List Bizarre/unusual reasons for cancelled/suspended/abandoned games

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Rainier Wolfcastle said:
That's fantastic - I admire the determination of the seven that played on! What were their names?
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My grandfather was Joe Watson, his brothers who played that day were twins Dave and Will, and Tom who later captained the Tigers. They were all long gone by the time I came along, but we've only just discovered that Will had a daughter who is still alive- she's 104!
 
RogerDean said:
My grandfather was Joe Watson, his brothers who played that day were twins Dave and Will, and Tom who later captained the Tigers. They were all long gone by the time I came along, but we've only just discovered that Will had a daughter who is still alive- she's 104!
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I presume you would have seen the posts regarding Richmond's Watson brothers in another thread quite recently?:- https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/thre...ague-players-afl.1172997/page-2#post-52050750
 

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The 1968 Benalla DFL Grand Final was delayed because the Ovens and Murray FL had decided to play their Grand Final on the same day in Benalla.
The BDFL feared that the OMFL Grand Final would severally affect the attendance of their Grand Final. The BDFL suggested to play on Sunday but Glenrowan complained that they wouldn't have a fit team as they couldn't keep their players out of the Pub on Saturday Night. The game was eventually played the following Saturday. Benalla All Blacks won by 7 points.
 
GrahamClayton said:
I would be interested to read about some of the more unusual and bizarre reasons for the abandonment/cancellation/suspension of games. I presume that in lower and country leagues there would be some very unusual reasons.
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I only remember once in the VFL , there may have been more , but my memory gives me one, and the whole six games called off , the weather was abysmal very heavy rain and wind and no one was going to go , forcast was ongoing. I can't remember the time exactly but it was 40 to 50 years ago.

Worst weather day I'd seen up til then.
 
Todman said:
The 1968 Benalla DFL Grand Final was delayed because the Ovens and Murray FL had decided to play their Grand Final on the same day in Benalla.
The BDFL feared that the OMFL Grand Final would severally affect the attendance of their Grand Final. The BDFL suggested to play on Sunday but Glenrowan complained that they wouldn't have a fit team as they couldn't keep their players out of the Pub on Saturday Night. The game was eventually played the following Saturday. Benalla All Blacks won by 7 points.
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And a good and proper reason too.
BILC said:
The division 3 Southern FL grand final was called off and no premiership was awarded in 2014 after a fight between players and spectators at half time.

Police were called to the Ross Street Reserve in Heatherton about 3.30pm on Saturday, where Mount Waverley was taking on Carrum Patterson Lakes in the Southern Football League division-three seniors grand final.

A police spokeswoman said supporters started heckling one of the teams as it left the ground at half-time. "A fight broke out between the players and the supporters, involving up to 20 people," she said.

One person was taken to hospital with minor injuries sustained in the brawl and the game was called off when one of the teams refused to return to the field, the spokeswoman said.

Fairfax Media has been told the free-for-all started when three Mount Waverley supporters began abusing Carrum Patterson Lakes players as they left the field.

A spectator, who asked not to be named, said one player was "king-hit" from behind and that some supporters forced their way into the club's change rooms where the stoush continued.
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I believe a Diamond Valley final was stopped after a brawl at Warringal Park near Heidelberg / Rosanna area, the fight spread from the ground into the crowd, and moved itself through the crowd like a war zone. I think, if I can remember either Greensborough and Templestowe or North Heidelberg and Templestowe, pretty sure it was Templestowe though Swampy Syme former Essendon assistant, was their coach .
 
JoondalupJ said:
And a good and proper reason too.


I believe a Diamond Valley final was stopped after a brawl at Warringal Park near Heidelberg / Rosanna area, the fight spread from the ground into the crowd, and moved itself through the crowd like a war zone. I think, if I can remember either Greensborough and Templestowe or North Heidelberg and Templestowe, pretty sure it was Templestowe though Swampy Syme former Essendon assistant, was their coach .
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You may be thinking of Research, they were booted for poor behaviour. I believe they went out swinging in the 1991 Div 2 Grannie
 
JoondalupJ said:
I only remember once in the VFL , there may have been more , but my memory gives me one, and the whole six games called off , the weather was abysmal very heavy rain and wind and no one was going to go , forcast was ongoing. I can't remember the time exactly but it was 40 to 50 years ago.

