SA Footy

Do any of my fellow researchers/historians have (or know where there is) a list of O'Halloran Trophy winners?
This award seems to be something of a forgotten award when it comes to the SANFL but from what I can gather it is at least the equal of the Fos Williams Medal (the winners of which are well documented).
I've been doing some research into trophy and awards that North players have won and Barrie Barbary, Don Gilbourne(1957) and Lyle Griffen (1952) have all won this trophy.

It must be a forgotten award, because I have never heard of it myself.

Yeah - awarded to SA's best player in state players in years gone by - not sure if it was handed out on a consistent basis?

Off the top of myhead, I know Harold McDonald and Peter Woite have received this award.

Possibly John Cahill as well.

Will see if I can hunt down those years...

Apparently James Taylor (Norwood) won the O'Halloran Trophy for SA against Victoria in 1955, but up until now I never knew what it was for

Magpiespower wrote:Yeah - awarded to SA's best player in state players in years gone by - not sure if it was handed out on a consistent basis?
Off the top of myhead, I know Harold McDonald and Peter Woite have received this award.

Possibly John Cahill as well.

Will see if I can hunt down those years...

Ah! That is an interesting point. That would explain a lot. Interesting that you think Peter Woite won one as I can't recall a big deal being made of it in the 1970's (when Woite would have won it).

This one's got me jiggered. This trophy is one that has been shrouded in secrecy by the looks of things. I've spent an hour going back through Football Budgets of state games and read reports of matches from the 1890s, 1920s, 1940s, 1950s, etc ... not one mention of the O'Halloran Trophy. Anyone know who the trophy was named after? That may give us a clue as to what it was awarded for?

Sorry .. sent twice

Tom O'Halloran is a past SANFL President (1926-1939).

Relying on my hazy memory here, but I think either the Tomkins or the McCallum Medal might have originally been called the O'Halloran Medal.

Could very well be wrong but for some reason that sticks in the back of my mind.

This is Lyle Griffen recieving his O'Halloran Trophy (looks like a tea set) after the 1952 state game against Victoria. Tom Hill (Secretary of the SANFL) is the gentleman presenting it.
He was also runner up to Len Fitzgerald in the 1952 Magarey Medal.
This originally appeared in the 1952 Annual Report and was reprinted in the 1952 (50th anniversary) commerative booklet

I just checked details of the 1952 state match against Victoria in which Lyle Griffen was awarded the O'Halloran Trophy. SA won that match by 17 points and John Marriott was generally regarded as Best on Ground, Griffen rated 7th best player.

However, here's where it gets interesting. Right at the end of the report it read the following, "Griffin was awarded the vote of the Victorian officials the trophy for the best South Australian player. No doubt they were inspired by his silencing of their star wingman Merrett".

So there you have it. Although it didn't mention the name, it would appear the O'Halloran Trophy was awarded to South Australia's best player accrding to Victorian Officials. Now if I could only find a list of winners somewhere.

This could possibly explain the 1955 winner Jim Taylor. He only played one season for Norwood, 1955. That was in the middle of a career for South Melbourne spanning 1949 to 1961. He was a brilliant player and a regular Victorian representative, so the Victorian officials would have been very familiar with him.

Adelaide Hawk wrote:I just checked details of the 1952 state match against Victoria in which Lyle Griffen was awarded the O'Halloran Trophy. SA won that match by 17 points and John Marriott was generally regarded as Best on Ground, Griffen rated 7th best player.

However, here's where it gets interesting. Right at the end of the report it read the following, "Griffin was awarded the vote of the Victorian officials the trophy for the best South Australian player. No doubt they were inspired by his silencing of their star wingman Merrett".
So there you have it. Although it didn't mention the name, it would appear the O'Halloran Trophy was awarded to South Australia's best player accrding to Victorian Officials. Now if I could only find a list of winners somewhere.

This could possibly explain the 1955 winner Jim Taylor. He only played one season for Norwood, 1955. That was in the middle of a career for South Melbourne spanning 1949 to 1961. He was a brilliant player and a regular Victorian representative, so the Victorian officials would have been very familiar with him.

From a write up on Don Gilbourne in The Advertiser.....

Gilbourne fought his way back into league ranks, lost form and was “discarded” but came back again in 1955 as a wingman.
A lucky transfer to defence transformed this erstwhile forward into one of the State’s most dependable back pocketmen.
Two years later he gained SA selection in that position and won the Victorian trophy for SA’s best player.

So Victorian officials nominated who was the best South Australian in their opinion. That's interesting.

Leaping Lindner wrote:So Victorian officials nominated who was the best South Australian in their opinion. That's interesting.

It's an interesting concept. Years ago I was playing coach for a basketball club, and the committee wanted me to cast votes each week for the best player on a 3-2-1 basis. As I still playing I thought it inappropriate to give votes, so I asked the opposition coach to award them. My theory was the opposition coach knew who our most effective players were as they had spent all night trying to minimise their effectiveness.

Wonder if West Australian and Tasmanian officials, as well as other state officials, did the same?

Or if it was restricted to SA v Vic?

jeez i remember a basketball team i played for in which a few future AFL players played in .. we all voted on B&F and one player always slipped in one vote for himself....

this basketball team has had 3 AFL players one who was a premiership player and his brother also played AFL footy .

magpiespower any guesses on this team ....

No idea.

This should get a mention in the next SA Football Media guide as a bit of trivia - I doubt many people would know much (if at all) about it.

Magpiespower wrote:Yeah - awarded to SA's best player in state players in years gone by - not sure if it was handed out on a consistent basis?

Off the top of myhead, I know Harold McDonald and Peter Woite have received this award.

Possibly John Cahill as well.

Will see if I can hunt down those years...

Just found an article that says Harold McDonald won it in 1954.

Magpiespower wrote: Peter Woite received this award.

Peter Woite was universally regarded as SA's best player in the state match played at Adelaide Oval on a Wednesday Adelaide Cup day holiday in May, 1970. He was only 17 yeas of age at the time. If he was awarded the O'Halloran trophy it would have been for that match and it would have been about the last time it was awarded.

I can remember a big deal being made of it when Barrie Barbary won it in 1963 - of course everything about that game was a big deal, but I don't remember any subsequent awards. Barbary was definitely chosen as best player by the Victorian selectors. There was some discussion as to whether Barbay or Bill Wedding, who dominated the rucks was actually SA's best player.

If John Cahill won the award as well as Barrie Barbary it would have of course meant that the award was won by two first cousins. What a shame that Cahill didn't also win a Magarey medal. IMHO he remains the best footballer I have ever seen not to win a medal, but I guess I digress.

Magpiespower wrote:Yeah - awarded to SA's best player in state players in years gone by - not sure if it was handed out on a consistent basis?

Don't you mean awarded to SA's best player in state games.