard of Australian football rise to a level which saw the Socceroos able to qualify for the 1974 World Cup Finals.

The signing of a young Scot by South Melbourne Hellas in 1978 created a stir in the football scene, as covered in Soccer Action at the time:

Soccer Action Vol.3 No.11 - Wednesday April 19, 1978

Soccer Action Vol.3 No.15 - Wednesday May 10, 1978

George Campbell had been the youngest ever player to play for Aberdeen. He came on a sixteen year old substitute against Morton in 1975 to make his First Division (current Premiership) debut. Hellas paid a record fee of $20,000 to secure the skillful, tricky youngster already dubbed "The White Pele". In five seasons at Middle Park he would score 17 goals from 104 appearances with the club reaching a best ever NSL placing to that point when Runner's-Up in 1981.

                                               George Campbell at Aberdeen


In 1983 Campbell made the move to NSL rivals Preston Makedonia where he played for three seasons before a transfer to Green Gully in 1986. During his time in the NSL the former Scottish Youth International would occasionally feature for the Victorian State Team. Some of these games included the 2-1 win over Dundee in 1978 and a thrilling 2-3 loss to a star-studded New York Cosmos in 1983.

His time in the NSL was followed by stints with Box Hill (1987-1989) and Fawkner (1989) in the VSL (current NPL). He then continued playing in the lower State League with Nunawading City, then Ringwood City, Knox City and Banyule City until 1998. After an early broken leg which scuppered plans for a return to Scottish League football he would enjoy a career spanning 20 years in Melbourne.

Since retiring as a player he has been coaching in club, academy and school capacities. As well as roles with the FFV and Xavier College he has been involved with the Youth teams at Essendon Royals, Northcote City and his current club Dandenong Thunder.

In October this year he returned to Scotland for a reunion lunch for the anniversary of Aberdeen's 1976 Scottish League Cup win. A special programme was made for the event:

                                            

It's fantastic to see a club that celebrates it's past in such a manner. Well done to George on his achievements and his continued involvement in the local game.

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Channel Nine Soccer 1976

Thanks to Mike Lynn (former star striker with Ringwood Wilhelmina, successful coach at Fawkner, Richmond and Moorabbin City amongst others) and George Cotsanis of My World Is Round, I've been able to convert an old VHS tape of Victorian football onto Youtube.

It had always been my hope that some footage may still exist, and in the following to segments we have about forty minutes worth of the game televised by GTV 9 of Ringwood City Wilhelmina hosting Sunshine City.

The game took place on Saturday June 27, 1976 at Jubilee Park. It was the eleventh round of the Victorian State League season, and the full match details are as follows:

Ringwood City Wilhelmina 2 (Lynn 21' 75') Sunshine City 1 (Kokoska 20')

Ringwood City Wilhelmina: Nick Van Egmond, Keith Adams, David Garthwaite, Richard Plumb, John Bray, John O'Callaghan, Aad Kos (Joe Cankovic 40), John Luyten, Phil Williamson, Mike Lynn, Chris Kent. Coach - Norm Hobson

Sunshine City: Billy Johnson, Peter Lewis, Steve Kokoska, Dave Anderson, Chris Petrov, Wilf Laing, Ian McCarthy, Hugh Howe, Tommy Cumming, Ray Pocock, Jim McRobert (Laurie Smith 63). Coach - Bobby McLachlan.

One standout is what a brilliant broadcaster Tony Charlton is. Inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame, he covers this game in a manner which gives no indication it is not his main sport. Professionally well prepared, he reels off stats and player info smoothly, and keeps comparisons to Australian Rules to a minimum. He is assisted by future VSF President Henry Siwka.

Being filmed from the grandstand, we don't get a glimpse of that sadly departed structure. The surrounds are leafy behind the goal to the left (East). During a break in play we get to see Footscray J.U.S.T. coach Cedo Circovic and some players watching from in front of the stand.

The kids near the microphone are vocal, and they even break out the classic "what a load of rubbish" chant at one point. Support for "Chalky" (Keith Adams) is also clearly audible.

Sadly the first two goals are missing, but Lynn's match winner isn't, as he launches himself between a defender and Billy Johnson to head home.

Channel Nine covered Saturday games for a number of years in the mid-1970's, hopefully more footage will emerge in the future. If not, at least we now have something so this era will not be forgotten.

Grounds of the Past: MacDonald Reserve, Hawthorn East

In another case of it's hard to believe now, humble MacDonald Reserve (now known as Burke Road South Reserve, previously also known as Hawthorn South Reserve) hosted Victorian State League football as the home of Wilhelmina in the late 1950's and early 1960's.

The ground currently has no car park of it's own. There is very limited street parking on Sinclair Avenue. There have been many changes alongside the the ground since that time, which can be appreciated when we look at the Melways map from that era.

To the north, the drive in theatre became the Coles complex at Tooronga Village. The brickworks are long gone, and to the south Carroll Crescent disappeared to make way for the South Eastern Freeway. The majority of football patrons attending games would have come via trams down Burke Road or from the Gardiner train station.

The facilities are sparse. When I visited, cricketers using the nets at the south eastern end parked on the street and had no rooms to change in. The only structures on the site are a storage shed at the north eastern end, and another building further up the hill from it, which may have been the changing rooms when the ground was a VSL venue.

The quaint building sits near the storage shed, but it may also be that the current storage shed was even the changing room back then.

The view across the pitch looking from the east to the west. Behind the trees lies Gardiner's Creek and the Monash Freeway.

With it's lack of amenities, it's the hill on the Sinclair Avenue side that would have been a major attraction to the ground for Wilhelmina as a home. It would have been able to give the crowds they were drawing a decent view, a major problem in the days when standing behind the rope on a flat open park was the prime spectator location.

Another view of the storage shed, changing rooms behind it, and the eastern side of the ground.

Looking south, towards the cricket nets. Behind that would have been the bowling clubs, and further beyond would be Gardiner railway station.

Looking east from the south western corner shows how steep the hill is, and the limited amount of street parking around the ground.

The view when looking north to where the drive in cinema would have been, which is now the corporate headquarters of the Coles supermarket chain.

The ground is in excellent condition, as you would expect in the leafy inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Wilhelmina began playing there when promoted to the First Division in 1957, having previously used Survey Park in Burnley (later a home of Richmond Alemannia). The club also used Olympic and Middle Parks for home games in that era, but MacDonald Reserve was chiefly their home venue until they established Jubilee Park in Ringwood in 1962. The club then changed it's name to Ringwood City Wilhelmina, eventually becoming just Ringwood City.

Could the following picture be of the game between Wilhelmina and George Cross which drew 1400 spectators to MacDonald Reserve on Saturday August 12 in 1961?

If it is, it would had to have been taken from the north eastern side. It is possible that the buildings in the background could be a part of the brickworks. It's worth further investigation, as it would be great to have an image of top flight football from this long forgotten venue.

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                    Edited to add photo from Wilhelmina v Juventus Dockerty Cup tie in 1956