Australian rules football in the United States (most commonly referred to simply as "Footy" but sometimes "Aussie Rules" or AFL) is a
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...
and
spectator sport
A spectator sport is a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its competitions. Spectator sports may be professional sports or amateur sports. They often are distinguished from participant sports, which are m ...
which has grown rapidly since the late 1990s.
It was originally introduced to the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
(USA) in 1906 and by 1910 "field ball" or "fieldball", as
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
was called, in San Francisco Bay area schools, filled a niche that was later occupied by
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
. By 1911 with the rapid expansion to schools and colleges in three major cities the US overtook New Zealand to become the second largest Australian football playing nation in the world and there were three reciprocal tours with international matches played at junior level between 1909 and 1919. However availability of officials, large fields, squads of sufficient size and difficulty in differentiating the sport from rugby as well as a lack of support from the game's administrators in Australia stunted its growth and it went into permanent recess at the end of the 1920s. The sport was rekindled in the 1980s through interest generated mainly from television highlights from Australia. Prior to this, it has been confused with
rugby football
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league.
Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
which is less popular than
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
in the US. The world governing body, the
AFL Commission
The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), its subsidiaries and controlled entities. Richard Goyder has been chairman since 4 April 2017, replacing Mike Fitzpatrick.
It was formed in 1985 ...
has made efforts to differentiate it from rugby, producing educational videos such as "What is AFL?" aimed at a North American audience.
The current national club competition and governing body, the
United States Australian Football League
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1,00 ...
(USAFL) traces its origins back to 1996. Today there are numerous leagues around the country. The
USAFL National Championships
The USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States.
Since 1997, the National Championships have been a large event featuring teams from the United States and Canada in four men's divisions and two ...
is the largest club tournament in the world. The
national men's team - the USA Revolution - debuted in 1999, its best result is bronze the
2005 Australian Football International Cup
The 2005 Australian Football International Cup was the second time that the Australian Football International Cup tournament, an international Australian rules football competition was held.
The event was hosted by both Melbourne and Wangaratta ...
and has won the
49th Parallel Cup
The 49th Parallel Cup (formerly PanAm Cup) is an annual representative Australian rules football match between the United States and Canada first contested in 1999. Since 2007 the women's teams have also contested the cup.
The men's matches are ...
10 out of 11 times. The national women's team, the USA Freedom - debuted in 2007 and reached bronze in the
2011 Australian Football International Cup
The 2011 Australian Football International Cup (or IC21) is the fourth edition of the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition run by the Australian Football League.
It was contested between 1 ...
. A national youth team has also been established and participation is growing in women's teams, junior teams and in modified and non-contact variations such as
Metro Footy
Variations of Australian rules football are games or activities based on or similar to the game of Australian rules football, in which the player uses common Australian rules football skills. They range in player numbers from 2 (in the case of k ...
and Footy 7s.
AFL clubs began taking interest in converting American athletes, particularly
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
ers into professional Australian rules footballers from 2010 through the
AFL International Combine
The AFL Draft Combine, formerly known as the AFL Draft Camp, is a gathering of prospective talent, where selected potential draftees display their athletic prowess and relevant Australian rules football skills. Over four days participants are req ...
. While many moved to Australia to further their careers, only two have made the grade:
Jason Holmes
Jason Holmes (born October 28, 1989) is an American-born former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the first born and raised American to ever play A ...
and
Mason Cox
Mason Cox (born March 14, 1991) is an American-Australian professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Playing as a ruckman and key forward, he first played Austr ...
, with the latter's success in the AFL contributing to a boom in American interest in the sport since 2016.
History
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
was virtually unheard of in the United States in the 19th Century.
American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
(gridiron),
Association Football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(soccer) and
Rugby Football
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league.
Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
were all established sports and Americans had limited awareness of the Australian game. Even
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
had been introduced to the United States by 1892.
Australian footballer
Pat O'Dea
Patrick John "Kangaroo Kicker" O'Dea (17 March 1872 – 5 April 1962) was an Australian rules and American football player and coach. An Australian by birth, O'Dea played Australian rules football for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian ...
moved to America in 1898 to visit his brother who lived there and quickly became a legendary gridiron punter. O'Dea made headlines as the "Kangaroo Kicker" in the late 1890s. Yet rarely any received any mention of developing his kicking prowess through the Australian game, let alone his previous career in Australia with the
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
.
A 1905
VFL Report made mention of a request from parties including president
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
in the US in obtaining copies of the
Laws of the Game. The enquiry was due to a spike in deaths and injuries in American Football, and inquiries into ways to make its football games safer. In response, the VFL enthusiastically wrote to 69 American universities and colleges insisting that they adopt the VFL's laws and affiliate with the newly formed
Australasian Football Council
The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...
(AFC) which it led. According to De Moore (2021) this overconfidence of the VFL in the superiority of its league competition backfired spectacularly in that it inadvertedly led to the
introduction of intercollegiate rugby into the United States, a
1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the U.S. and the establishment of
Rugby union in the United States
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
, effectively denying Australian Football the opportunity to become established. Furthermore American Footballers did not adopt any of the VFL's laws, however their investigations eventually led to legalising the
forward pass
In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...
to open up the field of play a distinctive feature of the game today.
Following the VFL's failed attempt to convert the colleges, and its underestimation of the pull of global rugby, the league resolved not to respond to any further requests for copies of the game's laws.
It successfully lobbied the AFC not to support the game being played outside Australasia, much to the frustration of proponents such as
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...
secretary
John J Simons.
Simons, while organising a promotional Australian Football tour of England, had sought to include the US and wrote to various football groups including expatriate Australians in North America to express interest in fielding teams against the Australians. He initially wrote to
Con Hickey
Cornelius Michael "Con" Hickey (1866 – 27 October 1937) was an Australian rules football player and administrator for the Fitzroy Football Club, and administrator for the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the Australian National Football Cou ...
, chairman of the VFL for assistance, proposing the league send a touring side and provide funding, however Hickey replied that the VFL would not support the initiative believing it would be a failure. While the tour never went ahead, Simons was instrumental in the formation of teams in Vancouver and several Australians in America also answered the call.
