North Adelaide celebrates 100 years at Prospect

South Australian football history will be re-created this weekend when North Adelaide Football Club commemorates its 100^th year at Prospect Oval on Sunday, May 8.

Exactly 100 years to the day after North Adelaide hosted Glenelg in the first SANFL League game to be played at Prospect Oval, North will again host the Tigers in Round 6 of the Hostplus SANFL League.

To mark the occasion, North Adelaide will wear heritage jumpers which are replicas of those worn in that first match a century ago in 1922.

North Adelaide Chief Executive Craig Burton said it was only fitting that the club play its 100^th anniversary game at Prospect against Glenelg.

“Not only is the first game at Prospect Oval between North Adelaide and Glenelg etched in history, but the rivalry between these sides goes back a long way,” Burton said.

“The legendary grand finals of 1973 and then the 1985, ‘86 and ‘87 Grand Finals will be well remembered by many and show just how competitive these two clubs are when playing against each other in big games.”

North Adelaide entered the South Australian Football Association (now SANFL) in 1888, as the Medindie FC, but changed its name to North Adelaide in 1893.

During the period 1888 to 1921, the Club utilised various ovals in the north-east and east of Adelaide as its home ground, but in 1921 finalised negotiations with Prospect Council to have the then-called Prospect Recreation Ground as its permanent home ground.

A grandstand was completed at the oval in March 1922 and was named the Prospect War Memorial Pavilion in memory of those who lost their lives in World War 1, with the club’s first home game for the 1922 season played on May 8 against Glenelg.

The 100^th anniversary SANFL match at Prospect Oval is part of the official program for South Australia’s History Festival.