Worst weather day I'd seen up til then.
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It happened in Round 11, 1963, so that should be the one you have in mind (from the Rd. 11 Football Record):

LAST ROUND POSTPONED
Matches for Round 11, which were to have been played last Saturday, will be played today. The V.F.L. Adverse Weather Committee met at 10 a.m. last
Saturday and decided to postpone the round and move all future rounds back one week.

This means that the last home and home round will now be played on September 7, and the finals will begin on September 14.
The Grand Final will be played on October 5.

Previous postponements: Aug-ust 14, 1897; May 19, 1900; May 7, 1910; August 24, 1918; October 13, 1923; July 4, 1936; August 26, 1939; April 23, 1960.
 
4/10/1968 Beverley Times
Final abandoned after hailstorm

A prolonged and extremely heavy hailstorm forced the Central Great Southern League football grand final to be abandoned at half time at Katanning on 22nd. September, and injured some of the players.

Kojonup's captain/coach, Graham Zilko, was taken to Hospital suffering from exposure and exhaustion and two other players collapsed in the dressing rooms afterwards. All three suffered hail bruises. Zilko was treated at the Hospital and allowed to leave.

Wanderers capt./coach, Con Regan said: "It was the most remarkable thing I have ever seen. The whole oval was a sheet of ice and hail. In some places we were 3 inches deep in ice. I didn't mind abandoning the game as I think if we hadn't Kojonup would have had to forfeit - they had three out at half time and they were collapsing."

Said Kojonup committeeman Alex Brown "They should have been skiing instead of playing football. Occasions when football has been abandoned because of inclement weather are very rare and this is indicative of the severity of conditions.

During the hailstorm, which lasted throughout the two quarters of football, players sat and tried to protect their legs with their jumpers while protecting their head with their hands.

Afterwards schoolboys were making ice-balls and throwing them at one another.
 

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35Daicos said:
It happened in Round 11, 1963, so that should be the one you have in mind (from the Rd. 11 Football Record):

LAST ROUND POSTPONED
Matches for Round 11, which were to have been played last Saturday, will be played today. The V.F.L. Adverse Weather Committee met at 10 a.m. last
Saturday and decided to postpone the round and move all future rounds back one week.

This means that the last home and home round will now be played on September 7, and the finals will begin on September 14.
The Grand Final will be played on October 5.

Previous postponements: Aug-ust 14, 1897; May 19, 1900; May 7, 1910; August 24, 1918; October 13, 1923; July 4, 1936; August 26, 1939; April 23, 1960.
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Then it pished down again the next weekend, reportedly not as badly but you wonder if they would have accepted two postponements in a row under any circumstances. Highest score of the day was St Kilda with 100, but Carlton got 39, Fitzroy 38 and Footscray 24 + two in the 40.
 
emuboy said:
I remember the 1993 game when it happened - it made news right around the country.

The year 1993 seems to have been a bit of a strange one for odd things happening at grounds. A pig was released onto the SCG for a Swans vs. Saints match, a blue heeler dog ran onto the East Fremantle ground at a WAFL game and the 1993 VFA Grand Final between Werribee and Port Melbourne ended in a total debacle, when the crowd attending the ill-tempered game thought the Princes Park siren had sounded early and surged onto the ground, fights breaking out all over the place.
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Something else from 1993 is the Round 14 clash in the Bendigo Football League between Kennington and Maryborough. Kennington withdrew their senior team from the ground at the 16 minute mark of the third quarter. The executive and coaching panel had a meeting concerning the matter at quarter time about tactics being applied to their players during the match. At half time there were three Kennington players on the bench, all with head and facial injuries. Captain Mark Blabey approached the umpires during the break and stated that if they did not do something about the situation, Kennington would withdraw from the game, which they duly did.
 
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Not abandoned or cancelled, but shortened significantly.

Uranquinty were due to play Tootool United early in the 1931 The Rock DFA. The Tootool players waited at the bus stop but for some reason, the bus was late. Thankfully, somebody passing by informed them that there was a problem with the bus's carburetor. Finally, the bus arrived at 3pm, and the team could finally get to Uranquinty.
The bus breaks down a few miles along the way. Luckily, Tootool is right next to a railway line that leads to Uranquinty, so they decide to hail a train. The team waded through the creek and managed to get on the train, arrived at Uranquinty at 5pm.
There was no time for pre-match training and it was getting dark already, so the teams agreed to play two fifteen minute halves and get the match over with, which Tootool won easily.
 
