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SKAAC History Index
Authors' Preface to 1994 and 2004 Editions
Formation of the Club
The Forties - Rise and Fall
The Fifties - Glory Days
The Early Sixties - Decline and Drift
The Late Sixties and Early Seventies - J D Noonan and Marathons
The Mid to Late Seventies - The Times They are a Change'n
The Fifties - Glory Days
Club Photo 1951-52 at Heyington
Back Row: Les Plummer, Keith Lodge, John Filgate, Syd James, Mr Vivian, Peter Doyle, Brother Bernard Cummins
Middle Row: Reg Carr, John Griffiths, Gerry Vivian, Allan Lodge
Front Row: Terry Summers, Brian Brew, Leo Fitzgerald, Tim Hartnell, Bernie Tilley
The 1949-50 season marked the commencement of a remarkable six years of rise through the V.A.A.'s grades. Competing in E Grade, the Club won its Semi-Final match 63 to 46 but lost the Grand Final 64 to 49. Although missing the premiership, solace was gained by promotion to D Grade for season 1950-51. Reg Carr's remarkable development as an all round athlete was evidenced by his 7th in the State Decathlon Championships. The Club's success during the decade would rely strongly on Reg's throwing ability in the Shot Putt, Discus and Javelin and his talent to fill gaps in the team. In 1951-52 Reg would finish 2nd, 3rd and 3rd respectively in the Victorian Championships of the three throws.
Arriving at the Club in season 1950-51 was a man who was to be partly responsible for the high standards of performance achieved both individually and as a Club during the fifties; Sydney V. James. Syd was a coach ahead of his time with his belief in consistent daily training both the day before and after competition, and emphasis on balance, poise, and technique in running. Most importantly, however, he became personally involved in athletics to the extent that the individual set himself performances or objectives which Syd convinced the athlete could be achieved through dedication, application and positive mental approach to performance. Syd was a former footballer with South Melbourne Football Club and Norwood Football Club in Adelaide and was employed at St Kevin's College during the 1950's as a PT instructor. Syd joined a club that had only years before been at the point of disintegration and built it into a powerful combination with a minimum of numbers and established a tradition of success and respect. With his death in 1965 the committee ensured his contribution to the Club would be remembered by the naming of the Club's Champion Trophy in his memory.
In 1950-51 the Club would again be runners up, YCW 66 - St Kevin's 63, to gain promotion to C Grade. John Griffiths and John Baker both contested the State 100 yards title with Griffo' finishing 5th in the final. Reg Carr was Club Champion.
The Club was back in C Grade for season 1951-52 where it had commenced its existence seven years earlier. This time it would go through the season undefeated to easily win its Grade. Although the Club would win Venue premierships in future years the 1951-52 win would be the last full V.A.A. premiership won by the Club's number one team. A second team was successfully fielded in H Grade and finished 3rd. Gerald Vivian was a welcome addition to the Club as a walker setting records in 1 and 2 mile events; John Griffiths and John Baker were finalists in State Championship sprint events and Reg Carr dominated the throws. Reg won the State Discus title (39.17m), was 4th in the Shot Putt (12.65m) and 7th in the Javelin (45.64m). Reg went on to contest the National Championships finishing 3rd in the Discus, 2nd in the Shot Putt and 5th in the Javelin.
Bernard Tilley and Tom Tierney were at this stage providing good performances in distance events on the track and in the Winter of 1952 Bernie would break new ground for St Kevin's by running the Cooke-McClelland Shield race by invitation. He finished 4th but more importantly became the club's first Cross-Country competitor.
The club's seeming unstoppable rise to A Grade had a temporary set back when the Club lost its semi-final in 1952-53 to Old Scotch 77 to 75. The G Grade team similarly lost its semi-final for both teams to finish 4th. Several highlights of the season came at the Victorian Championships. The sprint relay team of John Griffiths, John Higgins and Keith Lodge won both the 4x110 yards and 4x220 yards titles. The dual wins also brought with it the V.A.A Relay Shield. John Filgate won the State 440 yard Hurdles Title although finishing 2nd in the final behind Goodacre of N.S.W.
The Club's tenth season was marked by gaining promotion to the V.A.A's A Grade. In the B Grand Final the Club was again a bridesmaid, finishing 5 points behind Geelong Guild which had in its ranks John Landy. Tom Tierney finished 2nd to Landy in the mile race of the Grand Final, Keith Lodge was narrowly beaten at the tape in the 440 yards, and Reg Carr dominated the field games. The G Grade team won the premiership in its Grade by defeating Power House.
In Championships, St Kevin's athletes were prominent with Reg Carr's win in the Victorian Discus title a highlight and with John Filgate finishing 4th in the Victorian 440 yard Hurdles.
After a brief history of ten years that had been a roller-coasters ride of success, to the brink of disbandment, to premierships, the Club was to embark on its next decade as one of the twelve top Track and Field teams in the State.
Boom, Bust, and the Public Schools.
"The 1954-55 season heralded the entry into A Grade, for the first time, of the Old Boys' Athletic Club. Those associated with the Club must feel proud of the enthusiasm which has been forth coming and which has enabled such a 'minority' group to rise to such heights."
