Fifty years ago, Waverley Park hosted its first match for premiership points.
Geelong and Fitzroy strutted their stuff on the VFL’s latest pride and joy back in round three of the 1970 season.
Cats goalkicking machine Doug Wade helped himself to seven majors, club legend Ian Nankervis racked up 36 touches and kicked four while ruckman John ‘Sam’ Newman featured in the blue and white hoops.
For the Roys, Kevin Murray had won the Brownlow Medal the previous season and John Murphy, father of former Carlton skipper Marc, was coming into his prime as a midfielder.
It was a strange choice of fixture given hordes of Cats fans had to make the epic 100km journey (give or take) from Moorabool St to Mulgrave – a place many of them had probably never ventured. At least they went home happy after witnessing a 61-point thumping.
So much has changed in the last five decades.
The game of footy is near unrecognisable to what it was back then. But along the journey, we were certainly kept entertained by the idiosyncrasies of the unique locale.
For those who lived around the south-eastern suburbs and broadening area, Waverley was an iconic piece of footy stadia.
Who could forget the multi-coloured wooden bench seats? Who could forget the gaudy V-shaped scoreboard complete with its blinding orange pixelation?
Who could forget the blustery wind and the persistent icy conditions? It came as no shock that some referred to it as ‘Arctic Park’.
Who will ever forget the sprawling car park? What a challenge it was just to reclaim the wheels after a long day or night at the footy. No trains, limited buses, no other option.
There are bountiful tales to be told about experiences had at Waverley simply because there have been so many unforgettable moments.
The venue was certainly no stranger to controversy.
The night the lights went out in 1996 is one of the most memorable highlights (pardon the pun). It was a fairly tepid affair between St Kilda and Essendon but it all changed with a flick of the switch in what will be remembered as one of the truly bizarre nights of footy. To this day, it remains the only League match played across two dates. And probably will be forever.
The eccentricity did not end there.
The famed VFL night series was in its pomp when the sprinklers decided to go off during a 1979 clash between Hawthorn and WAFL club Claremont. The following year, the original ‘Sirengate’ robbed Collingwood in the night Grand Final. North Melbourne the beneficiaries of sound-challenged umpires.
The 1987 preliminary final ended in disaster for Melbourne when the late, great Jim Stynes inexplicably ran through Gary Buckenara’s mark. Waverley made people do strange things.
The 1991 Grand Final between Hawthorn and West Coast was controversial but not footballing reasons. Rocker Angry Anderson arrived in the Batmobile. Why? It remains a mystery. It was a day that would etch itself into footy folklore but for once it was a non-playing deed at the centre.
We also saw two coaches – Carlton’s Peter ‘Percy’ Jones and Richmond’s Tony Jewell – take a swing at each other during the quarter-time break of the 1980 qualifying final. Think ‘Clarko’ and ‘Bucks’ going hammer and tong now!
The plans for Waverley were grandiose. The cow paddocks and market gardens were initially set to be transformed into one of the world’s largest stadiums. During the genesis, 157,000 was touted as the capacity. That sheer quantity would have made it even more unique.
It wasn’t quite the ‘football city’ that was envisaged but it was home to the VFL for 30 years. Sadly, the doors were closed to competitive footy in 1999 but not after we saw everything from big marks, to big hits courtesy of concerts featuring the likes of U2 and Rod Stewart and even bigger hits during World Series Cricket (1977-79).
Luckily, the K.G. Luke Stand was held on to for heritage purposes and fittingly, the Hawthorn Football Club is the occupant, remaining as pride of place following the club’s formidable years there.
So as it ticks over to half a century since the gates crashed open, we say thanks for the memories Waverley – it certainly was an exciting ride.
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