1956 Geelong-Footscray semi-final at the MCG
Ken Mansell recollects ...
I was in attendance that day, as a ten-year-old, and still have one or two vague memories of the clash. (I'm somewhere in Bay 13 of the outer grandstand). The weather that day was wet, and the Geelong players seen in the first photo are all wearing long-sleeved jumpers.
Neither side kicked a goal in the last quarter and the Bulldogs scraped home by two points. Geelong's cause was not helped by a nasty collision involving Norm Sharp and Bob Davis. This was the last Geelong finals appearance until 1962.
With reference to the jumper numbers listed in The Football Record, I've identified three of the Geelong players - from left: Noel Rayson (No 27), Fred Wooller (No 3) and Bruce Ferrari (No 18).
The other Geelong player shown (facing the camera) is a mystery to me.
One of the Footscray players could be Wally Donald.
The quality of the colour photos is remarkable for 1956. These two football shots seem to have an immediacy that is missing from the run-of-the-mill football photos (even the colourised Argus photos) of that era.
Geelong's 1956 semi-final team:
B: | Ron Hovey | Bob Gazzard | Max Sutcliffe |
HB: | Bernie Smith | Bob Davis | John Haygarth |
C: | Clive Brown | Les Borrack | John O'Neill |
HF: | Noel Rayson | Roger Bullen | Bruce Ferrari |
F: | John O'Connell | Fred Wooller | Neil Trezise |
Foll:Norm Sharp | Bruce Bartle | Peter Pianto | |
Res | Matt Goggin | Glen Bow | |
Emerg | Bob Wiltshire | Eric Nicholls |
In - Max Sutcliffe, Bernie Smith, Bruce Bartle
Out - Geoff Williams (broken hand), Bob Wiltshire, Fred Le Deux.
(to be continued.......KM)
Other Examples by Raymond Morris
Flicker Gallerys of Raymond Morris Photos
Please try and capture the feeling of the 1950's by having a look at the following collections:Other photos can be found in the National Library of New Zealand.
The Collections are well worth the visit.