100 years of history for Ammos
An inconic club in the region is celebrating an impressive milestone.
By Ben Andonoudis
Few sporting clubs survive a century.
But Geelong Amateur Football Netball Club has managed to make it through league changes, financial crisis and extraordinary growth to reach its own centenary.
In 1926, teachers and students from Geelong College and Geelong Grammar formed a team to play in the Metropolitan Football Association (now VAFA) in Melbourne.
Long before freeways shortened the journey, the decision to play in Melbourne meant constant travel for players.
“They knew when they signed up, it was a road trip every second week,” Female Football Director and Club Historian Bruce Harwood said.
The club would remain in the amateur league for 55 years, before deciding to play closer to home.
“The bulk of our history has actually still been amateur footy,” Harwood said.
Following the move, the club faced a nomadic existence in the Geelong football scene.
“It's a very eclectic club in many ways and I think that's part of the attraction in some of the things we do,” Harwood said.
The move closer to home created challenges that threatened its very existence. Entry into the GDFL in 1983 brought the need to pay players which split the club.
“There were moments we thought the club's done,” Harwood said.
These struggles continued throughout the 1980s, and by 1986 the club faced significant debt. That year, the club moved to the Geelong Football League after winning the premiership in the Geelong and District league the previous year, but once again it faced an existential threat.
“(The debt) basically put us well past breaking point, so again we sat down and said can we survive this?”, Harwood said.
Tough times would follow with a winless season in 1988, but the club secured its future with an emphasis on junior development. The formation of a junior program allowed the club to slowly grow throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, and as Harwood put it, "allowed us to build a foundation."
From there the club gained entry into the BFL in 1995 where it has remained since. Those struggles are firmly in the past for the club now.
Today, the Ammos boast approximately 1,100 registered football and netball players. While those numbers are impressive, the Ammos know the key to ensuring they can continue to be successful comes down to be a well-run club.
“It's just about being sustainable and just making sure you can still run your club, pay your bills,” Harwood said. "I think the longer you're here, the more you embrace it and understand it."
That history has led to the club producing some great players.
In Harwood’s opinion, one of the greatest is former Australian Test cricketer Ian Redpath, who won a best and fairest in all of the four years he played at the club.
He says stories of all the great players are sure to be repeated at the anniversary gala to be held on June 13 at GMHBA Stadium. Close to 400 people are expected to attend, including two surviving members of the 1953 premiership team.
“It'll be one of the biggest events we've ever done."