This is how the College annual of 1955 recorded the Club's first year in A Grade. It was a worthy boast that the Club could feel proud that such a young and small group could work its way up the Grades. It is worth considering the typical team fielded each week by St Kevin's at the time:
Sprints: John Griffiths, John Baker, John Higgins 440 yards: Tom Tierney, Keith Lodge Middle Distance: Tom Tierney, Bernard Tilley, Alan Lodge Hurdles: John Filgate, Tom Tierney, Reg Carr, Shot, Discus, Javelin: Reg Carr Hammer: Bill O'Connor, Reg Carr Walks: Gerald Vivian Long and Triple Jump: Terry Summers High Jump: Bernard McKenna, John Hamilton
It is worth noting that many of the above held Club records well into the 1970's; an indication of the standard of the Club at the time. Reg Carr's Discus and Shot Put records still remain and the Club's rise to A Grade and Regs' field games dominance did not coincide by accident. Reg was to later live in Canada for many years but in recent times has settled in Tasmania. His contribution to the Club is recognised by the naming of a award donated by the club to the school for the best field games performer at the A.P.S carnival; the Reg Carr Trophy.
The first season in A Grade showed the Club to be competitive and finished 9th while its second team snared the F Grade premiership. Reg Carr again won the Victorian Discus title and was second in the Shot Putt. At the Australian titles he finished 5th and 2nd respectively. The Club's relay teams performed well at the Victorian titles finishing 4x220 yards-3rd, and 4x440 yards-3rd.
The club managed to retain its 9th placing in season 1955-56 while its second team still proved competitive in the higher E Grade by finishing 4th. John Filgate 220 yards Hurdles-5th, 440 yards Hurdles-6th; Terry Summers-triple jump-3rd; and Keith Lodge 440 yards-5th all performed well at the Victorian Championships. John Filgate finished 6th in the now defunct event of the 220 yards Hurdles at the National Championships. With the Olympic Games approaching, interest in athletics was at fever pitch and interclub meets could be contested in front of crowds of thousands of people. Keith Lodge, John Baker, and Reg Carr were three club members given approval to train on the newly laid track on the M.C.G later in 1956 and Leo FitzGerald, so long an enthusiastic participant and administrator of the Club, was selected to carry the Olympic torch on its journey to the stadium as a representative of St Kevin's. Syd James was a masseur to several visiting teams at the Olympics and received much praise for his work. The Olympic Games overshadowed interclub competition and only a curtailed A Grade season was conducted by the V.A.A. In the small number of rounds held, St Kevin's lost several close encounters to finish 11th in A Grade to be relegated to B Grade. The E Grade team finished 8th and, after several seasons of lobbying the V.A.A, the Club fielded a Junior team that finished 2nd. Leon Cahir, Bob McGuinness, and Geoff Roche were three members of this team.
During the year the Club conducted a Club Ball, Picnic Day, a film night at the Majestic Theatre, two athletic meetings at Heyington, and the Club's Annual Dinner. These social events reflected the vibrant and successful organisation the Club had become.
Club membership in 1957 was recorded as sixty-five, Alan Lodge was Editor of the Club newsletter "Heyington Highlights", and the Club's bank balance stood at £13.7.9.
The other highlight of the season was Bill O'Connor's win the Victorian Hammer Throw title. Bill's story was remarkable in that he took up athletics after a car accident had left him with a brain haemorrhage. The doctor advised Bill that some form of exercise would aid his recuperation and that athletics would be an appropriate choice. Convinced to try the Hammer by a member of St Kevin's, his first attempts were unsuccessful and he approached Franz Stampfl to coach him. Within three years he had snared the Victorian title and record.
The relegation back to B Grade was disappointing but it was approached as only a temporary set back that would be rectified in 1957-58. However, this was not to be the case with a 9th placing in B Grade. Part of the decline can be attributed to gradual retirement of athletes that had carried the Club during much of its rise through the grades. Marriage, family, work, and in some cases further study saw much of the A Grade team dissipate.
During the later half of 1957 the news broke that St Kevin's College would join the Associated Public Schools competition in 1958. The Club's success in its short history no doubt contributed to the high profile of the College which led to it being considered for inclusion in A.P.S. This automatically led to our invitation to join the A.P.S Old Collegians Cross- Country competition which had been operating since 1931.
There had been several forays into Cross-Country during the 1950's but it had been inconsistent and never a serious attempt to establish the activity as part of the Club's ongoing operations. Occasionally St Kevin's had entered teams in the V.A.A's Melbourne to Geelong and Chelsea to Brighton Relay's more as social occasions. Part of the Club's inability to field a competitive distance team in Summer was a result of the absence of a Cross-Country team which itself was the result of many of the Club competing for the St Kevin's Old Boys Football Club in Winter. There had been close affiliation between the Football club and the Athletic club since the former's foundation in 1947 when Jack Douglas became its founding Coach with many playing football in Winter for the S.K.A.A.C. Thus the invitation to compete regularly in A.P.S.O.C Cross-Country was welcomed by the Club but would prove a challenge in the light of the absence of any form of distance running tradition. Long time track 2 and 3 mile runner, Alan Lodge, became the Club's first Winter Captain and on June 14th 1958 the Club made its official A.P.S.O.C debut at the Jamieson Handicap at Wesley College. Among the runners in that first Winter were athletes that would still be around competing in 1994: Geoff Westcott, Keith Lodge, and Maurie Lynch. It would take many years to establish Cross-Country running at St Kevin's A.A.C and 1958 would be its genesis.
