The history of Port Adelaide Football Club dates back to its founding on 12 May 1870. Since the club's first game on 24 May 1870, it has won 36 SANFL premierships, including six in a row. The club also won this competition on a record four occasions., FullPointsFooty.net, FullPointsFooty.net.
1870–1876: Early years
By the late 1860s Port Adelaide's river traffic was growing rapidly. The increasing economic activity around the waterways ultimately resulted in a meeting being organised by young Port Adelaide locals John Rann, Richard Leicester and George Ireland with the intention to form a sporting club to benefit the growing number of workers associated with the wharves and surrounding industries. As a result of their meeting the Port Adelaide Football Club was established on 12 May 1870 as part of a joint Australian football and cricket club. The club's first training session taking place two days later. It played its first match against a team called the Young Australians on 30 July 1870. The club's first home match was played on 20 August at Buck's Flat, a property owned by the family of club president John Hart in Glanville. Football in South Australia at this stage was yet to be organised by a single body and as a result there were several sets of rules in use across the state. The last game of the club's first season was played in front of a crowd of 600 people with The Port Artillery Band playing live music throughout the October afternoon and John Wald the only player to score a major."TOPICS OF THE DAY." The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide) 4 Oct 1870: 2. Web. 28 Jun 2014 The first few seasons consisted of games generally restricted to the old Adelaide and Kensington Football Clubs. Matches against Victorian, Woodville, Wilunga, Prince Alfred and St Peters recorded by 1873. In 1876 two local South Adelaide clubs merged to form the modern day club with the first recorded match between the two clubs taking place on 1 July at Glanville Hall Estate. South Adelaide would win one goal to nil.
1877–1885: South Australian Football Association and Alberton Oval
In 1877 Port Adelaide joined seven other local clubs and formed the South Australian Football Association, the first organisation of its type in Australia. It competed its first few seasons wearing a rose pink outfit with white knickerbockers. In 1878 the club hosted its first game against the recently established Norwood Football Club with the visitors winning 1–0. A rivalry between these clubs would soon develop into one of the fiercest in Australian sport. 1884 SAFL premiership W L D Goals Port Adelaide 11 2 2 73 Premiers
In 1879, the club played reigning Victorian Football Association (VFA) premiers Geelong at Adelaide Oval in what was Port Adelaide's first game against an interstate club.
In 1880, the club moved from Glanville Hall Estate after being unable to retain the ground and subsequently moved to Alberton Oval taking over the venue from the old Port Adelaide cricket club which had recently folded. Alberton has since been the club base for all but the 1975 and 1976 seasons.
For the first time in 1881 the club played an interstate club, which was the Carlton Football Club, at Adelaide Oval. Later in that year the club also travelled to Victoria and played its first game outside South Australian borders against Sale Football Club. During Round 4 of the 1882 SAFA season Port Adelaide overcame Norwood for the first time after nine previous attempts winning by 1 goal at Adelaide Oval. On 2 July 1883 Port Adelaide played its first game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against . In 1884 Port Adelaide would win its first SAFA premiership bringing to an end Norwood's run of six consecutive premierships.
On 25 May 1885 Port Adelaide played two of its first ever games at the MCG against the South Melbourne, drawing with eventual VFA premiers in front of 10,000 spectators.
1886–1901: Jack McGargill, first Australian success and Federation.
1889 Melbourne Trip Goals Port Adelaide 8 7 Venue: Punt Road Oval crowd: 5,000 In 1886 Jack McGargill was appointed Port Adelaide's head coach. His first season would ultimately be a failure with the club finishing last for the first time in its history however he managed to blood some new young players with Harold Phillips showing great promise.
In 1887, immense interest led into the round 8 meeting against Norwood, as the previous two matches between the clubs resulted in draws. Norwood won in front of a then-record 11,000 spectators at Adelaide Oval. Attending the match were Chinese Commissioners to the Jubilee Exhibition General Wong Yang Ho and Console-General Yu Chiung who were provided the South Australian premiers private box at Adelaide Oval.
During 1889, the club played against the Richmond Football Club at Punt Road, with Port prevailing by a goal. The 1889 SAFA season ended with Port Adelaide and Norwood level at the top of the premiership ladder, leading to the staging of a championship decider. This would be the first Grand Final in one of the premier Australian football leagues. Norwood defeated Port Adelaide in the 1889 SAFA Grand Final by two goals in front of 11,000 at Adelaide Oval. 1890 Championship of AustraliaScore 7 South Melbourne 6 Venue: Adelaide Oval In 1890 Port Adelaide won its second SAFA premiership and would go on to be crowned "Champions of Australia" for the first time after defeating VFA premiers South Melbourne. In 1891 the club defeated Fitzroy at Adelaide Oval with Indigenous Australian Harry Hewitt playing for Port Adelaide.
On 10 July 1888 the club hosted a match against Great Britain (England) at the Adelaide Oval as part of the 1888 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia however the visitors were too strong in the showery conditions and won by a goal in front of 1,500 spectators.
