The name of St Kilda figures boldly throughout the history of Australian Rules Football.
One of the earliest recorded references to the fledgling game in 1859 mentions a "scratch team from St Kilda". Football was a loosely organised affair in those days and players frequently moved from one group to another in search of a game.
The St Kilda Football Club itself was not formed until 1873, containing many elements of the previously strong South Yarra club which had disbanded a year earlier, after falling on hard times.
South Yarra had won the Challenge Cup in 1867 and many of its better players lined up under the St Kilda banner.
In the early stages the Club played at an area known as the "Alpaca Paddock", next to the present site of the St Kilda Bowling Club near the St Kilda railway station. Alpacas were a kind of llama with long wool which had been imported from South America as a money-raising venture.
St Kilda soon boasted a membership of 60 and showed that it would exceed its initial aim of being a junior club. By the end of the first season the Saints were able to force a draw with the top-ranking Carlton and everything looked rosy.
There were tough times ahead but St Kilda's uphill battle was not without its humorous moments. Only 12 Saints turned up for a match at Bendigo, and the game against Albert Park started 90 minutes late after the ball burst when it was being inflated prior to the match!
Amalgamation with University did not help the cause either, but the Club was still one of the original members of the VFA when it was formed in 1877. That year the Saints became only the second team to journey interstate (Melbourne had gone to South Australia a fortnight earlier) and beat Adelaide, then a combined South Australian side.
By 1879 the Club slipped to its lowest ebb and after the side failed to turn up for a game at Essendon, all further matches were abandoned. St Kilda sank into junior ranks for the next six years.
The Club returned to senior competition in 1886 and struggled to make its mark. A decision was made to amalgamate with nearby Prahran and the Saints retained their colours, name and ground, as well as picking up a number of Prahran stars.
Even at this early point the Saints had a reputation for being able to lift miraculously on their day and roll the best teams in the competition.
Another trademark was the presence of some of the foremost players in football. Alf Smith, a champion rover, was one of the earliest stars, but the hot and cold Saints could never sustain their brilliance for long.
Proof of the team's quixotic nature came in the last season it played in the VFA, when several top players missed the Collingwood game because they chose to go to the races instead!
Still, St Kilda finished ahead of Carlton and Geelong, two other teams invited to be founder members of the new Victorian Football League. The Club's first four years in the League were disastrous with 48 losses in a row, and even the first victory came in controversial circumstances.
In the opening round of 1900 St Kilda and Melbourne tied, but a St Kilda protest over an incorrectly awarded point was upheld. The relief was only temporary as the Club lost every other game for the year. By an ironical twist, Melbourne went on to the premiership.
A committee shake-up heralded a bold new recruiting drive and the Club netted much-travelled ruckman, Vic Cumberland, and champion Tasmanian rover, Vic Barwick. Within two years the brilliant young forward, Dave McNamara, and a talented batch of interstate men were on the books and St Kilda rose to sixth place in 1906.
The long-suffering Saints took the football world by storm early in 1907 by winning the opening six games. St Kilda reached the finals for the first time ever, and appeared again in 1908. Carlton knocked St Kilda out of the race both times.
Internal bickering rocked the Club in 1909 and it was reflected in the on-field performance. Such was the desperation for a win that a suspended man was used in the win over Geelong. The blue and whites protested and the game was awarded to them.
Savage in-fighting made the Saints a laughing stock, and in 1911 a dispute between players and officials almost stopped the team taking the field in one game. A massive walkout meant that young local boys filled the gaps for the rest of the year. One of these was a 16 year-old named Roy Cazaly.
Yet again a committee was booted out of office and the replacements recruited intensively. An attempt was made to lure back the brilliant McNamara from the Association where he had headed after one internal brawl, but his clearance was refused for 1913.
Even without him the Saints charged into the Grand Final for the first time, but after a valiant finish went down to Fitzroy.
