Football is about so much more than just football. It is about people and places, spirit and tradition, love and loyalty. And so it was when the Swans ‘family’ gathered on 30 April 2011.
It was the second Hall of Fame dinner, following on from a hugely successful inaugural dinner in 2009 when, 100 years on from the first premiership, the club moved to formally recognise 140 years of proud Swans history.
After three Legends, Bob Pratt, Bob Skilton and Paul Kelly, and 20 other inductees made up the first group of Hall of Famers in 2009, a further 27 players were inducted in 2011, Peter Bedford was elevated to Legend status, and six very special parts of the Swans history took pride of place in a new recognition category – the Heritage List.
Peter Bedford was a multi-talented sportsman who was among football’s best through the 1970’s and a fine interstate cricketer. A match-winning rover, he won the Brownlow Medal in 1970, was club champion in 1969. ’70, ’71, ’73 and ‘75 and was three times the club’s leading goal-kicker. Captain of the Swans from 1973-76, he was a Victorian representative 13 times and was named with Barry Round and Bob Skilton in the following division in the Team of the Century. A 1999 AFL Hall of Fame inductee.
The 27 new inductees in 2011 spanned every generation of the club’s history. From Bill Windley and Henry ‘Sonny’ Elms in the late 19th century to Charlie Ricketts, Bill Thomas and Len Mortimer in the early 1900’s. From Ted Johnson in the 1920’s through Bill Faul and Len Thomas in the 1930s and Jack Graham and Jim Cleary in the 1940s.
Bill Gunn represented the 1950s, Graeme John and John Heriot the 1960s and Rick Quade and Graham Teasdale the 1970s. Stevie Wright, Tony Morwood, Rod Carter, David Murphy and Warwick Capper were chosen from the 1980s, Mark Bayes, Stuart Maxfield and Andrew Dunkley from the 1990s and Michael O’Loughlin, Brett Kirkand Leo Barry in the early 2000s. Paul Roos, a grand final player in 1996 and a drought-breaking premiership coach in 2005, completed the list.
Equally special on a night never to be forgotten was the introduction of six Heritage List items, which were considered separate to players, coaches and administrators. Each were part of the heart and soul of the club through 24 years in the old VFA and since the inception of the VFL/AFL in 1897. They were:
1880 Guernsey
The South Melbourne Football Club was formed in 1874, but it was not until 1880 that it wore the famous colours, adopting a red and white hooped guernsey. Few, if any, professional football clubs of any code anywhere in the world have worn the red and white for longer than South Melbourne/Sydney Swans.
Lake Oval
For 100 years from 1881 to 1981, Lake Oval in Aughtie Drive, Albert Park, was the sacred home of the Club. It was the home ground for more than 1000 games. The record attendance for the ground was set on 30 July 1932 when more than 41,000 people saw South Melbourne play Carlton.
Our Emblem – the Swan
In 1933 eminent journalist Hec de Lacy referred to the South Melbourne Football Club in The Sporting Globe somewhat facetiously as “the Swans” due to the high number of West Australian recruits, adopting the ‘Swans’ tag because the Black Swan was the emblem of Western Australia. Cartoonist Alex Gurney drew a cartoon that drew further attention to de Lacy's words and so the 'Swans' emblem and name were born.
Club Song
In 1961 the song known today as “Cheer Cheer The Red And The White” became the club’s anthem, when the South Melbourne Football Club was granted the right to use the Notre Dame Victory March melody, with appropriate alterations to the lyrics. Prior to 1961, the Club Song was an adaptation of “Springtime in the Rockies” by American country star Gene Autry.
QBE Insurance
In 1985 former QBE Chief Executive John Cloney heard the Sydney Swans were struggling and in danger of folding due to the lack of a major sponsor. One phone call later and one of the Australia’s great sporting sponsorships was born. It is loosely regarded as a two-way mix of business and pleasure as the two bodies work beautifully in tandem for mutual benefit.
Leo Barry’s Mark
For 72 years Swans fans had waited, and then, late on Saturday afternoon 24 September 2005 it happened. Defender Leo Barry flew high in a pack in the last seconds of the Grand Final against the West Coast Eagles to pull down a spectacular and courageous mark that will never be forgotten. The Swans were premiers for the first time since 1933.