ST. KEVIN'S AAC SENIOR CLUB RECORDS AFTER 1956-57 SEASON
100yds J.Griffiths 9.8s 1/03/52 220yds J.Baker 22.2s 16/02/52 440yds K.Lodge 50.9s 3/12/55 880yds T.Tierney 1:58.4 12/11/55 1 Mile T.Tierney 4:23.3 11/04/55 1609m 2 Mile A.Lodge 9:53.0 11/04/55 3218m 3 Mile T.Tierney 16:03.0 6/02/54 4827m 120ydsH J.Filgate 15.6 4/02/56 10x3'6" 220ydsH J.Filgate 25.1 18/02/56 10x2'6" 440ydsH J.Filgate 56.1 14/02/53 10x3'0" LJ T.Summers 6.43m 2/03/57 21'1.5" TJ T.Summers 14.14m 23/02/57 46'5" HJ J.Hamilton 1.88m 26/12/55 6'2.5" PV J.McEntee 2.85m 10/01/53 9'6" 3000mSt T.Tierney 10:08.0 18/02/56 SP R.Carr 13.38m 1/01/55 43'11" JT R.Carr 48.98m 30/01/52 163'6" DT R.Carr 43.43m 22/01/55 142'6" HT W.O'Connor 48.67m 10/05/57 162'2.5" Dec R.Carr 4884 pts 1949-50 1Mile W G.Vivian 7:23.0 1/03/52 2Mile W G.Vivian 16:40.0 23/01/54 100m J.Baker 10.8 5/01/52 4x110yds Relay J.Baker J. Griffiths J. Higgins L. Fitzgerald 43.7 8/03/52 4x220yds Relay J. Baker J. Filgate K. Lodge J. Higgins 1:32.7 21/02/56 1 Mile Medley Relay T.Tierney (880yds) K. Lodge (440yds) G.M.Stewart (220yds) J. Baker (220yds) 3:40.7 26/02/56
The Club's second team had dropped back to F Grade as a result of V.A.A restructuring of teams but this did not save it from a poor finish of 11th with an acute shortage of athletes. The Junior team's stars of John Williams, Jim Canavan, Bill Geary, Bob McGuinness, and Geoff Westcott led it to 9th.
Bill O'Connor was 3rd in both the Victorian and Australian Championships in the Hammer Throw. Bill would forgo a place in the Empire Games of 1958 to take up a scholarship at Cornell University in the U.S.A. He would return to Australia briefly in the mid 1960's but would make America his home and this further weakened the club. The year before Leo FitzGerald, a fine Clubman, had taken up a Shell Scholarship at Cambridge University. Both were great losses: Bill as an athlete and Leo as an administrator. Leo's administrative abilities had held the Club together in the late 1940's and early 1950's and his work cannot be underestimated in the successes of this period.
Further decline occurred in 1958-59 when the Club's 10th placing in B Grade only narrowly avoided relegation from Olympic Park. The problem of filling the Pole Vault, Javelin, Hammer, and Walks and the lack of seasoned athletes of State Championship class proved a continuing problem. Jack Baker (3rd in the 100 meters) and John Filgate provided experience to a young and inexperienced team. Keith Lodge's efforts to muster a number two team received limited support and finished in 12th and last placing out at the Heidelberg venue. The Junior team was, for the first time, made up entirely of St Kevin's boys, thanks to the recruiting efforts of Brother Nangle, but finished 5th after forfeiting the first three rounds due to exams.
Des Dwyer, Alan Lodge, Maurie Lynch, Bob McGuinness, and Geoff Westcott were the regulars during the 1959 Winter season, with the Club finishing 3rd in the Dyson Relay and the Cooke-McClelland Shield.
The decade finished the way it began with St Kevin's back in C Grade in 1959-60 after a V.A.A reshuffling of teams into eight-team grades. The 4th placing was good enough to earn promotion back to the reformed B Grade the next season. Doug Reinehr, Dick Graydon, and John Williams were prominent in the Hurdles, and Bob McGuinness and Geoff Westcott competitive in the middle-distances. Bob McGuinness' 3rd in the Victorian U-19 880 yards Championship in 1:57.8 and Dick Graydon's 3.55 meter Pole Vault were both highlights of the season. Geoff Westcott's efforts in organising the number two team were rewarded with a 2nd placing in G Grade.
Guest speaker at the Club's Annual Dinner was Kevin Gosper, Australia's Athletic Team Captain at the Rome Olympics and later Vice President of the International Olympic Committee.