May 17, is of great significance to footy lovers. Not that many of us know about it. On May 17, 1859, at the Parade Hotel, in Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, four men from the committee of the fledgling Melbourne Football Club (and maybe the publican) nutted out the first rules of football as it was to be played in the Australian way.

Although it has benefited from many other influences since — the Irish influence, the indigenous influence, the local influence — football as we know it is linked to this meeting. This date is barely known because a different foundation myth exists. Over the years, the public memory has been consumed by the events of August 7, 1858 — the so-called first game of Australian rules football, between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School in the Richmond Paddock. The AFL chose this date as the focus of its 150th anniversary celebrations last year, a logical follow-on from the centenary celebrations of 1958.

That game retains a symbolic significance. But historians tell us it wasn't even the first game — football matches (ad hoc games played by a variety of rules) had been played in the colony for years, and football-like matches had been played in indigenous communities for generations. When it comes to football celebrating a single day, May 17, 1859, is far more appropriate. It was the day when Australian football was codified; the day influential men of football agreed on specific laws. These laws were publicised and gained currency.

In cities and towns, when the instigators of football clubs decided on the rules by which their clubs would play, many chose the rules prescribed by this meeting and further meetings of the Melbourne Football Club committee. Of course, clubs modified the rules as well, and the laws inherited local quirks. While details of the meeting itself are sketchy, quite a lot is known about the characters involved, and about the rise of football around that time.

In 1858 a push to make football more organised led to the formation of the Melbourne Football Club. The problem was, depending on their backgrounds, and the schools they had attended, its members understood football to be played under a variety of rules. This needed to be sorted out. On May 14, 1859, after a practice match within the club, players elected a committee. Four committee members met at Jerry Bryant's Wellington Parade pub. Bryant was not on the committee, but he was a sportsman. He had played as a professional for Surrey Cricket Club in England and been involved in the Surrey Football Club, which had its own rules.

William Hammersley was a local journalist. He had played cricket as a gentleman amateur with Bryant at Surrey. The illegitimate son of a prosperous Englishman, he had attended Trinity College, Cambridge. James Thompson had also been at Trinity. A journalist, he wrote for the Ballarat Times before becoming theatre critic for The Melbourne Morning Herald. Tom Smith was present as well. Known as "Red" and later as "Football" Smith, he was the classics master at Scotch. He had played in the August 7 match. The son of a Protestant merchant, he had grown up in Ireland and studied at Trinity College Dublin. Gaelic football had not been codified at that time. The final committee member at the meeting was Tom Wills (pictured), Australian born, and educated at Rugby. Having returned from England, he had built a reputation as a cricketer and a character. He was loved by Melbourne crowds.

Accounts of the meeting differ. Hammersley claimed Wills wanted football played by Rugby rules, but the others thought such rules were too specific to Rugby. It seems discussion would have focused on topics such as how rough the contest should be, when the ball could be handled and how the ball was to be returned to play? The meeting outlawed hacking: the custom of kicking opponents in the shins. It also prevented a player from picking the ball up; he could only handle it when marking a kick. Until mavericks ignored the rule, players could not run with the ball (as was the case at Cambridge but not at Rugby). It was a game of kicking and scrimmaging.

The limited number and scope of the rules made the game ill-defined, and the sizeable gaps gave football room to develop. This committee met from time to time in 1859 and later years to discuss and modify the rules. Its rules became known as the Melbourne rules, and while it is unlikely they were universally prescriptive, they were certainly influential. Other forms of football were codified and won disciples. But many stayed with the local game. From then until today, the rules have been organic, changing according to the desires of the footy community.

So this is an important day, when two journalists, a teacher and a sporting hero sat down in Jerry Bryant's pub to codify over a few beers a game to which they were attracted. The handwritten document survives, found in a tin chest in 1980 by Bill Gray, then the curator of the MCC Museum.

Article courtesy of RealFooty.com.au.

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