1885 SAFA season

1885 SAFA premiership season
1885 SAFA premiership season
	South Adelaide, premiers
Teams	4
Premiers	South Adelaide; 2nd premiership
Leading goalkicker	H R Hill; South Adelaide (19 goals)
Attendance
Matches played	30
Total attendance	54,000 (1,800 per match)
Highest	8,000 (Round 6, Adelaide vs. South Adelaide)

1885 SAFA premiership season
1885 SAFA premiership season
	South Adelaide, premiers
Teams	4
Premiers	South Adelaide; 2nd premiership
Leading goalkicker	H R Hill; South Adelaide (19 goals)
Attendance
Matches played	30
Total attendance	54,000 (1,800 per match)
Highest	8,000 (Round 6, Adelaide vs. South Adelaide)
	← 1884 1886 →

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1885 South Australian Football Association season was the 9th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.

A new senior Adelaide Football Club formed from a merger of North Adelaide Junior and North Parks clubs from the Adelaide and Suburban Football Association joined.

However, two inaugural clubs - South Park on 18 March 1885 and Victorians (North Adelaide) on 21 April 1885 both resigned and disbanded before the season commenced reducing the number of teams in the competition to 4.

The 1885 SAFA season was the first time since 1878 that all clubs played a fixed number of games with each of the four clubs playing five times against the other three for a total of 15 games.

Twenty three of the thirty games played had crowd figures quoted for an approximate average of 1,800 spectators per game.

At the committee meeting of the S.A. Football Association held on 28 April 1885 Messrs. A. Mehrtens, J. Sidoli, F. H. Wedd, and J.Pollock were appointed Association Field Umpires from the eleven applicants.

The large scoring-board at the Adelaide Oval was first used for football matches during the season. A new fence and bicycle track had also been added around the Oval. ^[1]

The first ever night match under lights at Adelaide Oval was held on 1st July 1885 for the match between Adelaide and South Adelaide. ^[2]

SAFA Senior Clubs 1885 Season

Club	Colours	Home Ground	Captain	Comments
Adelaide	Black, Red	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	J.D. Stephens	New Adelaide Senior Club formed from the merger of North Adelaide Junior and North Park
Norwood	Dark blue Red	Kensington Oval, Kensington	A.E. Waldron
Port Adelaide	Magneta Blue	Alberton Oval, Alberton
South Adelaide	Navy Blue White	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	A.J.Hall

Premiership season

Round 1


	Round 1
Saturday, 2 May (3:15 pm)	Norwood 6.15 (6)	def.	Adelaide 1.5 (1)	Kensington Oval	^[3]
Saturday, 2 May (3:15 pm)	South Adelaide 4.11 (4)	def.	Port Adelaide 3.3 (3)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,500)	^[4]

Round 2


	Round 2
Monday, 25 May	South Adelaide 5.13 (5)	def.	Norwood 0.8 (0)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 4,500)	^[5]
	Bye Port Adelaide, Adelaide
Port Adelaide was on a football trip in Victoria during rounds 2 and 3.

Round 3


	Round 3
Saturday, 31 May	South Adelaide 4.9	def.	Adelaide 2.11	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 950)	^[6]^[7]
	Bye Port Adelaide, Norwood
Adelaide Oval's surface was in poor condition due to the famous Indigenous corroboree the night before. It was performed by around 100 Aboriginal men and women from Point MacLeay mission and Yorke Peninsula and was attended by around 20,000 spectators (around a sixth of Adelaide's population). ^[8] It was followed by a second performance on the Saturday evening.^[9]. The match between South Adelaide and Adelaide was witnessed by about forty aborigines, who were seated upon the lawn in front of the pavilion.

Round 4


	Round 4
Saturday, 6 June (3:10 pm)	South Adelaide 3.11 (3)	def. by	Norwood 5.8 (5)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 2,000)	^[10]^[11]
Saturday, 6 June (3:10 pm)	Port Adelaide 10.14 (10)	def.	Adelaide 2.11 (2)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 800)	^[12]^[13]

Round 5


	Round 5
Saturday, 27 June (3:00 pm)	Port Adelaide 2.5 (2)	def. by	South Adelaide 3.16 (3)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 1,500)	^[14]
Saturday, 27 June (3:15 pm)	Adelaide 4.5 (4)	def.	Norwood 0.13 (0)	Adelaide Oval	^[15]^[16]

Round 6


	Round 6
Wednesday, 1 July (8:00 pm)	Adelaide 1.8 (1)	def.	South Adelaide 0.8 (0)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 8,000)	^[17]
Saturday, 4 July	Port Adelaide 2.12 (2)	def. by	Norwood 3.8 (3)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 2,000)	^[18]
	Bye Adelaide, South Adelaide
The game between Adelaide and South Adelaide at Adelaide Oval under artificial light was the first night game ever played in South Australia.