First introduction: 1906–1909
In 1906 Pat O'Dea along with his older brother and kicking mentor Andrew (of the Wisconin University Athletic Club and its American Football coach) were able to attain a copy of the
Victorian Football Association
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
's rules (as this league was not affiliated with the AFC) and had begun training college students at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
. Another expatriate Victorian cricketer A Warne, working with the
Philadelphia City Council
The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...
introduced the game in Pennsylvania along with
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. But it was ex-Fremantle WAFL player Charles Lynan, then working at the
Southern Pacific Transportation Company
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
who had the most success training students, most of whom were
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
ers and rugby players, at
Columbia Park Grammar School
In 1879, San Francisco had 15 grammar schools, three exclusively for girls (Denman, Rincon, and Broadway), three exclusively for boys (Lincoln, Washington, and Union), and nine co-educational (Spring Valley, Hayes Valley, North and South Cosmopol ...
. The VFL in 1908 through Hickey had begun to promote
universal football
Universal football was the name given to a proposed hybrid sport of Australian rules football and rugby league, proposed at different times between 1908 and 1933 as a potential national football code to be played throughout Australia and New Zea ...
as a preferred alternative to Australian rules for North Americans to play and compete against Australia, anticipating the league to adopt the rectangular field over the traditional oval field. Lynan seeing the trend away from American Football as a major opportunity, and in response to a burgeoning local rugby community initially sought to convince the newly formed San Francisco Barbarians Rugby Club and also
Stanford's newly formed rugby team, who had been actively seeking less violent alternatives to American Football, to try Australian Football. Though he garnered their support, including a financial commitment, the fanfare of the
Australian rugby team's tour and matches against the two clubs in 1909 saw them lose interest in the venture. Following the tour, "Australian football" had to Americans, become synonymous with rugby.
Lynan decided that teaching younger players would be more effective to differentiate the sport and engaged O'Dea (following his move to San Francisco to practice law
[ by Adam Woolcock for The Guardian 8 Mar 2014]) to assist him to popularise it. By January 1909, they had trained more than 450 junior athletes to choose the best to form a squad. Having gained the support of the Public Schools Athletic Association of San Francisco president and founder of the Columbia Park Boys' Club Major Sidney Piexotto, Lynan and O'Dea, in correspondence with Australian football organisations including the WAFL and
Young Australia League
The Young Australia League (Inc) (YAL) is an Australian youth organisation which was formed in Perth, Western Australia in 1905 by Jack Simons and Lionel Boas. Developed as a means to encourage Australian nationalism and patriotic values, the org ...
(YAFL) (who earlier had donated two footballs to the school) organised a cross-cultural excursion, feeling that their American boys were ready to take on Australia.
Simons once again applied to the VFL to provide a week's board, to which the league telegraphed that it was "totally opposed to the scheme" and refused any support. Undeterred, Simons as chairman of both the WAFL and YAFL, arranged for these leagues to fully fund the American's travel and board, providing £3,000 for an exchange visit. A management committee was formed consisting of: Lynan, B. Free, L. Resleur, R. Buchanan, William McCann and T. Wood with a coaching panel consisting of Pat O'Dea, Lynan, Buchanan and Price. The 40 selected schoolboys, most of them also
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
ers set sail on the
SS Mariposa on May 21, 1909.
First schoolboys tour of Australia: 1909
![Columbia_Park_Boys_Club_Field_Australian_Football_Team](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Columbia_Park_Boys_Club_Field_Australian_Football_Team.png)
The initial tour was ambitious, and intended to visit many nations of the Commonwealth including all Australian states and play football matches, however in addition to the WAFL and YAFL reply invitations were received only from the
New South Wales Football Association
The New South Wales Football Association was the governing body for Australian rules football in New South Wales between 1880 and 1893. It oversaw an Australian rules competition based in Sydney and governed the Laws of Australian Football in the ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and
VFA in
Melbourne, Victoria
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...
. The football side consisted of: Henry Behre (captain); Edward Burke (vice captain);
James Caveney; Frank B. Cliff; John Costello; Charles Day; Frank Danis; Edward Firestone; Harris Fraser; Michael Glaser; E. Griswold; Robert Hayes; Emil Hastings; Garnet Holme; A. Johnson; Benjamin Katz; James Kerrigan; Harvey Loy; G. Locke; C. Meinhart; H. Meanwell; Adolph Muheim; Charles Nagel; Edward Nelson; Charles Norton; Roy O'Connell; Alfred Peterson; William Prang; Hyman Raphael; Sidney Rosenthal; Edward Ryan; IA. Schmoll; A. Schmulowitz; Theo Steffens; E.Stern; Frank Trachsler; A. Truhler; Lee Waymire; P. Webber; Claude Weinhart; George Wihr; Edward Wilson; Sheridan Williams; George White; and, Leon Wing.
From a football perspective, the tour was an outstanding success. The team won an impressive 25 of the total 38 matches scheduled. The young side learned quickly and returned very keen to introduce the game to the States. Following the tour, NSWAFL patron and
Sydney Football Club president Sydney lawyer R.A Munro King sponsored a competition to send an Australian schoolboy to America to help teach Americans Australian rules. The winner, decided based on the student who could give the best lecture on the game, its history and development was a Sydney (
Fort Street Public School
: ''For the secondary / high school of similar name see Fort Street High School.''
Fort Street Public School (abbreviated as FSPS) is a government co-educational primary school located in Millers Point, New South Wales, Millers Point, a suburb of ...
) schoolboy and
surf lifesaving
Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, inc ...
champion Eric Cullen-Ward who received a £200 travelling scholarship for his lecture and returned with the team to San Francisco.
New Zealand
En route via
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
, the Americans visited
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, both north island at
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
on May 12 where they were asked why they did not play rugby, but trained with local footballers at the
Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...
. An invitation to visit and play against the
Auckland Australian Football League
The Auckland Australian Football League which began in 1974, is an Australian rules football competition in Auckland, New Zealand and is one of the leagues governed by AFL New Zealand.
An earlier league which existed in Auckland from 1904 until ...
was left unfulfilled. The Americans also visited the south island including
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
though no football matches were organised by the local leagues.
New South Wales
The Americans arrived in Sydney in July and played against Sydney Public Schools on the 7 July. Their first match was against Sydney combined schools which had won the most recent Australian schoolboys championship. The Sydney tour did not have the desired promotional effect in Sydney with the rugby dominated media, unaware of Australian rules being played in the United States, mistakenly describing them as a touring American football, or rugby team.
