A dip into the archives

Olympia face possible relegation this weekend, so that prompted a dip into the archives.

It has sometimes been suggested by some observers this season that Olympia should have sent out an SOS to South Melbourne Hellas, for example, for two or three players to help the club out of its predicament.

Back in 1962, the club was striving to win the first division (top tier) championship and half-way through the season were in second place.

They brought two players from Melbourne to bolster their ranks and appointed a new coach in Jim MacKinnon Snr, father of Jim MacKinnon, the former Metro president.

MacKinnon had played for Partick Thistle in Scotland and had also served as Tasmania’s coach.

The two imports were S Salapasides, a forward, and V Hazigeorgiou, a half-back.

The former returned to Melbourne without playing a game, while the latter played a few games and left.

Olympia slowly fell down the ladder and finished in mid-table, which wasn’t bad for a club that had only been formed the previous year and was in the top flight for the first time.

That was also the year that the ABC televised league matches live from South Hobart.

The ABC paid the Tasmanian Soccer Association the princely sum of 20 pounds ($40) a year for the privilege.

They also paid the Tasmanian Soccer Federation 20 pounds that year to televise the interstate match between Tasmania and South Australia, which was won 6-2 by the visitors.

Also in 1962, the TSA decided to give linesmen, as they were then called, a 100 per cent pay increase, to one pound ($2) for a senior game.

Referees earned two pounds ($4) a game at senior level.

For reserves matches, referees earned one pound and ten shillings ($3) per game, while linesmen were paid 15 shillings ($1.50).

Life was quite tough for officials that year, with several being assaulted in first division matches. There were about 45 send-offs and at least two walk-offs by top-flight teams.

One referee was suspended until he chose to reveal who had offered him a bribe so that a particular team would win an important match by at least two goals.

He had initially let the cat out of the bag by announcing that he had been offered a bribe, so perhaps he should have just shut up.

Things are quiet these days in comparison to the tumultuous early 1960s.

Oh, and just as a matter of interest, in 1965, Olympia paid their players. The sport in Tasmania at that time was semi-professional.

First-team players were paid 3 pound five shillings for a win ($6.50), one pound 15 shillings for a draw ($3.50) and one pound five shillings for a loss ($2.50).