Slavia in Sunshine?

The six photos discussed here are team shots taken in 1969 by Eddie Ward in Sunshine of a schoolboy soccer team wearing Slavia shirts. They represent two sets of three. The first set is boys and officials; the second is team only.

Initially I was at a loss to know what to make of them. Mark Boric's first response was to query the idea of Sunshine players in a Slavia kit. I agreed. So I developed the fanciful hypothesis that the team was Port Melbourne technical school and the shirts are indicative of a connection between the school and Slavia. But I really had no idea. As could be expected some of the soccer history sleuths of #sokkahtwitter got to work.

Straight off the bat, Jason Calleja suggested that they were taken at Chaplin reserve. Victor Brincat (who would know!) confirmed. Tony Persoglia gets the first box of chocolates though. Turns out that the team was almost certainly Sunshine Heights Slavia, a club which only lasted for two or three seasons. The team is most likely the U 16 team. We should be able to discern some names to attach to some of the individuals in the photos. George Cotsanis contacted his mate Greg Daglis who had played for Sunshine Heights as a youngster. Greg wrote the following response for which I am very grateful:

[Mr Maunder is] the elderly fella standing extreme right. Look I was only a young kid, under/6 there till under/16 and he was there for everyone - with of course others in the background assisting. A huge impact on the juniors, especially our team for 4/5 years in a row was Jim Papashalis, coach, manager, Uber driver. He picked us up, loaded his Falcon with 6/7/8 kids in Sunshine West straight to Castley Reserve, Glengala road. training, game days. A most passionate guy, decent player himself at WSSC. Seriously like a father to us. And then there was Frank Grixti coaching a little later until all the under 16 team then won the Australian championships in Adelaide. We spent a week there living in players' family homes from the club that held the competition (Para Hills soccer club), playing teams from all over the country. Beat everyone! Sunshine Heights, top junior club if not the best, for me anyway. Then all the team ended up at WSSC reserve team, except for Sebastian Italia who went to sunshine city, Peter Wiscneski Polonia, I think with Daniel Bozic.  I won B&S reserves I think in 1974 it was. Turned 16 in May, elevated to the seniors, the rest is history.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this club is that it provides for me at least a kind of missing link between Port Melbourne Slavia and Essendon Slavia, which went on to become Prahran Slavia. 

More to be done.

The following information supplied by Tony Persoglia was copied from the 1969 VSF yearbooks:

SUNSHINE HEIGHTS SLAVIA, U.10, U.12, U.16
Sec.: D. Maunders, 19 Arnold St., Sunshine, 3020. 393 1261 (day).
Ground: Castley Reserve, Glen Gala Rd., Sunshine Heights.
Colours: Shirts, blue, yellow trim; Shorts, white; Socks, red & white.

But it's not until the 1970 yearbook that we learn that the club's change strip is Red and White (ie probably the Slavia kits in the photos below)

Rather than put all 6 images in the article I have just used 4, A long shot and a cropped shot from each set. Note that in both cases the cropped photo is from a different photo from the one above it. If anyone needs to see all photos, get in contact.

I'm grateful to the Footscray Historical Society  for sharing the images with me. If anyone is interested in working at the Society on the Eddie Ward collection contact them through the above link. They are always looking for volunteers.