Victoria
![American_team_in_Benalla_San_Francisco_examiner_29-Aug-1909](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/American_team_in_Benalla_San_Francisco_examiner_29-Aug-1909.png)
En route to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
the Americans were scheduled to visit towns along the way including
Goulburn
Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
,
Wangaratta, Victoria
Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...
,
Benalla
Benalla
is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822.
It is the administrative centr ...
and
Beechworth
Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859.
Beechworth's many histor ...
to play against local representative sides. They arrived in Melbourne in late July. The tour however was much to the dissatisfaction of the Australasian Football Council's Con Hickey
who was refusing to endorse it and warned the Americans not to attempt to engage with the VFA either. The AFC had insisted that touring footballers stay in Melbourne and affiliate with the AFC and the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
. When the visitors arrived in Melbourne the AFC offered a VFL contribution of £70 to the tour, along with a £130 contribution from the
South Australian Football League
The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Originally formed as the ...
however the AFC revoked this stating the tour was not returning the profits it had expected. Hickey had offered to pay for the return fare to San Francisco, but only if they committed to cancelling their West Australian tour. The young players being amateurs, most of them had paid their own way, declined out of respect for the Western Australian hosts.
As a result, they weren't able to play against any AFC affiliated league clubs but were able to play against the country clubs and schools.
The Americans shocked Melbourne with an embarrassing win in front of a sizeable crowd, in which the visitors kept them goal-less. Instead of playing football, the VFL organised for the Americans to watch a VFL match at
South Melbourne
South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...
between
South Melbourne
South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...
and
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
, this was criticised after the match was marred by melees and the sort of heavy on-field violence that the Americans schools sought to avoid. The VFL's football boycott of the American tour was highly criticised by the West Australian media, accusing the Victorians of being sore losers and putting profits before the promotion of the game.
Western Australia
The troupe arrived in
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
on the
TSS Kanowna for the West Australian leg of the tour. The generous interest and media coverage in Western Australia was a stark contrast to the cold receptions received by the Americans in Sydney and Melbourne. In West Australia, they visited areas where Australian rules was very strong including
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
,
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
and the
Goldfields
Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to:
Places
* Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States
* Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States
* Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United State ...
in September 1909 where they honed their skills against local sides in some and were spectators of
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...
matches.
John Simons, WAFA secretary acted as dedicated tour manager. By the time had left Perth, the game hardened outfit were faced with regional teams. The young Americans notched together an impressive strings of successive wins, losing only to the large towns and cities. The skill level, physicality and pace of the Americans shocked many local sides, with several local sides demanding rematches and rally preparing a stronger side,
in such cases however the local media would typically only report details when the local side won though a full record of the tour was kept by the organisers.
South Australia
The Americans arrived in
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...
on the
Kyarra
The ''Kyarra'' was a 6,953-ton (7,065 t) steel cargo and passenger luxury liner, built in Scotland in 1903 for the Australian United Steam Navigation Company.
Construction and launch
The ''Kyarra'' was built at Dumbarton by William Denny an ...
in October 1909 for the start of their South Australian tour. With the South Australian Football Association aligning with the VFL and the AFC, beyond a lukewarm reception upon the visitors initial arrival, interest and media coverage in Adelaide was virtually nonexistent. Despite this, the Americans won the majority of their matches against the South Australians.
The tourists finally reached
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
on January 19, 1910, for a rushed, low key visit and were, by that time, too exhausted from the oppressive
outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
heat to play any further football matches in Australia. The also visited Tasmania before returning to San Francisco on the
SS Makura on January 17, 1910.
"Field Ball" takes off in American schools: 1910–1914
![Crocker_vs_Columbia_Field_Ball_28_Aug_1910](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Crocker_vs_Columbia_Field_Ball_28_Aug_1910.png)
The return of Columbia Park boys and the arrival of Cullen-Ward from Sydney who travelled along with them (along with YMCA instructor C.F Martin) helped the game, first known locally as "bouncing football" and "field ball", spread to
San Francisco public grammar schools
In 1879, San Francisco had 15 grammar schools, three exclusively for girls (Denman, Rincon, and Broadway), three exclusively for boys (Lincoln, Washington, and Union), and nine co-educational (Spring Valley, Hayes Valley, North and South Cosmopol ...
in early-mid 1910. It was one of four football codes to be played including American, Association and Rugby football however the parents at these 35 Californian schools had decided not to permit their children to play either American or Rugby football and Pexiotto was keen to see Australian rules adopted spruiking its key benefits as being safer and more appealing to spectators. Cullen Ward conducted several clinics, including one at
Mission High School Mission High School may refer to:
* Mission High School (San Francisco, California), a public high school in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) San Francisco, California
* Mission High School (Mission, Texas), a secondary school loc ...
,
Everett Grammar School
In 1879, San Francisco had 15 grammar schools, three exclusively for girls (Denman, Rincon, and Broadway), three exclusively for boys (Lincoln, Washington, and Union), and nine co-educational (Spring Valley, Hayes Valley, North and South Cosmopol ...
and
Crocker Grammar School. The first game, played at
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...
, between squads of up to 25 players consisting mostly of rugby players under Australian Rules was promoted among local schools, with many of the local schools invited to watch. After seeing the Australian "Field Ball" (as it was then promoted), an excited
Fremont Boys from
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
expressed interest in starting a team to join a new competition in May, but
Pacific Heights Grammar School was the second and regular matches were played between the two schools.
Lowell Grammar School and Crocker Grammar later joined the competition with a substantial number of rugby players making the switch.
[The San Francisco call. August 11, 1910, Page 10, Image 10] Hancock Grammar school
In 1879, San Francisco had 15 grammar schools, three exclusively for girls (Denman, Rincon, and Broadway), three exclusively for boys (Lincoln, Washington, and Union), and nine co-educational (Spring Valley, Hayes Valley, North and South Cosmopol ...
joined in with regular practice against Crocker Grammar.
Reference to Australia in the name was disfavoured and grammar schools had decided to call it "Field Ball" in an effort to distance it from rugby and give it more local appeal and the name stuck.
