The South Melbourne/Sydney Swans Football Club might have worn a variety of guernsey designs from its inception in 1874, but has always worn red and white.
In fact, it has worn these colours longer than any football club of any code in the world.
The red and white colours came from the Albert Park Football Club, which amalgamated with a new club in June, 1874.
The amalgamated club at first was known as the Cecil Football Club but, just a month later, it changed its name to South Melbourne.
However, there was one major compromise in this amalgamation. Albert Park insisted that because it had lost its name, it therefore should retain its colours.
Albert Park, in fact, was well-known for its distinctive red and white guernseys and the players were referred to as “those red and white beauties.”
The new club therefore changed from blue and white to red and white and now has worn these colours for more than 140 years.
The first guernseys comprised thin red and white hoops, with these hoops broadened slightly for the introduction of the VFL in 1897.
South wore these guernseys until 1905, when it switched to white with broad red stripes and sleeves.
This outfit lasted just two seasons and, in 1907, South switched again – this time to white with a red sash across the front and back. Numbers were not introduced until 1912.
South wore the new outfit for the first time in the 1907 opening round match against Melbourne at the Lake Oval on April 27.
There was no mention in the lead-up to the match of South’s new guernsey design, and no reference to it in the Monday newspaper match reports.
The coverage of the South v Melbourne clash was skimpy, with most interest centred on the Collingwood v Fitzroy match at Victoria Park, which the Magpies won by eight points.
Under the headline MELBOURNE’S OPENING MATCH, The Argus reported good play was difficult because of a “howling wind”.
The newspaper also reported that South relied on “rushing” tactics, but was hampered by the loss to first quarter injuries of star full-forward Len Mortimer and classy rover Charlie Ricketts, who had crossed to South the previous season from VFA club Richmond.
Melbourne took control with three goals to one in the second quarter and went on to win by 19 points.
Although South went down to Fitzroy by 10 points at Brunswick Street the following week, the Southerners notched their first victory in their new sash guernseys with a 28-point triumph over Collingwood at the Lake Oval in round three.
South went on to finish the home and away season in third position before reaching the Grand Final and going down to Carlton by five points.
South won the 1909 and 1918 premierships in its sash guernseys before abandoning them in 1921 to wear red with a white SMFC monogram.
The Southerners wore these guernseys for just two seasons, during which they were referred to as “the scarlet runners”.
The club adopted its white with a red V design in 1932 and won the 1933 flag in that outfit.
