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Football Unlimited – Tim Hogan’s Guide to the Great Australian Game- Published At: 2018-06-15 15:28 - (528 Reads)
Rating:
(7.00/10)
It slowly dawned on me that Hogan’s book – a vast store of information emanating from a great variety of disparate sources, places and periods – was in fact a guide to Australian football’s collective memory.
Percy Leason- Published At: 2017-11-16 12:11 - (758 Reads)Percy Leason (23 February 1889 – 11 September 1959 was a cartoonist an painter who rose to prominence in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He was most widely known for cartoons and illustrations that appeared in many magazines including Punch and later Table Talk.
Charlie Davey -A Forgotten Star Of Interstate Football- Published At: 2017-11-10 11:44 - (986 Reads)Among those Victorian players who have been often overlooked for their significant contribution to interstate football is Carlton’s champion ruckman Charlie Davey. Charlie, who played 143 games for Carlton, represented Victoria on 17 occasions between 1929 and 1935. He is a classic example of a forgotten star of national football; and hopefully this story may serve as a reminder of Charlie’s undoubted ability and achievements in VFL and interstate football.
Stan Spinks - The Gallant Midfielder From Glenferrie- Published At: 2017-11-10 09:59 - (1068 Reads)With the resounding recent success of Hawthorn; and the current abundance of Hawks stars, many younger fans may be unaware of the rocky road that Hawthorn travelled in the early years of the club’s history. One of the heroes of Hawthorn during its darkest years was Stan Spinks…this is his story.
Vic Lawrence- The Big Hearted Shinboner- Published At: 2017-10-19 12:18 - (1841 Reads)Victor (aka Vic) Lawrence (born: 1928) played more than 100 VFL games; and although a steadfast defender, club captain and Victorian representative, he appears to be another ‘forgotten man’ of VFL football. This story attempts to remind football followers of Vic’s achievements and the key role he played in rebuilding the NMFC during the 1950’s.
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Random Articles
A Record Streak: Geelong's 26 games without a loss- Published At: 2013-08-26 08:27 - (4923 Reads)Between Round 9 1952 and Round 13 1953, Geelong had a famous run of 26 games without a loss. This passed the previous record of 21 games by Collingwood's 1928/29 side and is still today a VFL/AFL record. This period in Geelong's history has been widely written about. This article attempts to describe the streak, demonstrate that it was more than a random fluke never to be repeated and finally fits the streak into a wider context within Australian football outside the VFL/AFL.
Bryan Clements~Fitzroy FC - A Day To Remember At The Brunswick Street Oval.- Published At: 2014-05-18 14:16 - (13610 Reads)Bryan Clements (born 1942) played 23 senior games of VFL football for Fitzroy between the years 1961 and 1964. In that time he played in only two winning teams for Fitzroy. However, one of those wins was the most memorable victory of the 1963 season and one of the biggest upsets in that decade of VFL football. This is Bryan’s story.
Advertising from the VFL Football Record 1941-43- Published At: 2012-09-13 23:23 - (2066 Reads)The State Library of Victoria's digitized version of the VFL Football Record is a useful primary source for football research. The Football Record was sold at grounds on match day. During the Second World War, football continued and so did the record. The record included less advertising during the war years than at other times. There were many appears to support the war effort by attending charity events, or purchasing war bonds.
The selection of advertisements that appear here is not exhaustive and is a selection of the 'most interesting' advertisements during the 1941 to 1943 period. The advertisements provide a small insight into wartime Melbourne. Margaret Berlowitz – Club President - Breaking Glass Ceilings- Published At: 2014-05-31 12:22 - (6094 Reads)Women have played a prominent role in the history Australian Rules football. Women have provided key financial support, and have been supporters, fund raisers, organisers, taxi services and more.
In 2013, Peggy O’Neil at Richmond became the first women to be a VFL/AFL club president. Given history, she will be the first of many. But Peggy is certainly not the first woman to be an Australian Rules Football Club president…for that honour, we need to look nearly 100 years beforehand. This is the story of Margaret Jane Berlowitz at Yarraville 1914-1922. Peter Brown - A Scrapbook of Football from the 1920's and 1930's- Published At: 2016-03-13 11:12 - (3750 Reads)Peter Brown is an unsung footballer from the 1920’s and 1930’s. Peter’s story includes the periods in the VFL, VFA, Country football and later as a trainer, it includes individual achievements such as three premiership medals with Northcote in the VFA, to lows such as injuries and permit troubles at Footscray. Peters family scrapbook helps tell a fascinating story.
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Historical Articles (Reprinted)
Recent Articles
Great Football Dramas No. 10 - When Collingwood And Fitzroy Thrilled Sydney In 1903- Published At: 2017-11-10 12:49 - (511 Reads)In this, the tenth of a series of great football dramas, is described how, in 1903, Collingwood and Fitzroy made football history by contesting a League premiership match in Sydney, and how, in the Rugby stronghold, a crowd of 20,000, seeing a big Australian rules game for the first time, was thrilled by the fast, spectacular play.