Cullen Ward was to go on to teach, coach, play and officiate field ball at several dozen schools across the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver in June 1911 and went on to coach an All-American team against visiting sides. He married an American in 1912 and intended to settle permanently in California.
Field Ball, now being promoted as "the ideal game for grammar school students" was played by Hancock against Crocker schools in front of a crowd of around 4,000 students A call went out to expatriate Australians familiar with the "Victorian Rules" to help organise senior matches being played under the banner of the Barbarians (Rugby Club). The Hancock side was coached by a teacher of
Stockton Grammar School who had been taught by Cullen and also introduced the game there.
Roosevelt Grammar School adopted the code later in the year along with
Franklin Grammar School.
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
schools were also adopting the code and in 1911 calls were made for Australian coaches to facilitate representative sides. Representatives from the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
met to formalise governing body for a San Francisco v Chicago representative match, to introduce Field Ball into colleges and to send a team to tour Australia. The new body secured a dedicated training and match facility and head office at Ocean Shore grounds. An editorial in the San Francisco Call noted that local school children much preferred Field ball over the American sports and it had become highly popular despite their parents preferring that they play American national sports like American Football, Baseball and Basketball. In San Francisco, the league expanded to include Everett Grammar School,
Monroe Grammar School and YMCA Oakland
(where Australian C.F Martin had been appointed physical director).
Young Australia League tour of North America: 1910–1911
![2021-10-04 11 54 36-San Francisco Call 25 September 1911 — California Digital Newspaper Collection](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/2021-10-04_11_54_36-San_Francisco_Call_25_September_1911_%E2%80%94_California_Digital_Newspaper_Collection.png)
Plans for a Young Australia League reciprocal tour of the US to play against an American side began as early as April 1910, Simons originally proposed that the team be represented by players from all states of Australia, but without support from the Eastern States the proposed interstate quota was dropped to 10. As it became obvious that AFC affiliated states were not coming to the party, a contingency plan was set in place for it to be Western Australia only, consisting of a balance of half city and half country players.
[The San Francisco call. June 25, 1911, Page 38, Image 38] In the end an agreement was reached with the governing bodies of the eastern states that the final team would feature 40 West Australians, one South Australian and one Victorian and the touring party was to detour to Adelaide and Melbourne prior to departure at the tour manager's expense to receive the two interstate players.
Three matches with the Young Australian League were set for September at the
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...
Cullen-Ward was appointed head coach of the national team. The Australian team arrived on the
Matai. They were received with much fanfare with a full page photo of the Australian team featuring in the papers, along with the local boys captained by Henry Behre. The Australian team guernsey was a variation of the West Australian
Black Swan
The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...
emblem acknowledging the West Australian contribution to the tour but featuring a map of Australia to also acknowledge the national nature of the side, while the American team wore the colours and monogram of the Columbia Park Athletic Club. The match was won 95 to 44 at Lincoln Park in front of a crowd of 5,000 including most of the school children in the city and photos of gameplay were featured in
The San Francisco Call
''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin ...
.
[Australian Boys Give Local Team a Fine Lesson in Fieldball. The San Francisco call. September 25, 1911, Page 9, Image 9] In the second match, the Americans took it up to the Australians with the match decided by just 8 points Australia 9.16 (70) to San Francisco 8.14 (62). The match also stimulated interest in the Australian expatriate community, and a third match was played between a combined residents side and the visitors which the visitors won convincingly 125 to 30. The showcase attracted the attention of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' which featured it in an article "Australian Game of Football is the Best".
Senior competition established: 1911–1913
Following the success of the Young Australia League tour, four clubs were formed to give maturing students and expatriate men an opportunity to play open age football in a championship competition including a proposed expatriate Australian club with two teams. The game was also played on
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
campus with the aim of establishing a club there. On the 5th December, 1911, the
Public Schools Athletic League
The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
endorsed Field Ball as an official school sport, establishing an all-schools tournament.
By August 1911, the game was proving so popular that there weren't enough officials to support its growth. Cullen Ward and the Columbia Park Club had departed for
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
where schools had also been taking up the sport in recent years. En route to Vancouver the party visited
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
and played an exhibition match at the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
. The touring party helped ready Canadian players from
Fort Vancouver High School
Fort Vancouver High School, known as FVHS and Fort Vancouver High School Center for International Studies,https://fort.vansd.org/ is a public high school located in Vancouver, Washington. It is named after Fort Vancouver, an early trading outpost ...
to compete against a touring Young Australian League. This tour was highly successful and plans were begun for a second tour of Australia in 1914, with a request made to the Australasian Football Council for a senior Australian team to tour the USA.
The popular schools competition in 1913 had grown to 150 boys with new teams including
Laguna Honda;
State Normal;
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
;
Bay View; and
James Lick
James Lick (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876) was an American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. The wealthiest man in California at the time of his death, Lick left the majority of his es ...
. Many of the original juniors had grown and a colleges team was planning to represent the US in Australian Rules team to tour Australia to play matches against Australian high school teams starting in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
from June, 1914 however this was later brought forward.
Australia withdraws support & second schoolboys tour: 1913–1914
In 1913, the Americans once again toured with a new group, and had planned a series of around 40 matches, however with funding for only 12 in the touring party, there was not enough of them to field a full team of 22. This time they visited Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. The Young Australia League once again hosted the American side, however the WAFL, facing backlash from the AFC, began to distance itself from the venture and withdrew financial commitment to the tour. Though media interest for the tour was scant, they did play matches against local sides, including one in Broken Hill, and at
Norwood Oval
Norwood Oval (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from the Adelaide-based Coopers Brewery) is a suburban oval in the western end of Norwood, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is owned by Norwood, Payn ...
in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. In November, 1913, they arrived in Melbourne on the
Loongana. When asked of how the game in America was faring, the group cited the biggest challenges to its survival being access to fields and funding.
The YAL and Columbia Club began to organise a third tour for 1915 with plans for reciprocal tours every 3 years.
In response to the American's 1912 request, a proposal was debated in 1914 by the Australasian Football Council to send a team the US, however a decision was deferred until after the war. The council never approved the motion.
The Young Australia League, did send 32 boys to tour the US and Canada in 1915, playing football matches.
World War I and third schoolboys tour: 1914–1919
Following news of his father's death Cullen Ward returned to Sydney via the US during the war. O'Dea disappeared completely from the public eye in 1917.
