Picked this book up yesterday - can highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of our great game - brilliantly researched and extremely well-written, I found it hard to put it down and knocked off 83 of the 263 pages - its the story of an extremely turbulent time (1938-49) when the VFA threatened to usurp the almighty VFL as the premium code in Victoria and if WWII hadn't intervened then it just may have happened. Even after the War recess, the VFA went from strength to strength with its unique rules and thumbing its collective nose at the VFL's permit rules and pinching their star players who were woefully underpaid. Unfortunately, come the end of the decade the majority of VFA Club delegates meekly rolled over and agreed to drop the unique rules (think throwpass) and rejoin the ANFC where they got a seat but not a vote. Ahhhhh, what could have been .....
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Thanks for posting info about the book. My local library has a copy on order. I am first to reserve a copy. I hope it fills in a few gaps of the VFA history
For sure blackrocker, it's a rollicking read about football back in the 1930's/1940's and the lengths the VFL went to in an effort to quash the threat of the VFA, must have been an amazing time
It's on my Christmas wish list. I think it's already arrived. I'm looking forward to it very much.
* It's time to restore the VFA name.
you will enjoy it, Northport - the Port historians had a bit of input into the book
Local library has emailed me the book is ready for me to pick up
I've started to read the book today. Enjoying it so far. 👍
* It's time to restore the VFA name.
fabulous, i need to get back into it
As I recall two of the biggest names the VFA picked up were Bob Pratt and Ron Todd. And I think the VFA played a grand final at the G and picked up a mighty attendance - can't remember what year it was off the top of my head.
There were other high profile players such as Laurie Nash and Des Fothergill - the 1939 GF Willi v Brunswick drew a crowd of nearly 50K to the MCG
Ah thanks and I forgot about Fothergill. I just went with the two most obvious. Nash though I didn't know about. Did you know that if Victor Richardson got his way during the Bodyline series it would have been Nash who knocked Douglas Jardine's block off?
yeah Nash was one of the first big signings in 1938 when he went to Camberwell - Nash's aggression as a fast bowler was the reason he wasn't picked against England as they wanted to restore good relationships with the Poms but it was thought that Nash would just stir things up again so he wasn't picked
Actually they were considering him before Bodyline. Woodfull was the one who said no and I think Bradman agreed.
there was a story on Facebook yesterday about Nash's cricket career along with a fabulous photo of him bowling but it disappeared before i got to read it and i can't find it for the life of me
I know how that feels - it disappears before you can record it and then you can't find it again. Happens all the time when you leave it for too long and the page reloads automatically.