Great Football Dramas No. 1 - DUNCAN’S MATCH- Published At: 2017-11-05 18:00 - (371 Reads)DUNCAN’S MATCH!” Two words, ablaze with imperishable fame, that stand out vividly in Australian football history.
Great Football Dramas No. 2 - Footscray's Dramatic Win Over Essendon Sensation of 1924- Published At: 2017-11-05 10:36 - (447 Reads)Re-told by an eye-witness, this, the second of a series of stories of stirring football dramas enacted on League grounds, describes how, in 1924, Footscray, Association premiers, paralysed Essendon, League premiers, in a memorable contest for the championship of Victoria.
Great Football Dramas—No.7 - Revolutionary Strategy That Won 1928 League Flag For Collingwood- Published At: 2017-11-04 13:13 - (1055 Reads)Re-told by an eye-witness, this is the seventh of a series of great football dramas. It describes how, in the 1928 final against Richmond, Collingwood, with audacious match-winning strategy, set giant Percy Rowe to spoil Donald Don, dreaded champion full-back; and how, under Rowe’s clever protection, Gordon Coventry kicked nine goals – a record.
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Random Articles
Forty Years of Football: Turning back the Pages of Time- Published At: 2017-09-30 17:35 - (726 Reads)Reminiscences of Tommy Wilson, captain of North Melbourne and a founder of East Fremantle. Covering the period from the 1890's to WW1.
History of the Australian Game on the Goldfields from 1894 to 1912- Published At: 2017-08-11 15:57 - (742 Reads)Great Football Dramas No. 1 - DUNCAN’S MATCH- Published At: 2017-11-05 18:00 - (371 Reads)DUNCAN’S MATCH!” Two words, ablaze with imperishable fame, that stand out vividly in Australian football history.
Great Football Dramas No. 12. Prahran's Tragic Failure to Win Association Premiership of 1909- Published At: 2016-10-29 12:06 - (2004 Reads)In this, the twelfth of a series of football dramas, is described Prahran's great 1909 team, and its tragic failure to win the Association premiership.
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Article Archive...
An Introduction to Charles Boyles
Charles Boyles SLV2008.122/451 (Cropped) Source: State Library of Victoria Photographic Collection
The website is centred around the photos of Charles Boyles, a Melbourne-based photographer. Boyles primarily took photos of Australian Rules Football teams and players. He appears to have started this football work in the late twenties. He continued through the 1930's, the years of the Second World War, and then right up to his final photos in the early sixties. Unlike most commercial photographers, Charles Boyles did not wait for customers to come to him. Boyles set up his camera on training nights, and on game days took posed team photos after the players had run onto the ground. These were sold directly to the clubs, players and general public. On Saturdays, at the games, the photographer's son Harley Boyles (and others) would take a satchel of mixed photos and sell them throughout the game. Unlike newspaper photos, therefore, a Boyles photo was something you could own, take home, and treasure. There are no action shots or photos of games in progress. Boyles specialised in team photos and player portraits, with the players looking directly to camera. Today these photos are used by clubs, by family historians, and by those interested in football history. They often appear uncredited in football history books. Boyles did not restrict himself to the leading football competition of his era, the Victorian Football League. During his working life he attended many different competitions. He covered the VFA, Wartime Services matches, the various Victorian workplace competitions, the Sunday leagues, and other competitions. Learn More about the Life of Charles Boyles
Read Ken's article on the methods, motives and life of Charles Boyles. The article includes notes from an extensive interview with Harley Boyles about his father. See Charles Edward Boyles: From Tripod to Website. |
Website Aims and Objectives
This website contains work by two independent researchers, Ken Mansell and Michael Riley. Our objective is to share our own passion for history and provide a friendly resource for family historians, football buffs and others who have an interest in the Charles Boyles photos and more generally in football photography from the 1920's to 1960's.A Football History Website
This site has grown to cover more than just football photos. There is an amazing amount to explore. You can start with articles, player pages, ground pages, team and league pages as well as information on players careers outside football.All Football Photographers Not Just Charles Boyles Photos
This site contains photos from many of Boyles's contemporaries. These contrast Boyles's style, and add to an understanding of sport, photography, and the football of the time.Football Outside the VFL
Charles Boyles took photos of VFL teams, but also took photos of VFA teams, Workplace Teams and teams in Junior Leagues. Also, for many players the VFL was just a small part of their footballing story. This site attempts to build a picture of the football world during Boyle's working period. This world is worth explored through articles and the pages thoughout the website. Sources of Images on this Website
We are not associated with any library or institution. We have received permission from a variety of people and institutions to include their images on this particular website. Each photo is labelled as to it's source. Please contact the relevant source for permission to reproduce any images. The appearance of an image on this website does not mean that it is public domain. Although many (not all) photos are out of copyright, many images are available here under 'Terms of Use' agreements with the relevant organisation. We credit the photographer and the photo source wherever possible, |
Examples of Boyles Photos
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Kew Sub Districts 1939 - State Library of Victoria Photographic Collection
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North West Suburbs Police Team circa 1935 - State Library of Victoria Photographic Collection
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Carlton Seconds, 1956 - State Library of Victoria Photographic Collection
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Bob Wilkie - St Kilda - State Library of Victoria Photographic Collection
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