Australia v Israel 1969 50th Anniversary - World Cup Heartbreak

Fifty years ago today Australia hosted Israel in a World Cup Qualifier, needing to overturn a 0-1 deficit after the away game in a two-legged tie to determine who would go to Mexico '70.

The Socceroos had topped their three team group (of South Korea and Japan) unbeaten in the First Round of Asia & Oceania Qualifying. The Second Round saw them pitted against Rhodesia, and after a 1-1 draw and a 0-0 draw a play-off was required, which Australia won 3-1. All three games were played in Mozambique, and within the space of six days.

Israel, having had a bye in the First Round, only had two games to play in the Second Round, after North Korea withdrew for political reasons. The Israelis defeated New Zealand 4-0 and 2-0 (both games in Tel Aviv) to progress to the Final Round against Australia.

The first leg of the final round saw Israel take a 1-0 win at the Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv. The game was played just five days after Australia's play-off win in Mozambique, with Israel having had the luxury of a month's break since their games against New Zealand.

The return leg was played on December 14, 1969 at the Sydney Sports Ground.

Australia v Israel Match Programme

Thanks once again to the magnificent work of George Cotsanis (of My World Is Round) in converting and restoring some old film, we can now watch almost half an hour of highlights from Australia's first near miss World Cup Qualification heartbreak.

Australia dominated the early stages, but were unable to make a breakthrough. Attila Abonyi went close early on, with Johnny Warren having a good effort from distance saved before failing to convert a great heading opportunity. Israel worked their way into the game, which remained on a knife's edge until George Keith was beaten a bouncing ball when an intercept or clearance seemed easy enough, which saw Mordechai Spiegler slip through on goal and convert to put Israel ahead with eleven minutes remaining. John Watkiss was able to equalise nine minutes later, but it proved too little too late as Australia were unable to get the win required to book a place in their first World Cup Finals.

Spiegler benefits from a defensive slip to get a run at goal for the opener.

Watkiss on the turn about to net Australia's equaliser.

Heartbreak for the big crowd at the final whistle.

Match Details:

Sydney Sports Ground, December 14, 1969.
Referee: Ferdinand Marschall

Australia 1 (Watkiss 88') Israel 1 (Spiegler 78')

Australia: Ron Corry, George Keith, Manfred Schaefer, Alan Marnoch, Stan Ackerley, Danny Walsh, John Warren, Attila Abonyi, John Watkiss, Ray Baartz, Billy Vojtek (Willie Rutherford 60').

Israel: Itzhak Visoker, Shraga Bar, David Primo, Zvi Rosen, Menachem Bello, Shmuel Rosenthal, Giora Spiegel, Meir Barad (Rahamim Talbi 60), Yehoshua Feigenboim, Mordechai Spiegler, Itzhak Shum (Mordechai Lubetski 88').

Kevin Bartlett Reserve - Built By Richmond ALEMANNIA

I've tended to stay away from the current issues involving Richmond SC and it's takeover by Fitzroy City for a number of reasons, most of which I previously detailed in this piece. Also mostly because I'm not in a position to get back involved in club football, so as such can only offer moral support to those willing to keep the club going.

Richmond Alemannia 50th Anniversary Booklet

I do believe it needs to be noted that the facilities at Kevin Bartlett Reserve, probably a million dollar asset for he council now, were built largely by the members of Richmond Alemannia SC in the 1980's. The initial set-up saw $60,00 provided by the State Government (not the Council) with the club providing the rest, as well as most of the labour.

Since then many of the improvements and upgrades (upstairs media/VIP area and lighting chiefly) were again funded mostly by the club.

The Council may not care for the history of the club, and may find this takeover a more convenient solution to to the issue of Fitzroy City needing better facilities, but it ought to make sure democratic processes have been followed. They should also be aware that over the course of Victorian football history clubs have only ever taken over others for two reasons - to gain a higher league place or to gain a better facility.

In the cases of struggling clubs being taken over by others, many have amounted to the "selling" of a ground or league position. The council, and Football Victoria, owe it to those who would like to see the club carry on independently to make sure that is not what is happening here.

Football Victoria, or Football Federation Victoria as it was then, has already been caught on the wrong side of history in previous disputes, most notably the 2009 Whittlesea Zebras debacle. Now we will once again get to see if they stand for rank and file grassroots members, or side with the "money men" as usual.

Melbourne Soccer Yearbook 2019

The season's over, so here's the 2019 Yearbook.

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the 2019 Golden Boots/Top Goalscorers, but that is how Football Victoria has chosen to award them.

I'm open to editing it should the goalscorers situation ever be corrected.

A women's history section has been added since last year. The reserves league champions list has been expanded to all leagues from just the top flight reserves competition as listed last year.

Next year the regional leagues will be added to the history section.

Click on the link below to view and download.

AWSA National Senior Championships 1985 - Melbourne

The 1985 Australian Women's Soccer Association Senior National Championships were held in Melbourne, at Box Hill's Wembley Park.

New South Wales took out the title, with South Queensland finishing runner's up and the host state coming in third.

Kim Lembryk of New South Wales was Top Goalscorer for the tournament with 9 goals.

The full results were:

Australian Women's Soccer Association National Championships 1985

Wembley Park, Box Hill, Melbourne.

