SANFL history extends from 1877 to the current day. Almost 20% of the SANFL History occurred in the seasons from its inception in 1877 to 1906.
Thanks to the efforts of SANFL History Centre Volunteers and Club Historians and History Committees a complete record of the SANFL has been recorded and is now available in various sources and media.
In 1907 the South Australian Football Association (SAFA) changes its name to the South Australian Football League (SAFL). However, in the preceding 30 seasons many achievements, milestones and records were created. Some have stood the test of time and remain to this day, while countless others have been surpassed. Some entire club histories were achieved in the 1877 to 1906 SAFA era.
The complete SANFL history reflects the fact that an 1877 game between South Park and Port Adelaide on the South Parklands ground of the South Park club, is as much a part of SANFL history as the 1927 game between West Adelaide and Norwood on the Wayville Oval or the 1957 game between Sturt and South Adelaide on the Unley Oval.
All the participants, matches, locations of the SANFL from 1877 deserve their place in its history of the organisation, which commenced in April 1877 with its formation at the Prince Alfred Hotel in the Adelaide City Centre.
At various times the SANFL has had various historical records collated featuring a part of its history. One such collated record featured results from 1907 and another featured results after World War 11.
Now the SANFL has the complete record of its history from 1877 to this day. The SANFL football community is able to take the benefit of this more extensive and complete history.
One such element of the complete history is the production of the 1877 to now timeline, which provides the records, milestones and achievements. This production was prompted by the 2017 and 2022 SANFL History exhibitions at the State Library of South Australia.
The complete SANFL history of individual club records have been researched and published and made available in various forms and media, which include the 1877 to 1906 seasons. This has occurred mainly through the efforts and initiatives of the current clubs’ historians and history committees.
For the clubs that ceased to exist, a feature within the SANFL History exhibitions and contributed to by the State Library of South Australia’s online resource has recognised their achievements and contribution to the history of the SANFL.
THE DETAILS
SANFL FOOTBALL RESEARCH 1877 to 1906 PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
- PUBLISHED WORKS
EXTENSIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION (Every Club, Every Match, Every Player) (All SAFA and Club Records Achieved)
Gyss, Trevor (2010), 1877 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2010), 1878 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2023), 1878 Norwood’s First Premiership, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2010), 1879 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2010), 1880 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2011), 1881 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1882 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1883 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2014), 1884 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2014), 1885 South Australian Football Season Records and Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION(Every Club, Every Match, Every Player)
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1886 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1887 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1888 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1889 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1890 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1891 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1892 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1893 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1894 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1895 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1896 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1897 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1898 South Australian Football Season Statistics, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
INITIAL RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION (Every Club, Every Match, Every Player)
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1899 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1900 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1901 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1902 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1903 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1904 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1905 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2012), 1906 South Australian Football Season Research Notes, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
CLUB PREMIERSHIP SEASONS
Gyss, Trevor (2013), 1877 South Adelaide’s First Premiership Season, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2014), Port Adelaide’s First Premiership 1884, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (), Norwood’s First Premiership 1884, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Whimpress, Bernard 1878
GENERAL SANFL HISTORIES
Gyss, Trevor (2017), South Australian Intercolonial and Interstate Matches: The First Ninety Years 1879-1969, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2017), South Australian Football History, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2017), Ultimate Glory – The South Australian Premiership Prize 1877 to 1977, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2017), Richard Edward Nowell Twopeny: South Australian Football Pioneer, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2017), Notable Events in South Australian Football History, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss Trevor 1877 to 1906 Match Summaries
Gyss, Trevor (2021), 1877 to 1906 South Australian Football Association Uniform Designs, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2022), 1877 to 2022 SANFL Timeline, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2022), Celebrating First Nations Survival and Contribution to the South Australian National Football League, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Whimpress Bernard (1883), South Australian Football Story
CLUB HISTORIES
Agars Merv (1987) Blood Sweat and Tears (Club season summary details from 1897)
Coward Michael Red and Blue Blooded
Lists all Norwood players from 1878
Gyss, Trevor (2010), The Bankers Football Club: A Short and Tragic History, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2013), The Woodville Football Club: Divided It Fell, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2017), Norwood Football Club: The Colonial Seasons, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2017), Port Adelaide Football Club: The Colonial Seasons, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2017), South Adelaide Football Club: The Colonial Seasons, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2021), West Torrens Football Club 1897 to 1990, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2021), Port Adelaide Football Club Year by Year 1877 to 1990, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2021), Sturt Football Club 1901 to 1990, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2022), South Adelaide Football Club 1877 to 1990, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2022), 1888 to 1990 North Adelaide Football Club Pictorial History, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2022), 1878 to 1990 Norwood Football Club History, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gyss, Trevor (2022), 1897 to 1990 West Adelaide Football Club History, Lulu Self Publishing, Raleigh, North Carolina
Kelly, WT (1965) History of West Adelaide Football Club, Adelaide : E.J. McAlister & Co. Printers (season by season match results and player game tallies)
Lysikatis John (1995) True Blue: the History of the Sturt Football Club (1901 to 1906 seasons descriptions and player list)
Lysikatos John We Are Sturt (Player profiles from 1901 to 1906)
Storer. John West Torrens 1897 to 1945 (Every player, every match from 1897 to 1906)
Wood, John (1995) Simply the Best: The Story of the Port Adelaide Football Club, Part 1; Parts 1870-1901,
Wood, John North Adelaide
- ONLINE RECORDS RESOURCES
SANFL Timeline (Lucidea) (milestones, first, records and achievements 1877 to 1906
SANFL website
North Adelaide Football Club websit (Every player, Every season, Every Match online database)
Norwood Football Club website Redlegs Museum (Every Player from 1878 Profiles)
The Players from Port Adelaide website (All players from 1870 to 1906)
West Adelaide Football Club website (All club player debuts from 1897 through 1906)
State Library of South Australia (The Clubs that Hung Up Their Boots 2023)
Wikipedia (Match results from 1877 to 1891)
Australianfootball website (Match results from 1890 to 1906)
- OTHER RECORDS RESOURCES
Berrett, Peter (Sturt match summaries from 1901) (unpublished at SANFL History Centre)
Ian Everett 1877 to 1906 Match Results (unpublished at SANFL History Centre)
South Adelaide all players from 1877 database (unpublished at the SANFL History Centre)
southaustralianfootballhistory 