Stories

YALLOURN FOOTBALL CLUB 1945-65

1957~ YALLOURN PLAYERS DOMINATE LVFL AWARDS - BRUCE KNIGHT, VIN SABBATUCCI & MORRIS ‘MOSSIE’ WILLIAMS.

Following the formation of the LVFL in 1954, football flourished in the ‘Valley and rapidly gained patronage, publicity and prominence. The consequent wider newspaper coverage from Warragul to Sale and the involvement of country radio stations (3UL, 3TR & 3GI) generated greater interest in local football and this, in turn, boosted attendances and gave an ‘edge’ to the competition.

Television had been introduced into Australia in… more

YALLOURN V YARRAGON AUGUST 7th 1954
FOOTNOTES ~GEORGE BATES

Yallourn held off a determined Yarragon team to take four premiership points in the 1954 LVFL season. Recent rain had affected the playing surface of the Yarragon Oval and the game was a most physical affair with skill errors creating pack football, heavy traffic and plenty of physical contact.

“…the trainers had their busiest day for the season with players frequently flattened.” (Morwell Advertiser.)

Yallourn was at some disadvantage with Jack Aitken (captain/coach), stalwart Jimmy… more

A TRIBUTE TO SYD TATE 1925-2015
Sad news has come to hand regarding the death of one of Yallourn’s finest footballers Syd Tate. Syd passed away on May 16th this year at the age of 90 years.
Syd, born in England, played with Yallourn Football Club in those years immediately after World War: 2. In 1947 he was signed by Geelong FC and played 85 games with the Cats, mainly as a rover or wingman, and kicked 13 goals. The highlight of Syd’s career was being a member of the Geelong team that won the 1951 VFL premiership.
After retiring from VFL football, Syd coached Wagga… more

60 YEARS AGO~
1953: JOHN HUTCHINSON PLAYS HIS FIRST SENIOR GAME FOR YFC.

No history of Yallourn Football Club (1945-65) would be complete without a chapter devoted to John Hutchinson. He was a ‘local hero’ and civic leader in many of the activities and affairs of the township. He built a healthy reputation on the sporting fields of Yallourn, particularly in football and cricket.

John was an outstanding footballer and a dedicated coach who was untiring in his efforts to maintain and strengthen the Yallourn Football Club.
This is the story of John and his… more

Sydney and Frances Williams had six children Keith, Lorna, Allan, Doug, Betty and Morris. In the early years, Sydney worked a small farm in the Hill End-Willow Grove area.
“Syd provided a supporting role to the running of the family store and hotel, using horse and carriage passenger and mail services (Cobb & Co. style) to all parts of the surrounding areas linking to Moe. In the 1920’s, the horses were replaced with motor vehicles.” …Morris Williams.

Sometime in 1930’s the family moved into Yallourn and the story of two of Yallourn’s best-ever footballers starts here.… more

LAURIE SHIPP
In only three seasons with Yallourn Football Club, former North Melbourne ruckman, Laurie Shipp, took local football by storm and created a lasting impression as one of the Blues’ best ruckmen of all time.

Although not well known in Yallourn Football Club’s history, Laurie had actually worked in the Yallourn Open Cut as a Cadet Engineer before he returned to the city in 1949 to sign with North Melbourne. Laurie remembers…
“While studying part-time to add Electrical Engineering to my qualifications, I was appointed to a Cadet Engineering position with the… more

The LVFL final four in 1955 comprised Moe, Warragul, Sale and Yallourn. The Blues had taken ‘all before them ’ in the dash to the finals and while surprising the pundits, Yallourn was the ‘wild card in the pack.’ A dazzling victory over the highly fancied Warragul team in the Preliminary Final entitled the Blues to meet Sale in the LVFL Grand Final. The Grand Final was played at Morwell on Saturday, 10 September.

‘The Argus’ headline on the eve of the game read….
“YALLOURN HAS THE SPEED TO BLANKET SALE.”
Further into the body of that story….
“… more

YALLOURN FOOTBALL CLUB 1945-65
VIC LAWRENCE

Perhaps it was no accident that three prominent North Melbourne footballers played with Yallourn in the 1950’s. It may have been good luck; but it could have been the result of astute recruiting that ruckman Laurie Shipp (1954-56), centre man Gerald Marchesi (1955-56) and defender Vic Lawrence (1958-59) were lured to the club. All had been team mates at North Melbourne FC at some time.

Vic Lawrence was recruited to NMFC from the local side North Colts in 1948. Vic proceeded slowly but steadily in building a reputation as… more

Malcolm Gibson YHS 1962 wrote - “the photograph of one of the Yallourn fountains certainly brings back memories. I don't recall specific dates, circumstances etc but I recall two occasions when detergent was used in the fountain, one of these occasions also involved a quantity of potassium permanganate (Condies crystals) which turned the frothy water purple. As to who the perpetrators were is anyone's guess, but I would say that the list of suspects would be fairly large and would probably not hold any surprises to those of us from that era. Good harmless fun eh? Wouldn't happen these days… more

Paul Vincent YHS 1962 - Yallourn Fountain - wrote in 2004 - I was driving to Glenmaggie Weir one day and, lo and behold, a Yallourn fountain was spotted, sitting in a private garden in Heyfield! Yes, it even works and has the original copper lights still mounted inside (although the centre pole is now painted white). Was unable to speak to the property owner, as they were out, but will be returning to find out how the hell it was transported there!

Lachlan McPherson YHS 1962 - wrote 2004 - Loved the photo of ONE of the Centre square fountains (where's the other?)….and I certainly… more