In 1915 St Kilda decided to change its colours because they were the same as World War I enemy, Germany. The side donned red, yellow and black in 1915 before the war forced the Club into recess.
After three years in recess St Kilda resumed in 1918 and a fine team made it through to the finals. The Saints looked like carrying on the good form with four wins from the first five games in 1919, but then fell apart because of internal disputes.
Bitter in-fighting kept the side down for years, apart from a brief spark of brilliance in 1923 when the side made a thrilling rush for the finals.
It was another five years before the Club was in contention for the four, missing out narrowly, but in the following year, 1929, led by Bill Cubbins, the side made the grade only to fail to Carlton in the first semi final.
There was not much to cheer Saints' fans in the depression of the 1930's, apart from the magnificent goal kicking of full-forward Bill Mohr. The ex-Wagga full-forward was one of the League's greatest players in an era noted for great spearheads, and in 1936 he became the first Saint to top the goal kicking list, with 101.
St Kilda, as ever, had plenty of stars during this period, but had to wait until 1939 to get into the four. Under the coaching of ex-Carlton man, Ansell Clark, one of the most talented St Kilda teams of all times stunned the more fancied Richmond in the semi-final, and only a couple of crucial errors robbed the Club of success in the preliminary final.
As in 1918, the Saints began the next season full of running but, yet again, committee brawling affected on-field performances. This combined with the loss of players on war service to send the team plummeting down the ladder.
There was an even more tangible effect on football when the St Kilda Cricket Ground was taken over by military authorities, and the Saints were forced to play home games at Prahran.
With only 11 teams competing in 1943, the VFL announced that the team at the bottom of the ladder after 11 rounds would drop out, and St Kilda suffered the ignominy of being side-lined. Even when they resumed there was more gloom as the hidings were more frequent.
Through it all the Club retained a tremendous following, and when long-awaited success came in the form of five wins early in 1950, the St Kilda-Carlton game drew 50,000 people to the Junction Oval. Coaches came and went, but by 1955 the Club had hit rock bottom.
The change came when hot-gospelling coach Alan Killigrew took over. Killigrew cleared out the dead wood and only 16 men retained their place on the senior list. Half of the team in the opening round had never worn a St Kilda guernsey before and, thanks to Killigrew's infectious enthusiasm, the side at last raised itself from the bottom.
In the next couple of years St Kilda won respect as a competitive, determined combination and success came in other areas with Bill Young heading the goal kicking list in 1956, and Brian Gleeson and Neil Roberts winning Brownlows over the next two seasons.
Just as St Kilda seemed poised for success, the self-destructive forces took hold again and a committee faction fight spilled over to involve players in a pre-season battle, which eventually forced Killigrew out of the coaching position. Ex-Carlton man, Jim Francis coached the side in 1959 and 1960, but in many ways it marked time.
The 28 year-old former utility player, Allan Jeans, was a shock choice as coach for 1961, but it proved to be a master stroke. He guided the team into the finals for the first time in 22 years, but a year later lost three veterans - Neil Roberts, Eric Guy and Bud Annand, who all retired at once.
Yet, by expert recruiting, the Saints fielded four brilliant youngsters in the opening round of 1963. Carl Ditterich, Ian Stewart, Bob Murray and Jim Wallis added to a talented bunch of players, which included the dazzling Tasmanians, Darrel Baldock and Ian Stewart, and St Kilda again reached the finals in 1963.
Prior to 1964 the Club announced that it would move to a new home at Moorabbin, after years of being treated as second-class tenants by the cricket club. On a memorable opening day, St Kilda pipped Collingwood and set the scene for a fine season, in which it topped the ladder after the home and away games.
A stirring one point win over Collingwood won a berth in the Grand Final for the first time in 52 years, but the dreams crashed when Essendon stormed to a big win.
Eight wins in a row at the start of 1966 showed that the Club intended to make amends, but a 10 point loss to Collingwood in the semi-final set the Saints back on their heels.
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