Bayside Soccer League
We’ve Come A Long Way

Conception of the BAYSIDE SOCCER LEAGUE now titled BAYSIDE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION in 2007 began in August, 1977. The brainchild of TONY HALL whose love of soccer/football has been with him all his life. He saw a need to promote the game on the MORNINGTON PENINSULA. The small amount of clubs that were scattered mainly in the FRANKSTON DISTRICT could never cater for everybody who wanted to play the round ball game. The ruling body of soccer/football in VICTORIA also had high charges for clubs to be a part of their association, so TONY decided the way to go was a completely new league to be run by volunteers and charges to be in the league kept at a minimum, profit was not to be the gain but the sport would be the one to benefit. TONY sounded out the local junior clubs would they be interested in having a senior side. Over his many years of playing the game he had found many friends who were still looking for a game, but it would not be training twice a week and everything else involved in playing at a higher level.
A sit down meeting in the HALL household with some soccer enthusiasts saw the very beginnings however in less than a week all at the first meeting pulled out.

So promoting the league again had to occur over again at all the local senior and junior clubs and out of this BILL MORREY became a staunch ally. President of the SEAFORD Junior Club BILL was as enthusiastic sometimes more so than TONY.

Not to be outdone TONY arranged a SECOND meeting at the SEAFORD SCOUT HALL some weeks later. The meeting addressed by TONY and BILL drew much response from those present. Seaford put in two sides NORTH SEAFORD and BELVEDERE, two teams made up of TONY's friends created SKYE and CARRUM and later to join BOTANY PARK.

The stumbling block was to be the VICTORIAN SOCCER FEDERATION (VSF) who did not like the idea of a "rebel" league. Club's who were members of the VSF were politely told they could not put a third team in the league and to be associated with the VSF. FRANKSTON CITY now defunct took a chance and played a third side as MT ELIZA, as did ROSEBUD who played thirds as DROMANA. KARINGAL UNITED had intended to enter a side but caved into pressure. BOB McINTOSH who was KARINGAL's President had been elected as BAYSIDE's President however he was forced to withdraw, BILL MORREY the leader he was stepped in and was to hold this position for many years to come and as many say the "GRAND OLD MAN of the LEAGUE".

It had taken over six months for all the groundwork to be done, the seeds had been sown and as TONY will tell you to this day the continued success of the league was based on these months of trials and tribulations.
APRIL 3rd 1978 was due to be the start of the league however VSF again came into the picture and it was to be the 10th before the season started seven teams were the initial members.
The trophies were up for grabs, the SAFEWAY BAYSIDE SHIELD and the radio station 3MP based in FRANKSTON put up a Cup for competition. TONY HALL had convinced both organisations and he had been successful.

SKYE was to have a disasterous start, with the season less than three weeks old on of their players DAVID BONOR was to die tragically. Whilst on a holiday in WESTERN AUSTRALIA with his family his car collided in the early morning with a kangaroo and all but one of the family died. SAFEWAY was approached and agreed the shield should be renamed the SAFEWAY DAVID BONOR SHIELD.
The season went well. The League and Cup were both close competitions to the end.
North Seaford became the first League winners, with Mt Eliza holding them until the final two rounds.
The 3MP Cup Final held at North Seaford Reserve attracted a crowd nearly three hundred and fifty people with the teams led out by a pipe band.
Disc Jockey PHIL O'BRIEN of 3MP presented captain BRIAN SUMMERFIELD of the NAVY with the Cup after they had stopped NORTH SEAFORD'S aspirations of the double with a 3 - 2 victory after extra time.

The league is now celebrating THIRTY YEARS of competitive competition, over these years its wings have spread, many clubs unable to compete in the VSF due to the high costs have joined the league and have proved successful clubs in the competition, these clubs many kilometres away from the PENINSULA have all added something to the mix.

Many people have been and are responsible for the continued success of the league, names too many to mention but JOHN HESKINS, BARRY FEARN, PETER RUSHTON, DARRYL KENNEDY and STAN PACKER all deserve mention, to the others we salute all you have done for the round ball game.
What of the league today, it consists of a PREMIER LEAGUE (10 teams) and its RESERVES (10 teams), a DIVISION 1 (10 teams), DIVISION 2 (10 teams), a VETERAN LEAGUE (10 teams) and in 2006 introduced a LADIES DIVISION (12 teams), and perhaps above all its SUB JUNIOR section certainly for girls and boys from U6 to U10 prior to going into the VICTORIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION (VFF). The attitude of the VFF has changed to accepting the BAYSIDE ASSOCIATION not as an enemy but as a promoter of the round ball game.

So here's to the future, how many clubs will enter the ranks of BAYSIDE in the next thirty years, we hope all will enjoy the experience as have the FEDERATION.

Early Bayside Sticker
2006 Presidents Report
2007 Presidents Report