Round 7


	Round 7
Saturday, 11 July (3:25 pm)	Norwood 0.5 (0)	drew with	South Adelaide 0.12 (0)	Kensington Oval	^[19]
Saturday, 11 July (3:18 pm)	Adelaide 0.10 (0)	def. by	Port Adelaide 2.10 (2)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 600)	^[20]

Round 8


	Round 8
Saturday, 18 July	Norwood 1.20 (1)	def. by	Adelaide 4.10 (4)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 400)	^[21]
Saturday, 18 July (3:13 pm)	South Adelaide 2.8 (2)	drew with	Port Adelaide 2.15 (2)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 3,000)	^[22]

Round 9


	Round 9
Saturday, 25 July (3:25 pm)	Norwood 3.11 (3)	def.	Port Adelaide 2.16 (2)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 1,000)	^[23]
Saturday, 25 July	Adelaide 0.5 (0)	def. by	South Adelaide 6.14 (6)	Adelaide Oval	^[24]

Round 10


	Round 10
Saturday, 1 August (3:16 pm)	South Adelaide 8.11 (8)	def.	Norwood 4.5 (4)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 2,000)	^[25]^[26]
Saturday, 1 August (3:20 pm)	Port Adelaide 8.17 (8)	def.	Adelaide 1.8 (1)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 500)	^[27]

Round 11


	Round 11
Saturday, 8 August (3:10 pm)	South Adelaide 5.10 (5)	def.	Adelaide 3.11 (3)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 500)	^[28]^[29]
	Bye Port Adelaide, Norwood

Round 12


	Round 12
Saturday, 15 August (3:29 pm)	Port Adelaide 2.11 (2)	def.	South Adelaide 1.5 (1)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 2,000)	^[30]
Saturday, 15 August (3:28 pm)	Adelaide 3.5 (3)	def. by	Norwood 4.6 (4)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 1,000)	^[31]^[32]

Round 13


	Round 13
Saturday, 22 August (3:25 pm)	Port Adelaide 1.13 (1)	def. by	Norwood 6.16 (6)	Alberton Oval (crowd: 2,000)	^[33]^[34]
Saturday, 22 August (3:20 pm)	Adelaide 2.4 (2)	def. by	South Adelaide 11.13 (11)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 300)	^[35]

Round 14


	Round 14
Saturday, 29 August (3:20 pm)	Adelaide 6.9 (6)	def.	Norwood 1.13 (1)	Kensington Oval	^[36]^[37]
Saturday, 29 August (3:15 pm)	South Adelaide 6.14 (6)	drew with	Port Adelaide 6.2 (6)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 5,000)	^[38]^[39]

Round 15


	Round 15
Saturday, 5 September	Norwood 2.11 (2)	def. by	South Adelaide 8.10 (8)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 550)	^[40]
Saturday, 5 September	Adelaide 2.6 (2)	def. by	Port Adelaide 3.13 (3)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 500)	^[41]^[42]

Round 16


	Round 16
Saturday, 12 September (3:18 pm)	Adelaide 5.5 (5)	def. by	South Adelaide 8.7 (8)	Adelaide Oval	^[43]
Saturday, 12 September (3:30 pm)	Norwood 4.14 (4)	def.	Port Adelaide 2.8 (2)	Kensington Oval (crowd: 800)	^[44]

Round 17


	Round 17
Saturday, 18 September (3:30 pm)	Adelaide 3.5 (3)	def.	Port Adelaide 1.14 (1)	Adelaide Oval	^[45]

Ladder

1885 SAFA Ladder

TEAM

P

W

L

D

GF

BF

GA

BA

1

South Adelaide (P)

15

11

2

72

159

36

96

2

Norwood

15

7

1

42

162

54

161

3

Port Adelaide

15

6

8

1

49

159

41

146

4

Adelaide

15

4

11

0

38

111

70

188

Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, BF = Behinds For, GA = Goals Against, BA = Behinds Against, (P) = Premiers

^[46]

References

^ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160738194
^ https://adelaideaz.com/articles/adelaide-oval-s-first-sports-event-under-lights-in-1885--adelaide-v--south-adelaide-football-match
^ "NORWOOD v. ADELAIDE". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 May 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 4 May 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 26 May 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44530755
^ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208348659
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 June 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 June 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 June 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 8 June 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 June 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 June 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 June 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL BY ELECTRIC LIGHT". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 July 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 6 July 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 13 July 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 13 July 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 20 July 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 20 July 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 August 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 24 August 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 31 August 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 31 August 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 September 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 2 September 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 7 September 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 7 September 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 7 September 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 September 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 September 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". South Australian Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 21 September 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ "FOOTBALL". Adelaide Observer. National Library of Australia. 10 October 1885. p. 19. Retrieved 19 December 2014.