Wednesday August 28

Tasmania 2 Northern Territory 0
Northern New South Wales 0 Australian Capital Territory 0
South Queensland 0 New South Wales 1
Victoria 3 South Australia 0

Thursday August 29

Northern Territory 0 Western Australia 4
South Australia 0 South Queensland 2
Australian Capital Territory 0 Tasmania 1
New South Wales 1 Northern New South Wales 0

Friday August 30

South Queensland 3 Victoria 2
Tasmania 0 New South Wales 4
Northern New South Wales 2 South Australia 1
Western Australia 4 Australian Capital Territory 0

Saturday August 31

South Australia 4 Northern Territory 0
South Queensland 2 Tasmania 1
Victoria 5 Western Australia 3
New South Wales 2 Australian Capital Territory 0

Sunday September 1

Tasmania 0 Northern New South Wales 3
Australian Capital Territory 0 South Australia 2
Northern Territory 0 Victoria 2
South Queensland 2 Western Australia 1

Tuesday September 3

Victoria 3 Australian Capital Territory 0
Northern New South Wales 3 Western Australia 0
South Australia 2 New South Wales 8
South Queensland 2 Northern Territory 0

Wednesday September 4

New South Wales 5 Western Australia 0
Victoria 1 Northern New South Wales 1
Australian Capital Territory 1 Northern Territory 1
South Australia 0 Tasmania 1

Thursday September 5

Australian Capital Territory 0 South Queensland 7
New South Wales 0 Victoria 0
Western Australia 2 Tasmania 1
Northern Territory 1 Northern New South Wales 1

Friday September 6

Western Australia 0 South Australia 3
Northern Territory 0 New South Wales 10
Northern New South Wales 0 South Queensland 2
Tasmania 0 Victoria 4

The final table:

The tournament match programme can be found here.

A few videos from the tournament, thanks to Deb Nichols:

Some History of the Australian Women's Soccer Association National Championships

Thanks to Ian Syson passing on to me some items from the Betty Hoar Collection I have been able to scan and upload a heap of programmes for the Australian Women's Soccer Association National Championships.

The AWSA ran the women's game until it was absorbed into the FFA in the 2000's. It's Senior National Championships were first held in 1974, before Youth (changed between Under 16-19's over the years) and Junior (ranged from Under 15-16's at times) versions were late added.

The programmes range from small, typrewritten and photocopied efforts to glossy printed brochures. They are a great time capsule for the state of the game at the time, and showcase how the tournaments traveled to different host cities or towns each year. Most have the squad lists for each of the competing states and territories.

It's a shame the couldn't have a full wrap up of the previous year's tournament (scores, scorers, line-ups) as that information now appears to be gone forever. It's disappointing that in the latter years the stalwarts milestones were only able to measured in terms of number of tournaments they went to, rather than the number of games played (and goals scored).

The programmes can be found on the general Programmes page and scrolling down until the mid-1970's.

http://melbournesoccer.blogspot.com/p/programmes.html

I've tried completing a history of the tournaments by adding to the lists published in them and here's what I've been able to come up with. Still a little more to do, and it should probably be expanded to include stuff like player of the tournament where it was awarded etc but that will have to be another thing added to the backburner for now.

Australian Women's Soccer Association National Championships

Year         Venue Champions Runner's-Up

1974 Sydney New South Wales Northern New South Wales
1975 Brisbane         Western Australia South Queensland
1976 Melbourne New South Wales Victoria
1977 Perth New South Wales South Queensland
1978 Newcastle Western Australia New South Wales
1979 Darwin New South Wales Victoria
1980 Adelaide         New South Wales Northern New South Wales
1981 Sydney New South Wales South Queensland
1982 Brisbane         South Queensland Northern New South Wales
1983 Perth New South Wales South Queensland
1984 Canberra         South Queensland South Australia
1985 Melbourne New South Wales South Queensland
1986 Adelaide         New South Wales South Queensland
1987 Alice Springs Victoria Northern New South Wales
1988 Newcastle New South Wales South Queensland
1989 Canberra         Victoria South Queensland
1990 Sydney New South Wales &
          Northern New South Wales
1991 Canberra         South Queensland New South Wales
1992 Brisbane         Victoria Queensland
1993 Perth New South Wales Queensland
1994 Melbourne New South Wales Victoria
1995 Adelaide         New South Wales Queensland
1996 Darwin New South Wales South Australia
1997 Lake Macquarie  Northern New South Wales New South Wales
1998 Devonport Victoria Queensland
1999 Kuala Lumpur        Queensland
2005 Canberra         Queensland