In 1915
Harry Bromley
Harry Bromley (30 November 1884 – 26 November 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Austr ...
visited America in 1915 to promote the idea of a "national football" code, a hybrid version of Australian football played on American gridiron fields which allowed throwing of the ball. He wished to capitalise on the growing popularity of Gaelic football, Australian football and American football in the States and gained the support of
Irish American Athletic Club
The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century.
Early years
Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...
member
James Sullivan to help promote it. However America's entry to the war put an end to the plans.
A third schoolboys tour to Australia was organised in 1919 following the war and managed by E.D Grace, with many of the original team members now of high school age. However except when in Western Australia, Australian Football was now rarely part of the visitors programme. In Western Australia, however they defeated a team from the new
Northam Senior High School
Northam Senior High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high school, located in Northam, a regional centre in the Wheatbelt region, east of Perth, Western Australia.
History
The school was established in 1921 and by 2020 had an ...
by 3 points, also played a match at Beverley who won by one point and one in Katanning.
Recess and revival attempts: 1920–1947
Commentators in Australia however noted that by the 1920s the sport in America was in dire trouble with soccer now being adopted by most of the junior schools, it had better access to fields and required less players to hold a match. These were the last reports of the sport both in schools and at senior level.
In 1927 the Australian Football Council's Con Hickey received a letter inviting Australian teams to play test matches against visiting
Kerry county football team
The Kerry county football team represents County Kerry, Kerry in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Kerry GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual in ...
(
Gaelic Football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
) in California, noting Gaelic Football's growing popularity in the US since the war.
![Table Talk 29-May-1930 p10 - Edward Carji Greeves - Geelong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Table_Talk_29-May-1930_p10_-_Edward_Carji_Greeves_-_Geelong.jpg)
With growth of American football in the colleges causing rugby popularity to wane, attempting to establish Australian Football in high schools and colleges seemed like a better option. Hopes were pinned on
Carji Greeves
Edward Goderich "Carji" Greeves, Junior (1 November 1903 – 15 April 1963) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), now known as the Australian Football League (AFL). H ...
(1924
Brownlow Medal
The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
winner) arrival to California to resurrect it. Greeves was appointed kicking coach at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
in 1928.
He would study at Stanford University, where he delivered on his promise to coach students there in Australian Rules.
However it continued to be confused with rugby and as such did not set down firm roots in the colleges.
Speaking in 1929 on the status of the sport in America, the Australian Football Council's Con Hickey mused that efforts to establish it there had failed but cited Gaelic Football's rapid growth in the US in the 1920s as an example of how Australian Football might one day carve a niche, though reiterated that the council had no interest in promoting it and was sufficiently pleased so long as its popularity continued to grow in Australia.
In 1932, a tour by two Australian teams was proposed supported by former VFL players living in the US.
The idea was boosted when a touring Young American League in Melbourne commented that it would be ideal for high schools and proposed that the VFL invest in promoting the game. Melbourne Councillor Beaurepaire visiting the USA also urged the Australian Football Council to consider sending teams to America to play either Australian rules or the increasingly popular Gaelic code. The VFL, however showed little interest, and the AFC lacked support for the idea and the game faded into obscurity.
In 1934, the Los Angeles Daily News published photos of
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
and
South Melbourne Football Club VFL players flying in a pack marking contest mistakenly labelling it a game of "soccer".
In 1938, a proposal was put to the Australian National Football Council to send teams to California for an exhibition match to stimulate grassroots interest in the game, however Victorian president
Bob Rush refused to take the idea seriously citing access to suitable grounds and that he would not endorse funding the venture.
In 1939, the VFL signed on to the Californian Universities International Kicking Competition to be held at Stanford University. However the league caused significant embarrassment when it backed out of their contract blaming the Australian National Football Council for its withdrawal. The VFL had been required to send footballs to UCLA Berkely, but failed to. When the Americans invited the VFA to participate, the ANFC blocked the invitation. Seen as a major opportunity to promote the code in the US instead it left the colleges extremely unsatisfied with the Australian code.
In response to a gridiron exhibition match in Melbourne in 1943, the president of the Richmond VFL Club proposed a scheme which would coach the Americans in Australian Rules.
In 1947, 40 years after the AFC promoted the hybrid code of Universal Football, Melbourne Sports Globe sports writer Ern Cowley invented the game of
Austus
Austus was a variation of Australian rules football which was played in Australia during World War II between Australians and visiting soldiers from the United States. The name comes from the first four letters of Australia (AUST) and the initial ...
, a compromise game between
gridiron and Australian rules were played in Australia between servicemen of both countries in the Australian city of
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
. The visiting Americans were reported to be excited by the Australian game. Despite a series of popular matches which attracted US media attention, and an award for its inventor, the hybrid code did not take off outside of the military.
Push into the colleges and proposed tour: 1948–1959
A major shift in attitude from the governing body in Australia occurred under the West Australian presidency of Wally Stooke. In 1948 when Carl K. Dellmuth, Director of Athletics and Physical Education at
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
in Pennsylvania after seen the game in Melbourne requested assistance from the governing body to introduce the sport to colleges
citing the spectator appeal, the transferrable skills and the low entry cost of equipment. He succeeded in starting teams in his college. and in gaining cooperation from the Australian Football Council which responded by sending footballs, rule books and a wealth of promotional items. NSW association and AFC secretary K. G. Ferguson extolled that with the introduction of the sport into the college system the United States would be capable of sending a national team to Australia within 5 years. The AFC debated sending a touring side for an exhibition match at its national conference in Adelaide. Once again, Western Australia was in support of the idea and had formalised plans to send teams and budgeted £40,000 for the initiative to send a squad of 50 players consisting of contributions from all states (though with the majority of non-Victorians from West and South Australia). For the first time in decades, South Australia also voted in favour, however they could not garner the support of the VFL and other states so opted not to. This was not helped by the media in Australia which argued that it was destined to fail and that the league was better of spending the money at home. As a result of the lack of support from Australia, the proposed Swarthmore College -
Haverford College
Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...
clash was first postponed to 1949, then never went ahead. Enthusiasm for the sport in American colleges soon waned.
