Sydney Swans Celebrate 150 Years: A Legacy of Resilience and Triumph

My spine still tingles whenever I see Brett Kirk triumphantly standing on the 2005 victory dias, grabbing a handful of his jumper, declaring, ‘This is for the Bloods’. Tonight, twenty-three fortunate but deserving men will wear a thoughtfully crafted, 150th-anniversary commemorative version of that iconic guernsey, and they, too, represent us all.

On a wintry July night in 1874, the South Melbourne Football Club was born at the Emerald Hill Total Abstinence Society Hall. As the venue’s name suggests, the meeting was a low-key affair in which the club’s committee decided to change from the previously named Cecil Football Club. From humble beginnings, a football powerhouse spawned.

The embryonic stages of this club’s history seep with aspiration. Two decades prior to our birth, gold-seekers from around the world poured into the colonies, changing the course of Australian history. The gold rush ensured the South Melbourne district grew into one of Melbourne’s most populous and prosperous areas.

Club officials have always possessed a healthy dose of ingenuity. In 1885, when Bloods Legend Peter Burns boarded a train in Ballarat, he intended to disembark at Spencer Street Station to sign with Essendon. South Melbourne intercepted the future triple-premiership-winning champion at North Melbourne and signed him instead.

During the 1930s, local magnate Archie Crofts instigated the most auspicious recruitment drive the game had ever seen. He assembled players from across the land, deep in the midst of the Great Depression, offering employment and the chance to win a flag. They were known as The Foreign Legion, and they won our eighth premiership in 1933. Seventy-two years later, we won our ninth.

Resilience is a virtue. Some view it as a virtue to master. Despite the radiance of Ron Clegg, the brilliance of Bob Skilton, and the panache of Peter Bedford, the Swans flew headlong into a treacherous storm. Team success proved elusive, and despite the best intentions, administrative faults eventually crippled the club.

Relocation left lasting wounds, some of which have never healed. A mock funeral was performed before the Swan’s final match at the Lake Oval, and the early days in Sydney were almost as bleak.

Thankfully, we do. And my god, we will. The Bloods