West Adelaide Football Club at the Showground
Snapshot of West Adelaide vs West Torrens at Adelaide Showground (formerly Wayville Showground), Saturday 25th May, 1929
Photo courtesy of Chronicle, Thursday 30th May, 1929.
Besides the Royal Shows, concerts, and festivals, the Adelaide Showground also has a very rich sporting history. Today, Basketball SA calls the Showground home. From the 1930s to the 1970s harness racing was a weekly feature, not to mention the numerous speedway, monster truck, and motorcross events held at the main arena over the years. Many people are unaware, however, that for 13 SANFL seasons between 1927 and 1939, the West Adelaide Football Club made the main arena at the Showground their home. This was not the first time West Adelaide had shared a ground with the RA&HS, having played their home games at Wayville’s RA&HS predecessor, Jubilee Oval, between 1898 and 1906.
West Adelaide’s Wayville stint began on the 30th of April 1927, with the Bloods taking on the previous season’s premiers, Sturt. West Adelaide just missed the finals the previous year, but with their 1926 Magarey Medal winning captain coach, Bruce McGregor at the helm, Westies were looking at a promising 1927. It couldn’t have gotten off to a better start at the Showground, with an estimated 11,000 watching the Bloods beat Sturt by two points in a thriller. The Bloods went on to win the flag that year, with McGregor winning back-to-back Magarey Medals – an excellent beginning to a Showground stint that came to an end with military occupation of the grounds in 1939.
West Adelaide Football Club at the Showground
Snapshot of West Adelaide vs West Torrens at Adelaide Showground (formerly Wayville Showground), Saturday 25th May, 1929
Photo courtesy of Chronicle, Thursday 30th May, 1929.
Besides the Royal Shows, concerts, and festivals, the Adelaide Showground also has a very rich sporting history. Today, Basketball SA calls the Showground home. From the 1930s to the 1970s harness racing was a weekly feature, not to mention the numerous speedway, monster truck, and motorcross events held at the main arena over the years. Many people are unaware, however, that for 13 SANFL seasons between 1927 and 1939, the West Adelaide Football Club made the main arena at the Showground their home. This was not the first time West Adelaide had shared a ground with the RA&HS, having played their home games at Wayville’s RA&HS predecessor, Jubilee Oval, between 1898 and 1906.
West Adelaide’s Wayville stint began on the 30th of April 1927, with the Bloods taking on the previous season’s premiers, Sturt. West Adelaide just missed the finals the previous year, but with their 1926 Magarey Medal winning captain coach, Bruce McGregor at the helm, Westies were looking at a promising 1927. It couldn’t have gotten off to a better start at the Showground, with an estimated 11,000 watching the Bloods beat Sturt by two points in a thriller. The Bloods went on to win the flag that year, with McGregor winning back-to-back Magarey Medals – an excellent beginning to a Showground stint that came to an end with military occupation of the grounds in 1939.