In the 1950s, the AFC's focus would increasingly shift toward to the idea of touring teams playing Gaelic Football in New York instead, due partly to the growth of the Gaelic code there, but also due primarily to the available fields and reduced investment of sending a much smaller side. The idea of a USA tour was revived by council members in 1954 but with a reduction in the size of the playing lists to 14 to reduce costs. This idea eventually manifest into the
Australian Football World Tour
The Australian Football World Tour was a series of international rules football matches, organised by football sports broadcaster and former VFL umpire Harry Beitzel and Irish born Melburnian, James Harkin in 1967 and 1968.
First tour
The first ...
with a focus on capitalising on Gaelic Football's growth in the US.
First VFL exhibition matches and Australian football world tour: 1960–1978
From the 1960s, having negotiated its first television broadcast rights the VFL and its clubs began to take an interest in the US as a means of further growing its audience (even a small television audience in the US could have been worth more than the league made out of the entire state of Victoria). Both Melbourne and Geelong had taken an interest in the American market and in 1963 the first VFL
exhibition matches were played in major US cities to test its potential international audience. The matches were very low key and were not successful in terms of attention or publicity.
On October 27, Geelong also played an extra intraclub exhibition match at "Big Rec" Golden Gate Park.
In 1965, former
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
player
Colin Ridgeway
Colin Edwin Ridgway (19 February 1937 – 13 May 1993) was an American football punter distinguished as being the first Australian to play in the National Football League. He also competed in the high jump at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
...
was recruited by the Dallas Cowboys and played a total of 3 games as a punter. Although he was the first Australian to make such a transition he did not have much of an impact in the NFL.
The Australian Football World Tour visited New York on Sunday, 5 November 1967 with the Australian Galahs playing International Rules at
Gaelic Park
Gaelic Park ( ga, Páirc na nGael) is a multi-purpose outdoor athletics facility, located at West 240th Street and Broadway in Riverdale, Bronx, in New York City in the U.S. state of New York. Since 1926 the grounds has been used as the venue for ...
against the
New York GAA
The New York County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Nua Eabhrac), or New York GAA is one of the 3 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in North America, and is responsible fo ...
at
Gaelic Park
Gaelic Park ( ga, Páirc na nGael) is a multi-purpose outdoor athletics facility, located at West 240th Street and Broadway in Riverdale, Bronx, in New York City in the U.S. state of New York. Since 1926 the grounds has been used as the venue for ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The Galahs lost the match 4-8 (20) to 0-5 (5), the visitors not managing a score after half time.
There were many brawls during the match, with the Galahs coming off second best in all of them.
Hassa Mann
Harold Peter "Hassa" Mann (born 09 October 1940) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and captained Melbourne in the VFL during the 1960s. He earned the name Hassa when he was a toddler, from his cousin and future Melbourne f ...
, sucker punched behind the play, had his jaw broken in three places. Playing coach
Ron Barassi
Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...
had his nose broken by a giant New York narcotics detective (Brendan Tumulty), who broke his own thumb in the process of hitting Barassi. An exhibition match of Australian Football was played in addition to Gaelic Football.
Television, ESPN and the AFL: 1979–1990
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
was the biggest breakthrough for Australian football in the United States. In late 1979, the brand new
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
cable network signed its first international TV contract with the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
(in 1990, it became the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
). Coverage began with the 1980 season with matches airing on late Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes live but usually one or two week tape delayed to up to 2.5 million subscribers. At the time, reports indicated ESPN paid the VFL nearly $100,000 (the VFL's Australian TV rights deal at the time was just $600,000). The 1983 VFL Grand Final was the first time in history that the Grand Final was broadcast live into the US. Coverage continued on ESPN until 1986, when the sport was dropped. This exposure on ESPN is credited with creating a generation of fans in the United States (and providing the foundation for the formation of
AFANA
The Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA) is a non-profit organization that formed out of the campaign to save television coverage of Australian rules football in the United States and Canada in 1996. AFANA has an emphasis on t ...
and the
USAFL
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1, ...
in 1996). The founding of
AFANA
The Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA) is a non-profit organization that formed out of the campaign to save television coverage of Australian rules football in the United States and Canada in 1996. AFANA has an emphasis on t ...
led to the first organized fan group for the sport outside Australia and lobbying for television coverage was part of the efforts to grow the sport from the beginning. The core of the initial players for the USAFL included many who first saw the matches on ESPN a decade or more earlier.
In 1987 an ambitious $10 million proposal from Perth magnate Errol Marron was put forward for a VFL expansion club based partly in Los Angeles named the Los Angeles Crocodiles with profits from increased television rights to fund a local league. Stadiums in the proposal included the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...
. In October 1987
Ross Oakley
Ross Graham Oakley (born 30 September 1942) is an Australian businessman and former Australian rules footballer with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He is CEO of the Victorian Rugby Union and was appointed CEO of the new the ...
announced that the VFL had rejected the bid.
Despite the rejected bid, the VFL showed a renewed interest in rekindling its US broadcast deal and scheduled more exhibition matches to grow the audience. The locations played at were largely the product of the available venues more than anything. VFL and club promoters hyped their predictions of the crowds of more than 20,000, sending star players
Darren Millane
Darren Millane (9 August 1965 – 7 October 1991) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
One of the toughest and finest wingmen of his era, Millane's trag ...
and
Damian Bourke
Damian Bourke (born 19 January 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs Geelong during the 1980s and Brisbane in the early 1990s.
Bourke played as a ruckman and captained Geelong from 1987 until ...
to promote the games, however the final attendance and interest fell way short of expectations. It wasn't until the league rebranded as the national AFL in 1990 and featured capital city branded teams from the Australian East and West coast that the league attracted a respectable attendance and interest.
The first American born player in the AFL,
Don Pyke
Donald Lachlan Pyke (born 5 December 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who is an assistant coach at the Sydney Swans. He was formerly the senior coach of the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played ...
(who moved to
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
in his youth) debuted for the
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...
in 1989 and later that year, the first
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
born player
Sanford Wheeler
Sanford Matthew Wheeler (6 April 1970 – 10 March 2020) was an Australian rules football player for the Sydney Swans. He is notable as being the first African American-born player in the history of the AFL and one of few players from the Unite ...
debuted for the
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...
. However despite the investment into the market and the birth of the national AFL competition no US TV deal was forthcoming.