Australian Women's Soccer Association National Youth Championships

Year Venue         Champions Runner's-Up

1985 Hobart New South Wales Western Australia

1986 Sydney New South Wales Northern New South Wales

1987 Brisbane Northern New South Wales Western Australia

1988 Perth New South Wales South Queensland

1989 Darwin South Queensland New South Wales

1990 Melbourne New South Wales South Queensland

1991 Woy Woy New South Wales South Queensland

1992 Hobart New South Wales &

                Queensland

1993 Sydney         Queensland New South Wales

1994 Canberra         New South Wales Queensland

1995 Southport New South Wales Queensland

1996 Perth New South Wales Queensland

1997 Melbourne A.C.T.                         Victoria

1998 Adelaide         South Australia         New South Wales

1999 Darwin Victoria Queensland

2000 Sunshine Coast       South Australia         Northern New South Wales

2001 Coffs Harbour New South Wales Northern New South Wales

2002 Coffs Harbour New South Wales New South Wales Country

National Talent Identification Championships Under 18's

2003 Sydney New South Wales Metro Queensland

National Talent Identification Championships Under 17's

2004 Sydney South Australia Victoria

Australian Women's Soccer Association National Junior Championships

Year Venue          Champions Runner's-Up

1982 Melbourne Northern New South Wales New South Wales

1983 Canberra         New South Wales Northern New South Wales

1984 Newcastle New South Wales Northern New South Wales

1985 Hobart New South Wales Northern New South Wales

1986 Sydney New South Wales South Queensland

1987 Brisbane         New South Wales Tasmania

1988 Melbourne New South Wales South Queensland

1989 Adelaide         New South Wales A.C.T.

1990 Brisbane         New South Wales South Queensland

1991 Woy Woy South Queensland New South Wales

1992 Renmark         New South Wales South Australia

1993 Bendigo New South Wales Queensland

1994 Swansea         New South Wales Queensland

1995 Hobart A.C.T.                      Victoria

1996 Southport

1997 Canberra

1998 Qld

1999 Perth New South Wales City Northern New South Wales

2000 Sunshine Coast New South Wales Queensland

2001 Coffs Harbour New South Wales Country  Queensland

2002 Coffs Harbour Queensland New South Wales

National Talent Identification Championships Under 16's

2003 Sydney Queensland New South Wales Metro

National Talent Identification Championships Under 15's

2004 Sydney New South Wales Metro Queensland

Anyone Know The Score?

On Sunday, the FV Geelong Region Grand Finals were held. Surfside Waves upset minor premiers Barwon 4-0 in Division One of the men's competition, while Geelong Rangers smashed Deakin Ducks 7-2 in the First Division of the women's competition.

Yet as of the middle of the week, the results in the second and third divisions of the men's competition have still to be entered into the sportstg "results" system.

It seems the Grand Finals do not even merit a new item on the front page of the Geelong Region website.

When some regional federations don't regularly update their websites, they usually maintain a stronger presence on Facebook. Not in the Geelong Region's case. As you can see, the Facebook link on their front page is to Football Victoria's page, which of course has stuff all Geelong content.

If a governing body treats it's competitions with such contempt, is it any wonder crowds and sponsors continue to decline?

The FV State League season ended two and a half weeks ago. As of today, these are the leagues where the final tables are complete:

Mens:

NPL1
NPL1U20
NPL2E
NPL2EU20
NLP2W
NPL2WU20
SL1SE
SL1SE Reserves
SL1NW
SL2SE
SL2NW
SL2SE
SL3SE Reserves
SL3NW
SL3NW
SL4N
SL4S
SL4W
SL4W Reserves
SL5E
SL5S

Womens:

NPLW

NPLWU18

SL1NW

SL1NW Reserves

SL1SE

SL1SE Reserves

SL2NW

SL2SE

SL3E

SL3N

SL3S

SL4E

SL4N

SL5NW

SL5SE

The following men's leagues have tables that are not complete:

SL1NW Reserves

SL2SE Reserves

SL2NW Reserves

SL4E

SL4E Reserves

SL4N Reserves

SL4S Reserves

SL5E Reserves

SL5N

SL5N Reserves

SL5S Reserves

SL5W

SL5W Reserves

The following women's leagues have tables that are not complete:

SL3W

SL4S

SL4W

So that is 21 complete in the mens, 13 incomplete. 15 complete in the womens, with 3 incomplete. 

In the past FFV apologists have pointed to the fact that it is the club's responsibility to enter results. Yet this doesn't account for games like the Dockerty Cup Final, various other Finals and Play-Offs where FV are in charge as the host and fail to enter any information into the system. FV is quick to dock points for late payment of fees (see Moreland City NPL2), but is their service worth paying for?

What is the reason for the tables that are not complete? Have they been played or not? Why wouldn't games have been played? This is not 1950, we have artificial pitches to combat the elements and lights to allow for midweek games. What is with the current forfeit culture in Victorian soccer? It's prevalent in the early FFA Cup preliminary rounds, and still frequent in the State League Grand Finals. Have some not been played for fears of violence between certain teams? 

In Australian Rules football it is just days after the Brownlow Medal, where votes from every game are scrutinised and obsessed over. How many times in recent years have FV ever released the round by round vote counts for their NPL Gold Medals? 

For all the advances in modern technology, there are far too many times when Football Victoria could probably have been outperformed by a part-timer from the Victorian Amateur Soccer Football Association and some carrier pigeons.

                                                Click on images to enlarge

The Old Testament

It's fair to say when I first came across the book Jack Pollard's Soccer Records I considered it the Bible of Australian football history. For it was the first real book covering the topic. It is not without errors, and I'm not convinced the A-Z encyclopedia method was the best way of going about it, but it sure is something to treasure.

Over the years I've bought three editions, one from a second hand bookshop for $12 which I still possess. Another couple I picked up for under $5 at Op Shops, one I gave to Pave Jusup and another I either gave to George Cotsanis or is still in the box of "swaps" I have in the garage. Even though I had one, for those prices I thought it would be a crime not to buy them.

The other week when speaking to Greg Stock over the phone about what he should send me for scanning and uploading to this blog's archives, he suggested it, also bringing up the issue of copyright. Now if anyone ever got upset about a breach of copyright on this blog, I'd be in a bit of trouble. My only argument is everything I put up is long out of print, and sharing items on here is hardly depriving anyone of any income. I would like to think that sharing a largely hidden, inaccessible history to redress the marginalisation of the game by the media for over a century means anyone with an issue over copyright should really be prepared to look the other way and let it go.

