1961-: During a long and hard season of 22 games Sandringham won 14 and lost 8, finishing the year in third spot. The Anzac day clash with Moorabbin was played at the MCG, the first VFA game to be played at the "G" In the first semi-final Sandringham went down by 17 points to Williamstowm.
Ladder Position 4th.
1962-: Mr. Ian Mackenzie was appointed President, Neil Bencraft was coach for the fifth year and Fred Webster was Captain. After the 18 home and away game the Club finished in second spot with 13 wins and a draw. In the second semi-final Sandringham went down to Moorabbin by 36 points and had to face Coburg in the preliminary. With a vastly re-arranged side they defeated Coburg by 33 points to set the stage for the grand final. As in the second semi-final Sandringham were able to keep with Moorabbin till half time, however, a six goal to nil third term gave Moorabbin a 44 point lead going into the last quarter. Sandringham, with its never say die attitude, found its form and stormed home to beat Moorabbin by a point for the Clubs second ever flag.
Ladder Position 1st.
1963-: Following the retirement of non-playing coach Neil Bencraft, Keith Burns, the 1962 Liston Trophy winner was appointed as playing coach for the season. Sandringham opened the season with five straight win and was sitting confidently on top until it dropped the last two games to finish the season in second position. The Zebras went down to Moorabbin by eight points in the second semi but regrouped to defeat Yarraville by 40 point in the preliminary. In the grand final Sandringham could not reproduce the '62 finish and fell to Moorabbin 9.13.67 to 19.16.130.
Ladder Position 2nd.
1964-: Again Sandringham played eighteen home-and-away games, scoring thirteen wins and five losses to finish in third place. In the semi-final at Port Melbourne the Zebras put in a dismal performance in going down to Coburg by 49 points.
Ladder Position 4th.
1965-: Barry Harrison in his second year with club was appointed Captain-Coach. The Club lost the first match to Oakleigh then won seven straight, but only won five of the last ten games to finish in fourth position. The Zebras put in a poor performance in the first semi and were easily defeated by Port Melbourne by 47 points.
Ladder Position 4th.
1966-: The difficulty was in raising sufficient funds over recent years to ensure success; the solution appeared to lie in transferring activities to the St. Kilda Cricket Ground which had become available. It took along time for the players to adjust their style of play to suit the bigger ground and could manage to win only two of the first six games. During the latter half of the season the team recovered to win four of the last five games but fifth place was the best they could achieve.
Ladder Position 5th.
1967-: Following the sudden and unexpected cancellation by the St. Kilda Cricket Club of the agreement for Sandringham to play on the Fitzroy Street oval, the Zebras moved back to Beach Oval. Although the pre-season practice matches indicated the Zebras would again be among the leaders, they made a poor start and won only one of the first four games. In winning the last five home and away games the Club finished in third position. Sandringham defeated Preston by 10 points in the First semi but were beaten by Dandenong (the eventual premiers) by 19 points in the prelim.
Ladder Position 3rd.
1968-: Sandringham again finished in third spot with twelve wins. The Zebras played the same teams in the finals as in '67 however this time they defeated Dandenong by 48 points in the semi and lost to Preston by 28 in the prelim.
Ladder Position 3rd.
1969-: An excellent start to the season saw the Zebras sitting at the top of the ladder, winning nine of the first ten games. Then came a crop of injuries and they could manage to win only four of the last eight games. In the first semi-final the Zebras succumbed to Port Melbourne by 20 points.
Ladder Position 4th.
1970-: Former Zebra centre-half forward Graeme Clarke was appointed coach replacing Barry Harrison who was forced to retire due to work commitments. Sandringham had a mixed season winning six of the first seven but only five of the last eleven matches and failed to make the finals for only the second time in the last 12 years.
Ladder Position 6th.
1971-: For the second successive year, the Club appointed a new Coach, this time Neil Busse was given the responsibility of trying to capture that elusive flag. At the end of the home and away season, the Club finished in fourth position with ten wins. As in '67 and '68 they got through the first semi but failed in the prelim. defeating Oakleigh by 26 points and losing to Preston by 14.
Ladder Position 3rd.
1972-: For only the second time in nine years, the Zebras won their opening game. Port Melbourne who boasted such illustrious champions as Ron Barassi and Bob Skilton were the victims at the Beach Oval. Future captain Ian Cooper joined the Zebras after round five and in his ten games for the season racked up a tally of 64 goals. Injuries plagued the team throughout the season and they could manage only eight wins.