Punt into America: 1991–1995
In 1995,
Darren Bennett – former
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
player was recruited by the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
. He went on to become one of the most successful punters in the history of the NFL. His popularity as an ex-Australian also considerably increased the awareness of Australian Rules in the US, as excerpts of him kicking goals in the AFL were sometimes shown on American television. Since Bennett, other Australian rules players have followed, having a small effect of exposing the Australian game to Americans.
Against the flow,
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...
coach
Kevin Sheedy enticed former
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
player
Dwayne Armstrong
Dwayne Armstrong (born March 18, 1971) is an American former sportsman who played American football and Australian rules football.
College football career
Armstrong played college football for Iowa State in 1991 and 1992, lettering in both yea ...
to switch codes to Australian rules. The experiment was largely unsuccessful, with Armstrong not debuting at senior level, but nevertheless created media interest in Australia about the possibility of American athletes playing the Australian game.
US local matches and National League: 1996–1998
The first match between two local US clubs was played in 1996 between
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
.
In the first year the
Mid American Australian Football League
The MAAFL was a division of the United States Australian Football League and an Australian rules football competition based in the United States.
The league formed 1996 when clubs from Cincinnati and Louisville played the first ever game of Auss ...
was formed.
Many of the local players had found out about the game in the 1980s on television and ESPN. Although the local game grew, ESPN no longer broadcast AFL matches, and in response the lobby group
AFANA
The Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA) is a non-profit organization that formed out of the campaign to save television coverage of Australian rules football in the United States and Canada in 1996. AFANA has an emphasis on t ...
was formed.
In 1997, the first club national championships were held in Cincinnati.
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
hosted the first Australian Grand Final Festival in the same year. The
United States Australian Football League
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1,00 ...
(USAFL) was formed in 1997 to govern the code in the country.
In the early years prior to affiliating with the AFL, the USAFL chose to brand the game as "Footy" to differentiate it from rugby and was the governing body promoted itself by the informal name "US Footy", this is what many players and the media also refer to it as.
Steady growth: 1999–2015
![Usa_china_ruck_contest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Usa_china_ruck_contest.jpg)
A national team, the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, formed in 1999 to compete in a European event, the Atlantic Alliance Cup before concentrating on events closer to home. The USA turned to competing against nearby Canada in the
49th Parallel Cup
The 49th Parallel Cup (formerly PanAm Cup) is an annual representative Australian rules football match between the United States and Canada first contested in 1999. Since 2007 the women's teams have also contested the cup.
The men's matches are ...
and was for a time coached by AFL legend
Paul Roos. This Cup is an annual and keenly contested international event which both countries use as a guide to their progress and as preparation for the International Cup, the world cup of Australian Football.
In the same year, a record crowd of 1,000 attended an MAAFL match between the Nashville Kangaroos and Chicago Swans at Nashville in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
.
In 2001, the first college Australian rules club began in Vanderbilt University In the following years, several new clubs emerged in universities across the state, many of them affiliated with USAFL clubs.
The Revolution competed in the 2002
Australian Football International Cup
The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup or simply the IC) is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and is open to ...
with an All-American side and finished fifth out of eleven countries.
In 2002, the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
began to recognise the potential of the US as a pool of talent and began providing a small amount of international funding to the USAFL. An offshoot was the US Footy Kids junior program, with strong similarities to AFL
Auskick
Auskick is a program designed to teach the basic skills of Australian rules football (AFL) to boys and girls aged between 5 and 12. Auskick is a non-contact variant of the sport. It began in Australia and is now a nationwide non-selective pro ...
. The
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
formed a relationship with the USAFL for Australian personnel on US postings to help make up the 30% of Australians allowed for a USAFL roster.
In 2003, clear weather at a Nashville home game against the St Louis Blues and Kangaroos saw the match set a new league crowd record.
In 2005, the Revolution attended the 2005 International Cup finishing third out of ten countries. The first College Invitational was also held that year, hosted by
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
and won by
niversity of North Carolina
In 2005, the USAFL struck a deal with the ASTN television station for rights to the game, however although the station has filmed local matches, they have not been televised.
Also in that year,
Ben Graham joined the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
, bringing media exposure for the Australian sport. On a multimillion-dollar NFL contract, Graham joined with the local New York Magpies club in fundraising activities.
In January 2006, an AFL promotional pre-season match was played in Los Angeles at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
between the
Kangaroos
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
and league premiers the
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...
, it attracted a crowd of 3,200.
Saverio Rocca
Saverio Giovanni Rocca (born 20 November 1973) is a retired Australian professional sportsman. He played Australian rules football for Collingwood and North Melbourne in the Australian Football League, and then switched to playing American foo ...
debuted in the NFL in 2007 as a punter, bringing media exposure for the Australian game.
Kevin Sheedy and
Stephen Silvagni
Stephen Silvagni (born 31 May 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
As the second member of three generations of Silvagnis to represent the Blues, he is ...
visited in 2007 on a tour of North America as AFL ambassador, attending the USAFL Nationals.
Mason Cox era: 2016–present
In 2016 former Texan basketballer
Mason Cox
Mason Cox (born March 14, 1991) is an American-Australian professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Playing as a ruckman and key forward, he first played Austr ...
literally the biggest in the game made a spectacular AFL debut and in the
Anzac Day match
The Anzac Day match is an annual Australian rules football match between Collingwood and Essendon, two clubs in the Australian Football League, held on Anzac Day (25 April) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
History of Australian rul ...
in front of 80,000 asserting dominance within the first 80 seconds of the match, taking his first
mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fi ...
and with it scoring the game's first
goal
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
with his
first kick in the AFL. He instantly became America's most notable export in the game and captured the imagination of the Australian sporting public earning the nickname "Coxzilla" for his on field and off-field presence. The big American's impact on the Australian sport cannot be understated with visiting celebrities including president to be
Joe Biden in 2016 and
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
in 2019 meeting with the home grown product and with ESPN increasing its coverage of the sport in response. Cox played in a losing AFL Grand Final in 2018. Cox has received more media attention in the United States than almost any other AFL player and has expressed a keen interest in promoting the game at the grassroots in the US, visiting the US to support his brother Nolan Cox who played for the Austin Crows in back to back USAFL National Championships.
