Quorn FA

Football has been played in Quorn since the 1880s with regular matches played against teams from Port Augusta, Hawker, Orroroo, Peterborough, Hammond and many more. Matches were also played internally between the town’s people and the railway employees. In 1894, the Albion club was formed to provide a two team competition with Quorn. Quorn and Albion would often pool their resources when a challenge was issued to play a club from a nearby town.

In 1915, Quorn affiliated with the Port Augusta Football Association and left when that association went into recess with the outbreak of war in 1916. In 1918 the Newcastle Football Association was formed with three Quorn based clubs competing, Imperials, Rovers and Albions, along with a team from Hammond. The only win for Hammond during the entire season was in the semi final. However they arrived for that game with only 15 players and then added three unregistered players to make up the numbers. Imperials protested and the game was ordered to be replayed the following week. Imperials were victors this time by six points after Hammond had been leading at three quarter time.

Hammond transferred to the Mount Remarkable Football Association in 1919 leaving the three Quorn based clubs to continue competition in the renamed Quorn Football Association.

In 1926 a major reorganisation in the railways at Quorn caused huge problems for the association. It was resolved at a meeting of the association to completely restructure the competition. Three clubs were formed, Imperials, Railways and Rovers. An allotment committee of five men was appointed to draft all registered players into three clubs, with each club having a minimum of twenty five members.

Mr Sid Pounsett the proprietor of Quorn’s Grand Junction Hotel donated a trophy for the best and fairest player in the Quorn Football League. In 1953 that trophy was awarded to the veteran Albion star, Paddy Ganley. Paddy had played in Quorn for the previous fifteen seasons and been a model of consistency during that period. He was a player who possessed great skill, read the play exceptionally well and was a strong mark. Paddy was a scrupulously fair player always making the ball his target and a fine example for young footballers to model their game on.