SA Footy

Article in yesterday's fishwrap, Mon May 18 2020, page 38, titled "The Way We Were".

Quotes an article published on May 22 1970.

"The big V is a feature of the new-look North Adelaide guernsey which the club hopes to use for the first time against West Adelaide tomorrow.
...
The jumper is the same as the Victorian big V except that where Victoria's is navy blue, North's is red."

The accompanying picture shows Bob Hammond and Bob Shearman (!) modelling the new guernsey - which clearly sports a big letter V, complete with serifs - holding up an old guernsey, which is a "yoke" style V (over the shoulders).

I have often wondered - why did North adopt a letter V? It seems fanciful to think this was a nod to the old Victorian club, forerunner of the modern day Roosters. So why a letter, distinct from a yoke?

Pseudo wrote:Article in yesterday's fishwrap, Mon May 18 2020, page 38, titled "The Way We Were".

Quotes an article published on May 22 1970.

"The big V is a feature of the new-look North Adelaide guernsey which the club hopes to use for the first time against West Adelaide tomorrow.
...
The jumper is the same as the Victorian big V except that where Victoria's is navy blue, North's is red."

The accompanying picture shows Bob Hammond and Bob Shearman (!) modelling the new guernsey - which clearly sports a big letter V, complete with serifs - holding up an old guernsey, which is a "yoke" style V (over the shoulders).

I have often wondered - why did North adopt a letter V? It seems fanciful to think this was a nod to the old Victorian club, forerunner of the modern day Roosters. So why a letter, distinct from a yoke?

Firstly Victorians were not a forerunner of the modern day North Adelaide. The current day North Adelaide had their origins with the Medindie football club, who for a season or two were opponents of the Victorian "North Adelaide", which then folded.
Secondly North never wore a Yoke. Their guernsey always had a V since the 1920s, it was just that it was higher on the guernsey. Glenelg, Norwood and Woodville all wore Yokes on their guernsey's for a time in the 1960s, but not North.
In May 1970, Victoria played SA at the Adelaide Oval and a prominent O'Connell Street car dealer of the time was so taken with the powerful image of the Big V guernsey which seemingly made the Victorians bullet proof, that he thought North would look more powerful with the V further down. He therefore bought the club a set of these new guernseys together with a set of matching dressing gowns!
Coincidentally my High School, whose colours were Royal Blue and white changed from the high V to the Big V later in 1970 and I can guarantee we thought that we were Bullet Proof. At least for us it worked until the Grand Final.
Bob Shearman was modelling the guernsey because he worked for the prominent Car Dealer at the time.