Listen to episode 149 of The Adelaide Show podcast, which was published June 29 2016, to find out which story is fake.
Football and Fireworks
The Port Augusta Dispatch, June 1911
On Saturday last, the historic Norwood football club broke the chain of disaster, and scored the first win of the season. The red and blue colours have been lowered so consistently this season that supporters were the reverse of hopeful; but the South Adelaide’s found an unexpected strength of opposition, and after a strenuous game had to submit to defeat. Daring halftime a display of daylight fireworks made the time pass very quickly. After a gaily-coloured “Ally Sloper” had ascended in a compact bomb, and after a brief survey of the upper regions, floated slowly down upon the green sward of the oval, a crowd of small boys took charge of things. Bomb after bomb rushed up into the clear sky, and shed its red, green, yellow, and blue pigs, camels, elephants, Dreadnaught’s, strings of flags, parachutes, cows and bulldogs, which were all immediately confiscated and torn to shreds by the horde of small boys that covered the oval.
Ugly Melee At Oval Worst Ever – Final Abandoned
The Mail October 1954
A melee of a kind not seen on a South Australian football field marked the end of the first half of the league football grand final between West and Port at Adelaide Oval today. In a matter of seconds, every player on both sides was on Ports half-forward line where punches were thrown by players on both sides. The second quarter incident began when Boyd, Port centreman, marked and was strongly met at the same time by Faehse. West captain and centre 'half-back. Boyd went to the ground obviously hurt. The players in the immediate vicinity moved in immediately. That was the signal for every player on the ground to converge on the spot. There was suddenly a milling, jostling mass of ‘Players’. Before long members from the crowd surged onto the field, overwhelming any chance of control. As West men went to the fracas a spectator in – black-and- white blazer charged through and punched Faehse on the Jaw. Another spectator knocked down the attacker. Constables move in to restore order however they were vastly outnumbered. The umpires managed to separate the teams and ordered them from the field whilst fending off blows from irate onlookers. Even as the players had left , the crowd size had grown and an all out brawl involving hundreds of spectators had spread across the field. One constable called for the mounted police from outside ground to be brought onto the pitch and after repeated charges into the melee the crowd began to separate. (Story continues with more details for quite a while) There were many injuries to dozens of fans, some quite serious and after a while the umpires declared the game abandoned. The Football Association has rescheduled a replay for next weekend. An inquiry has been set up by the States peak sporting body.
Women Are Among the Keenest Fans At Football
The Mail 1935
ADELAIDE women enjoy watching football. They become excited about the game as much as any of the men spectators and are just as well informed in the points of the game. At the Adelaide Oval today it was the women who arrived early and “bagged” the best vantage points from which to watch the game. And when play began half the cheering — and booing, too — came from the women spectators, some of whom cheerfully stood all the afternoon to watch their team in action. “It’s a grand game to watch,” was how one rosy cheeked veteran aged 78, Mrs. H. McLaren, of North Unley, who never misses a game if she can help it, summed up football. With her sister, Mrs. P. Harvey, she arrived over an hour before play began to secure her favourite seat in the grandstand. She has seen some stirring free fights among spectators, too, with women taking part with umbrellas to settle arguments about the teams they favoured! Those were the bad old days when women sometimes used hatpins on rival spectators. These days they are less heated and more appreciative of good play she considers.