Hopefully what I and others put up on this blog will allow the next generation to surpass previous efforts in writing about and honouring our football history. In Jack Pollard's Soccer Records we have the Old Testament. One day we will hopefully have a new New Testament, a complete Bible for the football worshippers.

Anyway, here it is, Sid Grant's masterpiece,

Jack Pollard's Soccer Records

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.

The Romans Were Here!

In 1966 Italian Serie A giants AS Roma were brought to Australia for an eight game tour by the tobacco company W.D. & H.O. Wills. They were led on the tour by Guido Masetti, goalkeeper in their only championship win to that point in 1941-42, as well as having had stints as manager in 1943-45, 1950-51 and 1956-57.

The company produced the following promotional film of the tour, which as well as including some travel features (a visit to a VFL footy game, boating in Sydney Harbour) contains footage from four of the games played. It's a fabulous slice of not just football history, but of Australia at the time.

Roma had won the Coppa Italia in 1964, having captured the Inter-City Fairs Cup (later UEFA Cup) in 1961. They were coming off an eighth place in the 1965-66 season, finishing fourteen points behind champions Internazionale, and four places above local rivals Lazio. The touring side featured Giacomo Losi, one of the inaugural eleven inductees into the club's Hall of Fame when it was established in 2012.

Details of the games featured in the film:

Sunday June 19, 1966.
At Olympic Park (Crowd: 15694)
Referee: Geoff Harrison

Victoria 0 AS Roma 1 (Francesconi 79')

Victoria: J.Young, N.Shepherd, J.O'Neill, W.Janczyk, B.Rice, F.Micic, A.Abonyi (T.Roseweir), B.Vojtek (S.Jones), K.Kowalec, J.Anderson, H.McMeechan. Coach: Wieslaw Janczyk
AS Roma: F.Cudicini, G.Tomasin, M.Ardizzon, F.Capelli, G.Losi, S.Carpenesi, L.Leonardi, G.Tamborini, F.Francesconi, A.Spanio, F.Enzo. (V.Benitez on 46') Coach: Guido Masetti

Saturday June 4, 1966
At Newcastle Sports Ground (Crowd: 14931)
Referee: George Muir

Northern New South Wales 1 (Morrow) AS Roma 4 (Benitez 3, Francesconi)

Northern New South Wales: J.Dorman, R.Bullen (R.Reynolds 25'), C.Curran, R.Cameron, T.Garrett, R.Lloyd, B.Morrow, A.Oldham, R.Baartz, D.Wright, K.Twidle.
AS Roma: A.Ginulfi, G.Tomasin, A.Sensible, F.Capelli, G.Losi, S.Carpanesi, L.Leonardi, V.Benitez, R.Da Silva, F.Francesconi, F.Enzo (G.Tamborini). Coach: Guido Masetti

Saturday June 11, 1966
At the Brisbane Exhibition Ground (Crowd: 7800)
Referee: Vince Dobinson

Queensland 0 AS Roma 6 (Francesconi 2, Da Silva 2, Leonardi, Benitez)

Queensland: R.Kelly, W.Haigh, G.Kathage, M.Jackson, M.Hosie, L.Petie (B.Allison), G.McMillan, R.Richards, E.Pattison, R.Edmunds, K.Jones. Coach: George Pagan
AS Roma: A.Ginulfi, G.Tomasin, A.Sensible, G.Tamborini, G.Losi, S.Carpanesi, L.Leonardi, V.Benitez, R.Da Silva, F.Francesconi, F.Enzo. Coach: Guido Masetti

Monday June 13, 1966
At the Sydney Showgrounds (Crowd: 5800)
Referee: Roger Lamb

Australia 1 (Morrow 67') AS Roma 1 (Tamborini 88')

Australia: B.Rorke, T.Edwards, G.Nuttall, P.Hughes, B.Rice, J.,Watkiss, B.Morrow, R.Campana, J.Giacometti, D.Walsh, D.Holden. Coach: Joe Marston
AS Roma: F.Cuducini, G.Tomasin, M.Ardizzon, F.Capelli, G.Losi, S.Carpanesi, L.Leonardi (A.Sensible), V.Benitez, R.Da Silva, G.Tamborini, F.Francesconi. Coach: Guido Masetti

Programmes

New South Wales v AS Roma - June 5

Details of the full tour:

May 29   Victoria 2 (Gajda, Micic) AS Roma 4 (Spanio 2, Francesconi, Benitez)
June 4   Northern New South Wales 1 (Morrow) AS Roma 4 (Benitez 3, Francesconi)
June 5   New South Wales (Campana) AS Roma 2 (Leonardi, Da Silva)
June 11   Queensland 0 AS Roma 6 (Francesconi 2, Da Silva 2, Leonardi, Benitez)
June 13   Australia 1 (Morrow) AS Roma 1 (Tamborini)
June 19   Victoria 0 AS Roma 1 (Francesconi)
June 25   South Australia 0 AS Roma 3 (Tamborini, Francesconi, Da Silva)
July 3   Western Australia 2 (Reid, Lukcszek) AS Roma 4 (Da Silva 2, Carpenesi, O.G.)

Action from the May 29th game against Victoria.

                                          (Click on images to enlarge)

The History of the Dockerty Cup

This Saturday will see Melbourne Knights and Hume City meet at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex in the 2019 Dockerty Cup Final. The Knights will be looking to win the Cup for a tenth time and extend their record as the competition's most successful club. Hume City are making their first appearance in the Final.