Ladder Position 7th.
1973-: The expected rise up the ladder was not forthcoming, the Club finished in eighth position winning only seven games. The biggest victory for the season came on May 5th. The Council held a referendum among the rate payers, following a formidable objection, to the building of new club rooms, by rate payers representing the conservationists, who wanted the area to revert to its original state of scrub parkland. Highlight of the season was the 104 goals kicked by Ian Cooper, making him the third Zebra to break the 100 goal barrier.
Ladder Position 8th.
1974-: Neil Bencraft was once again appointed as coach, returning after a 11 year break. The Club again started the season badly, their first win coming in round seven, when they defeated Prahran by 2 points. Their only other wins were Caulfield, Rd. 10, 1 point; Geelong West, Rd. 11, 12 points; Oakleigh, Rd. 13, 10 points; Sunshine, Rd. 14, 20 points.
Ladder Position 8th.
1975-: On April 27th in a gala atmosphere, the seemingly impossible dream had come to fruition, when the new Club rooms and Social Club were opened. The Club's quest for a playing coach finally resulted in Fitzroy veteran Kevin Murray being appointed Captain Coach for a three year term. The Club won their opening game at Preston, recording only their second win there in twelve years. After two wins and two well contested losses, the Club slumped to be a definite relegation prospect together with Williamstown. The issue was finally resolved in round 15 when the Zebras defeated Williamstown by 49 points. Again the Club won only five games.
Ladder Position 9th.
1976-: After a disastrous '75, the recruiting committee set to out to bolster the Clubs playing personnel by attracting the likes of, Denis Clark, Mal Owen, Terry Wilkins ( all from Melbourne), Alf Beus (Sth. Melb.), David Pledger (St. Kilda), Ray Goold (1974 Liston trophy winner from Sunshine) and Geoff Simpson (Camberwell). As a result of gaining such a wealth of football talent, it was natural for the Committee to be optimistic enough to suggest that the Club would be contesting the flag. This did not eventuate and on August 15th the Zebras played Oakleigh in what is now referred to as "The Relegation Game." After many brawls both inside (between player) and outside (between spectators) the fence, the Zebras emerged victorious and once again avoided relegation with a total once again of five wins.
Ladder Position 9th.
1977-: With a new President, John Borthwick and a new Coach Darrell Mackenzie (both very much Sandringham people), a new era started for the Sandringham Football Club. The Zebras added Rod Coelli, Tony Franklin and Greg Miller (all from Sth. Melbourne) to their player list. At the start of the season it was only a dream that the Club could make the finals after a series of poor seasons fighting relegation. Not only did they make the finals but finished second and never lost a home game. The second semi final resulted in a 51 point victory to Port Melbourne. The preliminary final against Coburg was a tight battle with the Zebras holding on to win by 11 points. In one of the most one sided Grand Finals for years, Port Melbourne's pace and teamwork easily defeated Sandringham by 100 points.
Ladder Position 2nd.
1978-: Sandringham had every reason to look forward to the new season with confidence, adding Max Robertson (Sth. Melb.), Frank Giampaolo and Graeme Osborne (Melbourne) to their list. However after losing to Preston in round 13, the Zebras lost their spot in the four and never regained it, finishing with eight wins.
Ladder position 8th.
1979-: Following the retirement of Darrell Macxkenzie as Coach, former champion rover Peter Hogan was appointed Coach and Denis Clark as captain. Due to a severe run of injuries, by the half way mark of the season , the Zebras were once again staring relegation in the face. With true Zebra spirit the Club fought back and finished the year on a very high note, winning five of the last six games, making a total of eight for the season. The seriousness of the injury situation is indicated in the fact that B&F winner Graeme Osborne missed eight games through injury!
Ladder Position 8th.
1980-: The Club lured Rex Hunt out of retirement to fill the full forward position and he proved his worth scoring 6.4 from eleven shots at goal against Prahran in the first match. The Zebras stormed home in the last half of the season winning seven of the last eight games. In the final round they still had to defeat Geelong West at Sandy to secure a place in the four. After trailing by 15 point at the third break the Zebras over ran Geelong West scoring 7.1 to 1.2 in the last term and secured a place in the finals. Geelong west studied the previous game very carefully and realised that if they could stop Rex Hunt, they could stop Sandringham. This they did to perfection. John Scarlett kept Hunt to one goal (his 93rd for the season) and the Zebras were defeated by 32 points.
Ladder position 4th.
Last Modified on 29/04/2005 16:05