Hoops

Flashback - Woodville Telstars?

Telstars, Port Adelaide and Cheltenham were all (rather large) social basketball clubs competing at St. Clair throughout the sixties and seventies. In the early seventies, with strength of membership and some financial backing, Port Adelaide entered the District Competition. The club had teams in all junior grades, senior women (including Div I District) and senior men up to Metro 'A' (which is Reserves these days) The plan for the Metro 'A' team was to beat either of the teams who finished bottom of the Div I District comp. to gain admission at that level. The teams Port Adelaide did play against for that right simply recruited players from other Clubs, won the challenge and then cleared them straight back. Needless to say, Port Adelaide never cracked the big league and worse still, many very good juniors left Port Adelaide to go to clubs who could offer them a future in Div I. Eventually the club fell apart due mainly to the frustration of developing juniors for other clubs. (In the early days, the club was coached by Danny McLEAVY)
In the early eighties, a Port Adelaide team competed in the senior men's reserves grade under the guidance of Michael AHMATT (playing coach) but it only lasted a couple of seasons. I do recall a Woodville Districts and a Telstars team playing in the same grade at St. Clair but they had nothing to do with Port Adelaide or Woodville. The foundation of the Woodville District Basketball Club was the Cheltenham Basketball Club from St. Clair and more so, Vera CRAIG.