The competition began in 1909 as the Challenge Cup, with the trophy purchased by Harry Dockerty. Dockerty had spearheaded the revival of competitive soccer in Melbourne leading up to that year by forming the Victorian Amateur British Football Association. Indeed he would even play in that first Final, his St Kilda side going down 2-1 to Carlton United. There were already some references that year to the "Dockerty Challenge Cup" and within a few years it soon simply became known as the Dockerty Cup.

In the fledgling local game, the Dockerty Cup Final became one of the two annual showpiece events for the code, alongside the "Local International" fixture of England v Scotland. These were the two days a year an enclosed ground would be sought to stage a grand day.

The Cup has been shared once, in 1914 when Melbourne Thistle and Northumberland and Durham United staged two goalless draws and the season was concluded without being able to hold another replay. The Final was also not contested in 1920, again with time running out in the season to stage the Albert Park v Northumberland and Durham United decider. In 1988 it was won by South Melbourne Hellas on protest, after a 4-3 defeat by Melbourne Croatia, who had brought on a substitute who had been suspended in a Youth League game.

After Carlton United won the first two editions, Melbourne Thistle later became the competition's most successful team, before they in turn were surpassed by Footscray Thistle. Brighton and Hakoah were then added to the list of dominant teams. The post war emergence of the new clubs formed by ethnic migrants saw the names J.U.S.T., Juventus, Wilhelmina, George Cross, Polonia and Slavia added to the honour roll before Croatia (now Melbourne Knights) and South Melbourne would rise to the head the list of most wins.

Between 1953 and 1956 Hakoah won the Cup four times in succession. This eclipses the three wins in a row by Nobels (1938-1940) and Juventus (1970-1972).

Wonthaggi Magpies became the first country team to win the Cup, triumphing in an epic 1931 contest that required two replays against Brunswick. In 1994 Morwell Falcons became the only other club to take the Cup away from Melbourne.

During the latter part of the Second World War, Hakoah and Moreland combined their teams due to player shortages, and were runner's-up twice before capturing the Cup in 1945.

Issues caused by the formation of the National Soccer League in 1977, compounded by it's move to a summer season in 1989-90, eventually saw the Dockerty Cup come to an end in 1996. Interest had waned as it became only a minor target for the NSL clubs, while the clubs in the tiers below had minimal chance of success against the NSL giants.

In 2004 telecommunications company Crazy John's staged the Crazy John's Cup, a statewide knock-out competition. The Dockerty Cup trophy was used for the Final, but after a drought and water restrictions caused difficulties in using grounds in pre-season, the Cup was once again shelved the following year. Another revival commenced in 2011, with the Mirabella Cup. Though that sponsorship was dropped after a year, the competition continued in the following years as the State Knock-Out Cup before the Dockerty Cup name was finally restored.

Owing to missing details/records, I have not attempted to work out which players have won the Dockerty Cup the most times. Hopefully when issues regarding 1910, 1913, 1919, 1920, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1973 and 1990 are resolved it will be possible to determine the records of winning and runner's-up players.

RECORDS

Dockerty Cup Wins

9 - Melbourne Knights (Formerly Croatia, Essendon Lions, Essendon Croatia & Melbourne Croatia) 
8 - South Melbourne (Formerly South Melbourne Hellas) 
7 - Hakoah
6 - Brunswick United Juventus (Formerly Juventus, later Melbourne Zebras, currently Moreland Zebras)
5 - Footscray Thistle, Brighton, Green Gully (Formerly Green Gully Ajax)
3 - Melbourne Thistle, Naval Depot, Nobels, Moreland, Footscray J.U.S.T. (Formerly J.U.S.T.),
     George Cross (Later Sunshine George Cross, currently Caroline Springs George Cross), Port Melbourne Slavia         (Formerly Slavia)
2 - Carlton United, St Kilda, Yarraville (Formerly Williamstown-Yarraville), Northumberland and                Durham United, Royal Caledonians, Prahran City, Park Rangers, Bentleigh Greens
1 - Albert Park, Wonthaggi Magpies, Moreland-Hakoah, South Yarra, Wilhelmina (Currently 
     Ringwood City), Polonia (Currently Western Eagles), Fawkner, Preston Makedonia (Currently Preston Lions),         Morwell Falcons, Northcote City, Dandenong Thunder, Heidelberg United

Most Times Runner's-Up

7 - Brunswick United Juventus (Formerly Juventus, later Melbourne Zebras, currently Moreland Zebras)
6 - Melbourne Knights (Formerly Croatia, Essendon Lions, Essendon Croatia & Melbourne Croatia) 
5 - St Kilda, Hakoah
4 - Prahran City, Polonia (Currently Western Eagles), South Melbourne (Formerly South Melbourne Hellas),
     Heidelberg United (Formerly Alexander, Fitzroy United Alexander, Heidelberg United Alexander)
3 - South Yarra, Box Hill, Brighton, George Cross (Later Sunshine George Cross, currently Caroline Springs                George Cross)

Most Finals Refereed (Referees not noted for 1947, 1948, 1953, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1972. 1973, 1978 & 1983)

3 - Palmer, J.Hadlington (also one replay)
2 - G.Clark, J.Fraser, Jock Parker, Tommy Burns, C.Rodgers, C.Armstrong, Bill Curran      (also one replay), David Maitland, Geoff Harrison, Jim Fearn, Chris Bambridge,
     Nestor Zacharidis, Patrick Chaplin, Chris Hope

