A Trip Down Memory Lane: Glebe

In our newest article entitled "A Trip Down Memory Lane" we will be looking back at the clubs that are no longer in the premiership. From the Newtown Jets to the South Queensland Crushers, I'll dissect their history. Each week I'll give some basic history of the club, premierships, famous players, home ground and any other interesting facts surrounding the club. If you, the fans have any other ideas for me to explore then please let me know.

Let's kick the show off with the first team on "A Trip Down Memory Lanë".

Glebe
Founded: 1908
Exited Competition: 1929
Premierships: 0
Minor Premierships: 1 (1911)
Runners Up: 4 (1911, 1912, 1915, 1921)
Nickname: The Dirty Reds

History: Glebe were the first Rugby League Club to be formed in Australia. In January 1908 the club was founded and two months later they played in their first competitive match, a 8-5 over Newcastle at Wentworth Oval in front of 3,000 intrigued spectators. Glebe had been identified as an area of growth being just a little west of the City's CBD. Glebe already had a Rugby team that had been admitted into the First Grade Rugby Scene at the turn of the century. In their first year they won all three grades and proceeded to win 3 more First Grade competitions in the next 7 years.

Many fans had grown tired of Rugby and were intrigued in the then "breakaway" Rugby League Sport. With the backing of the locals the club was founded and would play out of local Wentworth Oval (which they did for the entirety of their stay in the NSWRL).

In their opening season Glebe matched it with fellow foundation clubs South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs. They finished third in the competition with 7 wins from 9 games, however they bowed out against eventual premiers Souths to the tune of 16-3.

1911 was arguably the "Dirty Reds" most successful year. They took out the minor premiership after finishing the year with 11 wins and only 3 defeats. They also made it to the Grand Final but lost in the last 10 minutes 11-8 to a much more fancied Eastern Suburbs side.

They mirrored their 1911 form in 1912 by again going 11-3 through 14 rounds. However, the NSWRL had changed the rules to a "First Past The Post" rule, meaning that Eastern Suburbs who had a splendid year losing only 1 game, took out the premiership and Glebe were again left to settle for a runners up prize.

Three years later Glebe again went agonizingly close to their first premiership. Balmain won the competition by 2 points in 1915 after going through the season undefeated, Glebe who had only lost 2 of their 14 games could have felt hard done by, but in the end had to settle for their 3rd runners up prize in 5 seasons.

Glebe came close to success in 1921, however poor form in the last 3 gams of the season ultimately cost them their chance of that elusive premiership.

By the mid to late 1920's Sydney was growing and despite this, crowds had started to dip significantly for Glebe. The lack of money in the Glebe club was also a concern. The retirement of star player Frank Burge at the end of 1922 had an adverse affect on crowds and eventually in 1929 they were voted out of the NSWRL by a vote of 13-12. Rumors circulated that Souths and Balmain had formed a pact to get rid of Glebe to shore up their catchment areas and local juniors, however this is unsubstantiated. In their final game Glebe drew 24-24 with North Sydney to end a tumultuous 1929 season. In total throughout their 21 years in the NSWRL Glebe finished with 163 wins, 6 draws and 128 losses in 297 games. At their home ground Wentworth Oval they amassed 86 wins from 129 games at a win ratio of 68% a superb record that even sides today would be jealous of.

Famous Players: When Glebe is mentioned in the inner sanctum of Rugby League venues the first name that springs to mind is Frank Burge. For someone that played his career through the 1910's and 20's Burge was a man way before his time. He was a dedicated sportsman who was way ahead of his time in observing a strict diet, he used coaching concepts familiar in modern sports psychology and upheld an all-year training regime that continued right through the long Sydney summer off-season.

As professional as a sportsman as he was, Burge was better known for his incredibly talent on the football field. In 149 games for Glebe he scored 137 tries and added 50 goals. At 93 kg and equally effective anywhere in the forwards from lock to prop, he had the speed of a back to complement his strength and an anticipation that made him a support player without peer. Burge is widely regarded as the greatest forward to ever play our great game. He holds the record for most tries in a match with 8 (a record likely to never be broken). He also led the try scoring lists for 1915, 1916 and 1918. In 1920 he was the leading point scorer for the season. His 511 points are the most by any Glebe player.

Not content with just being a superb footballer, Burge plied his trade as a coach in the NSWRL for 20 years (1927-47). Coaching St George, Eastern Suburbs, Norths (twice), Canterbury, Newtown and finally Wests. He compiled 101 wins in 163 games. He made two grand finals with St George and also never missed the semi finals with any team he coached. Including Canterbury in 1936 (just their 2nd year in the competition).

Burge sadly passed away in 1958 of a heart attack. In 2004 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame. He was also voted one of Australia's 100 greatest players in 2008.

That's all for this week folks. Make sure to check back in next week to see what team will next appear.

Hint: They had the shortest run of any club in Australian Rugby League.

Stay Awesome!