St George-Souths FC
| Full name | St George-Souths Soccer Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1950 |
| Dissolved | 1982 |
| Ground | Goodwin Park, Yeronga |
St George-Souths was an Australian football (soccer) club formed in 1950 as the Hellenic Soccer Club by Brisbane’s Greek community. It was a powerhouse of Brisbane soccer in the 1960s and 1970s. The club was dissolved in 1982 with its legacy continuing at Olympic FC.
Hellenic Soccer Club was established in early 1950 by Brisbane’s Greek community and first competed in the 1950 season of Brisbane soccer, entering two teams which were placed in Divisions 4 and 5. Its first ever premiership match was in April 1950, a 6-3 loss to the Ipswich club Wattles SC in the opening round of Division 4 matches.
Hellenic remained in Division 4 in 1951 and won the premiership with a 5-1 win over Redland Bay in a premiership play-off match. As a result, the club was promoted directly to Division 2 for the 1952 season.
Hellenic remained undefeated in winning the 1952 Division 2 premiership by 8 clear points from runners-up Wattles and Merton Rovers. Hellenic was promoted to Division 1 at the end of the season, but early in 1953 the club announced it was withdrawing from Division 1 because it had insufficient players to fill a reserves team, a constitutional requirement to compete in Brisbane’s top division.
Hellenic remained in Division 2 until winning the title again in 1957. The club played its first season in Division 1 in 1958 and remained in the top flight of Brisbane soccer for 23 consecutive seasons until its final competitive season in 1980.
In the early 1960s, with astute signings and financial backing from the Greek community, Hellenic assembled a team that was by far the most successful club in the Brisbane competition. From 1960 to 1963 the club won both the premiership and the Ampol Cup double for four consecutive seasons, and also won Division 1 Grand Finals in 1960 and 1963.
In 1961 Hellenic offered a challenge to the winner of the NSW Ampol Cup. When Sydney Prague won that competition with a 6-3 win over HakoahThe Sydney Morning Herald report asserted Prague had "re-established themselves as the No. 1 club team in Australia". The match between Hellenic and Prague to decide the Australian Soccer Club Championship (a precursor of the Australia Cup established the following year) was played as a charity event and occurred at the Sydney Sports Ground on 19 April 1961. Hellenic defeated Sydney Prague 2-1 with their prolific centre forward Socceroo Col Kitching among the goalscorers. An article on the match in The Canberra Times reported "The Brisbane team Hellenic staked its claim as Australia's top soccer side" and added that "Prague was beaten to the ball every time, and the Hellenic defence seldom allowed a scoring chance". In addition, Hellenic’s style of play was described as giving Prague "a soccer lesson in passing and team combination from the start".
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