In 1896, with the club in crisis after finishing the season last, the club committee met with the aim of revitalising the club. Australian football historian John Devaney summarised the means by which the club pursued this goal as "the conscious and deliberate cultivation by both the committee and the team's on field leaders of a revitalised club spirit, whereby playing for Port Adelaide became a genuine source of pride". It had immediate results and in 1897 Port Adelaide won a third premiership finishing the season with a record of 14–2–1 with a scoring record two and a half times its conceded total. This is one of only four occurrences since 1877 that the team that finished last won a premiership the following year. To top off the 1897 season for the club, Stan Malin won Port Adelaide's first Magarey Medal in 1899. The club had various nicknames during the 19th century including the Cockledivers, the Seaside Men, the Seasiders and the Magentas. In 1900, Port finished bottom in the six-team competition, which it has not done in any senior league since. Port Adelaide's champion players from this era include Harold Phillips, Ken and John McKenzie, Archibald Hosie, Charlie Fry and Stan Malin.
1902–1915: Black and white and the pre-war era
In 1902, Port Adelaide took the field in black and white guernseys for the first time after it was having trouble finding appropriate and affordable dyes that would last for its blue and magenta guernseys.
Port Adelaide was now being referred to as "the Magpies" and would have instant success in the black and white wharf pylon guernsey defeating by 28 points at Alberton Oval in its new guise. However the first year in the new guernsey would also be a controversial year for the club. After finishing the 1902 SAFA season a game clear on top of the ladder with a scoring ratio of approximately 2–1, the club found itself disqualified during the finals by the SAFL after a game scheduled between the club and was abandoned after a dispute regarding the use of Mr Kneebone as an umpire, who was not certified by the football association at the beginning of the year as an umpire. Port Adelaide considered that Mr Kneebone would not be impartial and refused to play. The 1902 SAFA premiership would subsequently be awarded to after they defeated in the Grand Final a week later. Port Adelaide offered to play North Adelaide in a premiership deciding match, but the association refused. This point in time marked the beginning of a halcyon era for the club participating in 12 Grand Final appearances in the next 13 seasons setting the foundations for the club to win 31 premierships in the newly adopted black and white wharf pylon guernsey over a period of 92 years until its entrance into the AFL in 1997.
1910 Championship of Australia G B Total Port Adelaide 15 20 110 Collingwood 7 9 51 Venue: Adelaide Oval
The first premiership after the dispute came the following year when Port Adelaide defeated South Adelaide 6.6 (42) to 5.5 (35) in the 1903 SAFA Challenge Final. In 1906 Port Adelaide appointed James Hodge as club secretary. Hodge would quickly earn the nickname 'Columbus' after taking the club on trips to play exhibition games all across Australia. That year would also see further premiership when Port defeated North Adelaide 8.12 (60) to 5.9 (39) in the year's Grand Final. During the early stages of the 1907 season, Port Adelaide travelled to Sydney to play a combination of the cities best players. The game was marketed as 'Port Adelaide vs. Sydney' with the harbour city side taking the honours 8.9 (57) to 5.14 (44). Port Adelaide won the SAFL premiership in 1910 defeating Sturt 8.12 (60) to 5.11 (41) in the Grand Final. The club would go on to defeat Collingwood for the 1910 Championship of Australia title. 1910 Port Adelaide vs. WAFL G B Total WAFL 6 12 48 Port Adelaide 6 17 53 Venue: Fremantle Oval 1910 WAFL vs. SAFL premiers G B Total East Fremantle 5 4 34 Port Adelaide 6 10 46 Venue: WACA Ground The East Fremantle Football Club had toured South Australia in 1909 and embarrassed Port Adelaide 12.13 (85) to 8.16 (64) in what was the two clubs' first encounter. During the 1910 post season, seeking revenge, Port Adelaide travelled to Western Australia and evened the ledger scoring 6.10 (46) to beat East Fremantle's 5.4 (34). To conclude this trip Port Adelaide played a combination of some of the Western Australian Football League's best players and achieved a remarkable victory scoring 6.17 (53) to 6.12 (48), with Sampson Hosking named best on ground.http://australianfootball.com/articles/view/Port+in+Perth+-+Port+Adelaide's+1910+WA+tour/12 Along with beating the premiers from South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia in 1910, Port Adelaide also invited North Broken Hill, the premier team of New South Wales, to a game at Adelaide Oval. Port Would win this game 14.20 (104) to 5.5 (35)..
The following two seasons for Port Adelaide would be frustrating dropping only one game during the 1911 minor round and going undefeated the following year in 1912 only to be knocked out of contention by West Adelaide both times, the second of these encounters in front of a pre war South Australian record crowd of 28,500. During the 1912 preseason, Port Adelaide travelled to Tasmania and took on a combination of players from various Tasmanian Football League sides. The game would prove to be very competitive with Port Adelaide defeating the TFL combination 7.13 (55) to 6.6 (42). 1913 Championship of Australia G B Total Port Adelaide 13 16 94Fitzroy 4 7 31 Venue: Adelaide Oval
During the 1913 preseason, Port Adelaide travelled back to Western Australia to play East Fremantle again with the local side winning for a second time 6.6 (42) to 4.12 (36). Despite this inauspicious preseason the club would break through in 1913, dropping only two games during the minor round and eventually defeating North Adelaide 7.12 (54) to 5.10 (40) for the SAFL premiership and Fitzroy 13.16 (94) to 4.7 (31) for the 1913 Championship of Australia.