Venues

57 - Olympic Park (also four replays)
7 - Middle Park (also two replays)
6 - Fitzroy Cricket Ground/Brunswick Street Oval (also one replay)
5 - Motordrome (also one replay)
4 - Lakeside Stadium
2 - Exhibition Oval, Toorak Park, The Showgrounds (also one replay), Knights Stadium,
     ABD Stadium
1 - East Melbourne Cricket Ground, Richmond City Reserve, Coburg City Oval (also one 
     replay), AAMI Park, Jack Edwards Reserve
1 replay only - Spotswood, Wonthaggi Oval

Most Replayed Final

2 replays - Wonthaggi Magpies v Brunswick - 1931

Most Goals In A Final

8 - Royal Caledonians 4 Hakoah 4 - 1934
     Hakoah 7 Footscray City 1 - 1954
     South Melbourne 6 Heidelberg United 2 - 1993

Most Goals By A Player In A Final

4 - Wells (Moreland-Hakoah) - 1945
     Joe Gottesman (Hakoah) - 1954

DOCKERTY CUP FINALS

1909 Carlton United 2 (J.Cumming 2) St Kilda 1 (Brown)
1910 Carlton United 1 (Hall) Prahran City 0
1911 St Kilda 4 (Wardrop, Gorrie, Hopgood, Vass) Williamstown 2 (Gardiner, Dowker)
1912 Williamstown-Yarraville 3 (Gardiner, Clark, Dowker) Wonthaggi
1913 Yarraville 4 (Hatch 3, Dowker) St Kilda 3 (Kendall 2, Burrows)
1914 Melbourne Thistle 0 Northumberland and Durham United 0
         Melbourne Thistle 0 Northumberland and Durham United 0
         Cup shared
1915 Melbourne Thistle 1 (Brown) Albert Park 1 (Finch)
         Melbourne Thistle 2 (Harris, Benn) Albert Park 0
1919 Footscray Thistle 2 Windsor 0
1920 Albert Park v Northumberland and Durham United
         Abandoned due to season being ended
1921 Northumberland and Durham United 1 (Miller) Submarine Depot 1 (Stafford)
         Northumberland and Durham United 2 Submarine Depot 0
1922 Albert Park 3 (Hamilton, J.Anderson, Gardner) Windsor 2 (Maxwell, O.G.)
1923 St Kilda 1 (Parker) Preston 0
1924 Naval Depot 1 (Crowe) Footscray Thistle 0
1925 Melbourne Thistle 3 (Johnstone 2, Parker) Preston 1 (Eccles)
1926 Naval Depot 4 (Lewis, Wilson, Baker 2) St Kilda 3 (Sheufelberger, Young 2)
1927 Footscray Thistle 5 (Clarke, R.Lyons, Woodburn 2, Calderwood)
         Naval Depot 2 (Lewis, Thorpe)
         After extra-time. 2-2 at full-time
1928 Naval Depot 6 (Lewis 3, Crowe, Souter, Thorpe) Wonthaggi Magpies 0
1929 Footscray Thistle 3 (Crowe, Orr, Ballantyne) St Kilda 2 (Winter, Doncaster)
1930 Footscray Thistle 3 (J.Lyons, Wilson 2) Caledonians 2 (R.Gray 2)
1931 Wonthaggi Magpies 0 Brunswick 0
         Wonthaggi Magpies 0 Brunswick 0
         Wonthaggi Magpies 1 (Mackey) Brunswick 0
1932 Footscray Thistle 2 (Wilson 2) Melbourne Thistle 2 (Craig, Fraser)
         Footscray Thistle 2 (Wilson, J.Lyons) Melbourne Thistle 1 (Mayne)
1933 Brighton 4 (McDougall, Wright 2, Grant) St Kilda 3 (Ford 3)
1934 Royal Caledonians 4 (R.Gray, B.Gray, Ireland, G.Weir)
         Hakoah 4 (C.Yaffe. McIver 2, O.G.)
         Royal Caledonians 3 (Robb, R.Gray 2) Hakoah 2 (Forrest 2)
1935 Hakoah 4 (Forrest 2, McIver, Lewis)
         Royal Caledonians 3 (Johnstone, P.Young, Gray)
1936 Caledonians 5 (J.Gray 2, P.Young, R.Gray, G.Weir)
         Footscray Thistle 2 (Baxter, Owens)
1937 Brighton 3 (Fitzgerald, S.Fraser, Peters) Prahran City 1 (Baxter)
1938 Nobels 2 (Lyons 2) Hakoah 2 (Forrest 2)
         Nobels 3 (Lyons, Campbell, Robb) Hakoah 2 (Forrest, Yaffe)
1939 Nobels 6 (Lyons 3, Johnstone, P.Young, Campbell) Prahran 1 (T.McCluskey)
1940 Nobels 5 (Douglas 2, Johnstone, Campbell, P.Young) South Yarra 1 (Flintham)
1941 Moreland 1 (Mackey) Prahran City 0
1942 Prahran City A 3 (Glasson 2, H.Gray) Moreland-Hakoah 0
1943 Brighton 2 (Sierakowski, Sharp) Moreland-Hakoah 2 (McIver 2)
         Brighton 3 (Sierakowski 2, Sharp) Moreland-Hakoah 2 (Higgins, McIver)
1944 Brighton 3 (Pritchard 3) R.A.A.F. Laverton 0
1945 Moreland-Hakoah 6 (Wells 4, Kellet, Mackie) Box Hill 1 (Bergner)
1946 Prahran City 3 (Baxter 2, Honey) Moreland 2 (Gray 2)
1947 South Yarra 2 (Hayden, Johnson) Park Rangers 1 (Cottrell)
1948 Park Rangers 4 (Wilson 2, Forrest, Cotterill)
         South Yarra 3 (Hawkes, Sharman, Stoddardt)
1949 Park Rangers 2 (Gillies, Mulcahy) South Yarra 1 (Sharman)
1950 Moreland 2 (Sharp, Greenslades) Box Hill 0
1951 J.U.S.T. 1 (Roubel) Brighton 0
1952 Brighton 5 (Barr, Wilson, McKenzie 2, Devlin) Juventus 0
1953 Hakoah 2 (Kodak, Kurzwell) Brighton 1 (McKenzie)
