Summary

Booklet 'The First Twenty Five Years' published by the Melbourne Soccer Club, printed by Southdown Press in 1982. The Melbourne Soccer Club, also known as the Melbourne Hungaria Soccer Club, was formed in 1957 by Hungarian migrants, this included members of the Hungarian Olympic soccer team who had defected and remained in Australia following the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

During the 1960s and 1970s it was one of the strongest football clubs in Australia, winning the Victorian State League championship and the Australian Cup in 1967. The club closed in 1987. Its most notable player was former Socceroo Attila Abonyi.

'My parents didn't have a word of English.but the fact there was a Hungarian soccer club, they could go along ...and mingle with Hungarians. It was a social event even more than a football club.' Attilla Abonyi quoted in Sportblog article, Joe Gorman, 2014

Attilla Abonyi was ten years old when his family fled Hungary in 1957, escaping the Soviet invasion. He migrated to Melbourne under the Hungarian Refugee Assistance Scheme. By 1960 Atti was playing for the newly formed Melbourne Hungaria and was part of the team that lifted the Australia Cup in 1967. He went on to play for the Socceroos in the 1974 World Cup, becoming one of Australia's greatest footballers.

Physical Description

Rectangular soft covered booklet, with thin card covers and 122 white paper pages. Printed on the front of the cover is a sketch of a male soccer player holding a large trophy and a large crest of the Melbourne Soccer Club behind him. On the back of the front cover is an advertisement for the Brighton Savoy Motel. The back cover has an advertisement for Buffalo Sports on one side and JAT Yugoslav Airlines on the other. The booklet has a large amount of text, photographs and advertisements printed throughout it.

More Information