Exposure for the sport grew with Cox's introduction to the sport with increasing media interest coming from American broadcasting celebrities. In particular
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...
in 2019 featured a segment featuring the Sydney Swans with Conan learning how to play the game on his popular show was viewed by millions. Former American Footballer
Pat McAfee announced a new found passion for Australian rules during the COVID pandemic in 2020, interviewing Mason Cox on his popular channel and adopting Mason Cox's club Collingwood as a supporter.
In 2020 the AFL signed a broadcasting rights deal with ESPN via
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
and
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...
. The move was a big hit.
[AFL signs U.S. broadcast deal with ESPN](_blank)
from ESPN Niall Seewang 14 Jun, 2020 In 2022 American streaming companies
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
,
Paramount+
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
expressed interest in bidding for the US broadcasting rights for the AFL beyond 2024.
Players
File:Jessica Anderson 18.02.17.jpg, Jessica Anderson
Administration and governing body
The
governing body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...
for Australian Rules in the United States is the
USAFL
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1, ...
. The USAFL coordinates the national club competition, the USAFL Nationals and the national Revolution team selection, manages player registration and transfers and distributes funds to local clubs and competitions.
The USAFL Umpires Association (USAFLUA) represents the field of
umpiring and the interpretation of the laws of the gam
USAFL Umpires Association
National team
The national teams are the
USA Revolution and
USA Freedom
The United States women's Australian Rules football team, also nicknamed USA Freedom represents the United States in the sport of women's Australian rules football.
The USA Freedom was founded in 2007 as the USAFL Women's National Team. The te ...
. Both are the sole national teams for Australian football in the United States and are administered by the
United States Australian Football League
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1,00 ...
.
Major tournaments
*
USAFL National Championships
The USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States.
Since 1997, the National Championships have been a large event featuring teams from the United States and Canada in four men's divisions and two ...
– Held 2nd weekend of October every year
*
49th Parallel Cup
The 49th Parallel Cup (formerly PanAm Cup) is an annual representative Australian rules football match between the United States and Canada first contested in 1999. Since 2007 the women's teams have also contested the cup.
The men's matches are ...
– Held each non-International Cup year, alternating between US & Canadian soil.
*
AFL International Cup
The Australian Football International Cup (also known as the AFL International Cup or simply the IC) is a triennial international Australian rules football sport competition. It is the biggest worldwide tournament in the sport and is open t ...
– Held every 3 years, began 2002.
Domestic representative tournaments
*
USAFL National Championships
The USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States.
Since 1997, the National Championships have been a large event featuring teams from the United States and Canada in four men's divisions and two ...
*
USAFL East vs West
An Australian rules football tournament in the United States, similar to the National Basketball Association All-Star Game.
Pitches 44 of the best players in the USA against each other. The first of these games was held in 2003, and it became a ...
Participation
There are currently 49 active clubs across the country, 32 of which participated in the USAFL Nationals in 2018.
In 2004, there were 855 senior players in 38 active clubs.
By 2006, the league had grown to 40 affiliated clubs, with 1,048 were registered USAFL players and 340 USAFL sanctioned matches were played. Of the 709 players who competed at the USAFL National Championships, 77.4% were non-Australian, and over 60% were American.
The 2007 AFL International Census did not indicate any growth to these figures over 2006. The club numbers decreased to 32 in 2011, but player registrations remained at approximately 1,000.
Leagues
Men's
*
United States Australian Football League
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1,00 ...
**
Mid American Australian Football League
The MAAFL was a division of the United States Australian Football League and an Australian rules football competition based in the United States.
The league formed 1996 when clubs from Cincinnati and Louisville played the first ever game of Auss ...
(MAAFL)
**
Eastern Australian Football League
The Eastern Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Eastern United States of America and a division of the United States Australian Football League.
History
In the early months of 2005, member clubs of t ...
Golden Gate Australian Football League
Women's
*
Women's Australian Football Association
:See also
Metro Footy
Variations of Australian rules football are games or activities based on or similar to the game of Australian rules football, in which the player uses common Australian rules football skills. They range in player numbers from 2 (in the case of k ...
Leagues
Former leagues
*Many of the CAFL's clubs and former players still compete, either in the SCAFL or GGAFL. The SEAFL and NEAFL formed the EAFL.
**
Californian Australian Football League
**
South East Australian Football League
**
North East Australian Football League
The North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) was an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The league was formed in November 2010, and its inaugural co ...
Audience
Television
Since 2020, the AFL has been shown on ESPN via
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
and
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...
.
Since 2006, due to growing demand and lobbying by
AFANA
The Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA) is a non-profit organization that formed out of the campaign to save television coverage of Australian rules football in the United States and Canada in 1996. AFANA has an emphasis on t ...
, Australian rules began playing live matches on television in the United States on the new
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
USA network. Coverage in 2015 is on
Fox Sports 2
Fox Sports 2 (FS2) is an American List of sports television channels, sports-oriented pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based a ...
and
Fox Soccer Plus
Fox Soccer Plus (formerly Setanta Sports) is an American sports channel dedicated to soccer and rugby league. Launched in 2005 by the Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports to offer live and tape-delayed mainstream sports events in the United ...
.
Australian rules has a nominal but growing international audience. According to Roy Morgan Polls 7,496,000 North Americans watch Australian rules football at least occasionally on television.
This number is twice as many as watch the sport on television in Australia, but small by US standards.
Notable attendances
Local competitions
*1,000 (2004) –
Nashville Kangaroos v
Chicago Swans
The Chicago Swans is a United States Australian Football League team, based in Chicago, United States. It was founded in 1998 and is affiliated with the Sydney Swans. They play in the Mid American Australian Football League.
See also
Refere ...
(
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
)
*5,000 (1911) – San Francisco v Young Australia League (
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
)
Exhibition matches
*14,787 (1990) –
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
v
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
(
Civic Stadium,
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
)
See also
*
USAFL
The United States Australian Football League (USAFL) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
As of 2011, there were over 1, ...
*
AFANA
The Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA) is a non-profit organization that formed out of the campaign to save television coverage of Australian rules football in the United States and Canada in 1996. AFANA has an emphasis on t ...
Books
#
References
{{Sports governing bodies of the United States
Australian rules football in the United States