Games were once played at smaller inner suburban grounds .

Collingwood , played at Victoria Park , Carlton ,at Princes Park , and  South Melbourne at Lakeside Oval.  North Melbourne played at Arden St , and Fitzroy , at Brunswick St Oval .Windy Hill was home to Essendon and the Punt Rd Oval housed Richmond , with Hawthorn at home in Glenferrie Oval ( the " sardine can ") .

Fans often walked , rode a bike or caught the tram / train, short distances , to these matches in their football jumpers, jerseys , guernseys.

Big crowds and big money have made these grounds obsolete.

Victoria Park languishes but was recently used as a prop for a TV series .
Princes Park has been redeveloped as a training facility for the Blues and is also home to a merchandise shop and office .

The Fitzroy Oval hosts VAFA local football , with a team that plays in the traditional,Fitzroy strip.Windy Hill is Essendon's, admin , training and spiritual home , as is the Punt Rd Oval for the Tigers.

Arden St, is the training and admin base for the Kangaroos,  and Lakeside Oval is a reception centre and home to local soccer side . Glenferrie Oval, is open public space .

The AFL"S , 70's white elephant , Waverley Park , is now home to residential housing , the notorious carpark buried under townhouses.

Big stadiums like Etihad at the Docklands and Melbourne's iconic MCG are home to weekend AFL Clashes.

Fans go in their thousands wearing their football jumpers, jerseys , guernseys to watch their beloved teams play on the big stage.

Vintage Jumper worn to the " Sardine Can " matches

Many football clubs play in Amateur Leagues and Competitions.

It could be the local under 10 school based team .eg St Josephs primary school side, Premiers 1998, who play in all blue with yellow V colours .

Older youths play in District Teams.eg SMDC . South Melbourne Districts Club, who play in the red and white and have a Swans Mascot .

Areas form their own teams and play in amateur leagues eg St Kilda City , who play in the Southern Football League .For decades they have fielded local teams at all levels junior through to senior .They play out of the famous Peanut Farm Reserve in St Kilda and wear the red , white and black jumper , jersey , guernsey with a Saint mascot and shield.

Women have their own League. In Victoria it is the VWFL and is growing . St Kilda Sharks is a womens team that also plays out of the Peanut Farm Reserve in St Kilda and wear the red , white and black of their AFL counterparts.

The iconic colours mark a team , an area , a district and a competition .

Amateur or elite team the club colours of the jumper , jersey , guernsey are worn with pride and passion .

bombers colours

go Dees

Old style football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys are sought by many.

Fans , players of AFL football and collectors everywhere want to wear them, buy them or keep them .

They are generally the woollen or wool mix , knitted , long sleeve variety with button up front or V neck .It often has a club name sewn on front and number sewn on back .The jumper may simply be a colour combination that dates it as belonging to a certain club or dating from a particular era.

The purchaser may be a parent who wants to dress their baby in the jumper they wore as a child or something similiar to it .

These older style jumpers are enjoying a renaissance in their twilight years as collectors world wide hanker for the old school team jumper they played in, or their teams old strip .

Amateur teams who want to get together for a friday night game after work all want to wear them .Kids at the game who play kick to kick after the match want them.

These jumpers were often plastered in unfashionable sponsors logos for tobacco companies and breweries. They can be dated from a period by the sponsors logo , its age , and whether the company still exists. Often the sponsors logo will add to the value of the jumper and make it more highly prized .

The old style jumpers , jerseys , guernseys are much sort after and collectors and fans alike will pay a high price to secure a much coveted item .Old Fitzroy Lions and South Melbourne or Footscray jumpers are in great demand.

A woolly jumper usually tells a story , has a history and can often evoke a fond memory from the most ardent fan. Today they can be enshrined under glass to preserve them .

It would appear that the old style footy jumper will only grow in popularity as time goes by .

They can become part of yours and AFL history. Get grandpa , Uncle Cyril or cousin Roy to get it out from under the bed or down from the attic and wear it with pride . You might be surprised with the comments it gets and the offers you are made !

vintage

like dad wore