1937 South Melbourne United season

**1937** was South Melbourne United's 1st season of senior men's competition.

## Overview

**League:** Victorian Division Two

**Finishing Position:**  7th of 8

**Dockerty Cup**: Round 1

**Coach:**

**Captain:** Ralph Guthrie

**President**: Jack Guthrie

**Patron:** E. J. Holloway

## Match results and season summary

### Summary

At a meeting on February 17th, 1937, South Melbourne United resolved to join the subsidiary competition of the Victorian Soccer Football Association, though the club ended up joining the Division 2 competition.

At the club's annual meeting in early March, Jack Guthrie was elected president, Alf Jonas and Norman Sole vice presidents, Jack Olsen general secretary, and J. Jopling treasurer.

The club also resolved to play the same colours and design of the local Australian Rules football club - that is, a white jersey with a red vee.

The club's ground was noted as being opposite Langridge Street in Middle Park, and thus likely to be roughly on the site of the present-day Noel Clarke Field.

An article prior to the season noted that, with a few exceptions, the club was likely to field a very young team - goalkeeper Harry Ashworth was just 16 years old. United struggled through the first half of the season, going nine games without a win; but the club managed to improve its performances in the second of the season, picking up four wins, and avoiding the wooden spoon.

At the club's next annual meeting, held in October, J. Guthrie was re-elected as president; Alf Jonas, Hugh Donaldson, C. Guthrie, J. Scrafton, Norman Sole, W. Giles and A. Josephs as vice-presidents; E. Perrett as secretary; assistant secretary, Jack Olsen; treasurer, Jack Guthrie; auditors, C. Guthrie and W. Giles; Press correspondent, Jack Olsen; delegate to Grade meetings, E. Perrett; delegate to Junior Association, Jack Olsen.

After the conclusion of the season, South Melbourne United held a range of social events, played a social match against University High School Old Boys in Bacchus Marsh, and even set up a cricket club.

### Division 2 season and Dockerty Cup results

Camberwell disbanded after the seventh round because of the difficulty they were having in fielding a reserve team. North Melbourne Presbyterians took over their fixtures for the second half of the season.
Nobels were also referred to as *I.C.I.* (Imperial Chemical Industries).

In addition, due to issues with poor ground conditions and one assumes also availability, several games that South Melbourne United would have played away from home were switched to Middle Park.

## References

1. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164478453
2. ↑ It appears that Victorian soccer, while fielding reasonably numbers of junior teams, had an issue with senioe representation, with several teams dropping out either before or during the season.
3. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164474993
4. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164476380
5. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164478453
6. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164480749
7. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164485547
8. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164491172
9. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164487180
10. ↑ http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/States/VIC/1937D2R.html