1954 Hakoah 7 (Gottesman 4, Rice, Thomas, Sutherland) Footscray City 1 (Glennie)
1955 Hakoah 1 (Sutherland) Polonia 1 (Schipperheyn)
         Hakoah 2 (Gottesman, Piercey) Polonia 0
1956 Hakoah 2 (Sutherland, Pynt) Brighton 0
1957 Moreland 2 (Hodgson, Loughran) Juventus 1 (Aranyi)
1958 Wilhelmina 2 (Mathyssen, de Bruyckere) Juventus 2 (Bottari 2)
         Wilhelmina 3 (Yntema, Keuken, Luyten) Juventus 0
1959 George Cross 2 (T.Vella, Copeland) Hakoah 2 (Artner 2)
         George Cross 3 (McVean 2, Georgoussis) Hakoah 1 (Petersen)
1960 Juventus 3 (Bottari, Barbazza 2) Hakoah 1 (McInroy)
1961 Polonia 4 (Jurecki 2, Gross, Marusziewicz) George Cross 2 (Copeland)
1962 George Cross 3 (Gibb 2, Abela) Hakoah 0
1963 J.U.S.T. 4 (Pikl 2, Stankovic, Pejovic) Polonia 2 (Jurecki, Jankowski)
1964 Slavia 1 (Harper) J.U.S.T. 0
1965 Slavia 1 (Laraman) Croatia 0
1966 Hakoah 4 (Fry, Purdie, Monan, O.G.) Slavia 2 (Reid, Shepherd)
1967 Port Melbourne Slavia 4 (Goodwin, Reid, Jurecki, Livingstone)
         South Melbourne Hellas 0
1968 Croatia 1 (Mackay) South Melbourne Hellas 1 (Gorrie) After extra-time
         Croatia 1 (McIntyre) South Melbourne Hellas 0
1969 Croatia 3 (Mackay 2, Vojtek) Juventus 1 (De Marchi)
1970 Juventus 2 (Irvine, Thomson) South Melbourne Hellas 0
1971 Juventus 2 (De Marchi, Thomson) Footscray J.U.S.T. 0 After extra-time
1972 Juventus 0 George Cross 0
         Juventus 2 (De Marchi 2) George Cross 1 (Gardiner)
1973 Hakoah-St Kilda 1 (Micevski) Fitzroy United Alexander 0
1974 South Melbourne Hellas 4 (Marshall, Armstrong, Nechvoglod, Bourne)
         Ringwood City Wilhelmina 1 (Lynn)
1975 South Melbourne Hellas 2 (Mackay, Armstrong) Sunshine City 1 (Piotrowski)
1976 Footscray J.U.S.T. 2 (Palinkas, Buljevic) Polonia 0
1977 Juventus 0 Essendon Lions 0
         Juventus won 5-4 on penalties
1978 George Cross 3 (Reed 2, Cullen) Ringwood City 2 (O'Callaghan, Garthwaite)
1979 Essendon Croatia 2 (Batinovic 2) Frankston City 1 (Mitten) After extra-time
1980 Essendon Croatia 7 (Gardiner, Mitten 3, Tront, Gilder 2) Brunswick Juventus 0
1981 Green Gully 2 (Peter Lewis, Paul Lewis) Sunshine City 0
1982 Green Gully 3 (Paul Lewis 3) Melbourne Croatia 1 (Biskic)
1983 Melbourne Croatia 4 (Parton 2, Cumming, Latif) Box Hill 0
1984 Fawkner 3 (Garvey, Boyle, Macleod) Maribyrnong Polonia 2 (O.G., McCluskey)
         After extra-time
1985 Melbourne Croatia 2 (Ward 2) Preston Makedonia 0
1986 Green Gully 2 (Theodosopoulos, Ward) Preston Makedonia 1 (Cole)
1987 Brunswick Juventus 3 (Cullen, Zinni, Brown) Heidelberg United 1 (McKinna)
1988 South Melbourne Hellas 3 (Trimboli, Foster 2)
         Melbourne Croatia 4 (Skenderovic, Milosevic 2, Caleta)
         South Melbourne Hellas awarded the Cup on protest after Melbourne Croatia 
         fielded an ineligible player
1989 South Melbourne Hellas 1 (Trimboli) Altona Gate 0
1990 Melbourne Croatia 3 (Selemidis 2, Awaratefe)
         Brunswick United Juventus 1 (De Amicis)
1991 South Melbourne Hellas 3 (Wade 2, Tsolakis)
         Sunshine George Cross 2 (Fabrizio, Waddell)
1992 Preston Makedonia 1 (Trajanovski) South Melbourne Hellas 1 (Boutsianis)
         Preston Makedonia won 4-2 on penalties
1993 South Melbourne 6 (Boutsianis 3' Goutzioulis 9' 17' 21' Kiratzoglu 26' Tasios 51')
         Heidelberg United 2 (Vlahos 27' Tikikakis 77')
1994 Morwell Falcons 2 (Bothwell 45' Waddell 64')
         Melbourne Zebras 1 (Karkaletsis 36')
1995 South Melbourne 3 (Trimboli 36 Coveny 60' O.G. 67')
         Melbourne Knights 1 (Pondeljak 54')
1996 Melbourne Knights 4 (Spiteri 35' 84' Lapsansky 40' Tiatto 51')
         Altona Magic 2 (Georgopoulos 9' Petrevski 17')
2004 Green Gully 1 (Nastevski 83') Fawkner 0
2011 Northcote City 2 (G.Trifiro 40' Curtis 71') Melbourne Knights 0
2012 Dandenong Thunder 0 Port Melbourne 0
         Dandenong Thunder won 5-4 on penalties
2013 Green Gully 3 (A.Vargas 39' Hayne 57' 83') Dandenong Thunder 1 (Foster 78')
2014 Melbourne Knights 1 (Uskok 120+1') South Springvale 0 After extra-time
2015 South Melbourne 3 (Lujic 2, Minopoulos) Oakleigh Cannons 0
2016 Bentleigh Greens 1 (Paczkowski 92') Green Gully 0 After extra-time
2017 Heidelberg United 1 (Athiu 75') Bentleigh Greens 1 (Hatzimouratis 51')
         Heidelberg United won 5-4 on penalties
2018 Bentleigh Greens 2 (O.G. 12' Xydias 90+1') Heidelberg United 0