Connor7395 said:
Not abandoned or cancelled, but shortened significantly.

Uranquinty were due to play Tootool United early in the 1931 The Rock DFA. The Tootool players waited at the bus stop but for some reason, the bus was late. Thankfully, somebody passing by informed them that there was a problem with the bus's carburetor. Finally, the bus arrived at 3pm, and the team could finally get to Uranquinty.
The bus breaks down a few miles along the way. Luckily, Tootool is right next to a railway line that leads to Uranquinty, so they decide to hail a train. The team waded through the creek and managed to get on the train, arrived at Uranquinty at 5pm.
There was no time for pre-match training and it was getting dark already, so the teams agreed to play two fifteen minute halves and get the match over with, which Tootool won easily.
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Brilliant. Here's an article from the time.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137904706
 
In the opening round of the Heathcote District Football League for 2014, Heathcote coach Grant Ford suffered a neck injury in the game against Elmore. It was early in the second quarter as Ford lay on the ground waiting for appropriate medical assistance to arrive. By the time he was taken from the ground, the match had been delayed for more than 30 minutes and so the game was declared a draw, even though Heathcote were presently leading by 27 points.
 
Round 8, Loddon Valley Football League, June 5, 1982

Just before the game between Yarrawalla and Bridgewater, the Yarrawalla players, dressed in their football gear, had to rush 3 kilometres to save the house of teammate Murray James from fire. Play was delayed by half an hour. Whether this delay affected Yarrawalla's state of mind, who really knows. Bridgewater defeated them by 88 points, with Peter Collins kicking 14 of 18 goals. (18.15.123 to 5.5.35)
 
BILC said:
The division 3 Southern FL grand final was called off and no premiership was awarded in 2014 after a fight between players and spectators at half time.

Police were called to the Ross Street Reserve in Heatherton about 3.30pm on Saturday, where Mount Waverley was taking on Carrum Patterson Lakes in the Southern Football League division-three seniors grand final.

A police spokeswoman said supporters started heckling one of the teams as it left the ground at half-time. "A fight broke out between the players and the supporters, involving up to 20 people," she said.

One person was taken to hospital with minor injuries sustained in the brawl and the game was called off when one of the teams refused to return to the field, the spokeswoman said.

Fairfax Media has been told the free-for-all started when three Mount Waverley supporters began abusing Carrum Patterson Lakes players as they left the field.

A spectator, who asked not to be named, said one player was "king-hit" from behind and that some supporters forced their way into the club's change rooms where the stoush continued.
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Unfortunately a few years on the lower division of the SFL is still marred by violence. Lyndale forfeited the last two games of their 2018 season after a string of violent incidents.
 
https://www.3aw.com.au/police-calle...ire-from-unruly-crowd-at-country-footy-match/


A 17-year-old umpire has been forced to lock himself in the change rooms to protect himself from an abusive crowd at a game in East Gippsland on the weekend.

Kevin told Neil Mitchell his son wants to give up umpiring after the frightening ordeal during a seniors game between Swan Reach and Buchan in the Omeo District League on Saturday.

“I got a phone call from him during the afternoon, he was in the change rooms and I could tell by his voice he was very emotional,” Kevin said.

“He was scared.

“He told me there was a booing crowd outside and there were police on the way to guard the door.”

But while Victoria Police acknowledge there was an incident at Swan Reach, they say at this stage no formal complaints have been made and they were not called to the match on the day (editor note: the initial reports that police attended this incident were incorrect and the article has been amended).

Kevin said during the second quarter his son awarded a free kick which resulted in a player assaulting another player.

“He red-carded the offending player who refused to get off the ground and went back and assaulted the player again and it turned into quite a large incident,” he said.

“He threw his hands in the air and said game’s off.”

Kevin said the president of one of the clubs stormed onto the ground and began verbally abusing his son, who felt unsafe and spent an hour barricaded inside the change rooms.

“It’s appalling,” he said.

“He wanted to make umpiring a career.

“He said, ‘Dad this is my last game I can’t do this any more’.

“The AFL needs to step in.”

3AW Mornings has contacted the Omeo District League for comment.
 

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List Bizarre/unusual reasons for cancelled/suspended/abandoned games

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