Manfred Gerhard Kuhn 1939-2019

Manfred Kuhn was born in Berlin in August 1939. After the Second World War his family had moved to a farm in the old German Democratic Republic (East Germany) before again moving, this time to Cologne (Koln - West Germany) before the borders with the Federal Republic of Germany were fortified in 1961.

In 1966, Manfred emigrated to Australia. He was picked up from the Bonegilla Migrant Reception Centre by a delegation from the Alemannia Richmond Soccer Club, keen to improve their playing strength after struggling since being relegated from the Victorian State League in 1963.

The club would become a central part of his new life in Australia. He would become captain by the end of the decade, and would continue to star in the first team (winning Best and Fairest as well as leading goalscorer honours) until the late 1970's. He later served as both a Secretary and Treasurer of the club well into this century, including the period when it returned to the top flight of the Victorian Premier League. Whilst becoming an administrator at Richmond SC, he did not cease playing, joining Juventus Old Boys in the Veterans competition where he continued turning out until he was in his mid-60's.

A vibrant character who loved to sing (possessing a booming, operatic voice) he was a fixture at the Saturday night dances at the German Tivoli Club. It was there he met his future wife, Anna. Having asked her to dance, he began serenading on the dancefloor. She looked around and was surprised to see no one else was batting an eyelid at his behaviour, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Manfred and Anna would go on to have two daughters, Natasha and Yolanda. He worked in insurance, and was a pillar of the local German community on more than just the soccer side. His is a great Australian migrant story, in which the sporting and ethnic social club were pivotal.

Sadly his latter years saw him suffer from dementia, leading him to stop attending games at Kevin Bartlett Reserve and finally taking his life.

He was a hard working, family man. He was fun to be around. He deserves to be long remembered.

Manfred Kuhn Funeral Booklet

Expansion!

Expansion is on the agenda, of the blog not the A-League, that is.

Thanks to the ongoing contributions of George Cotsanis, Ian Syson, Damian Smith (in conjunction with the late Kevin Christopher) and Greg Stock, and the faithful reliability of the old HP Officejet Pro 8610 the library within the blog continues to grow.

The main areas of growth are within the Australian Soccer Weekly Archive. At the moment at least half a dozen new issues are added weekly, but there is still a long way to go before everything I have is scanned.

Everything below the blue page on the pile on the left has been scanned. On the pile on the right those below the blue page at the bottom and above the upper blue page have been scanned, So still a long way to go.

Thanks to Greg Stock we now have a Soccer Weekly News Archive. Soccer Weekly News was the NSWSFA magazine, and it predates any publications emanating from Victoria. Greg is also contributing NSWSFA and NSWSF Yearbooks and Handbooks, which can be found in the  Yearbooks and Annuals Archive within the History Documents page. To complement the 17 volume History of Soccer in New South Wales series of Sid Grant and Harry Hetherington, Greg has also provided Sid Grant's book The History of Coalfields Soccer, which can be found in the Books section of the History Documents Archive.

Also in the Book section is Laurie Schwab's The Socceroos and Their Opponents, scanned by Todd Giles ( @nfhistory on Twitter ). It's a book that probably surpassed Jack Pollard's Soccer Records as the great Australian football history tome of it's day.

Ian Syson recently provided me with some photocopies for scanning, which saw several more VASFA and VSF Yearbooks and Handbooks added to the Yearbooks and Annuals Archive. There were some also some early 1960's issues of Soccer News and the renamed (for one year only, Soccer Weekly) that are now in the Soccer News Archive.

There are also programmes coming through from Greg, so keep an eye on on the Programmes Archive for updates.