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The club formed in 1874 as the South Melbourne Football Club (nicknamed "The Bloods"). It played in the Victorian Football Association until 1896 when it joined the Victorian Football League. The club was based at Lake Oval and won its three VFL premierships in 1909, 1918 and 1933, and always struggled for money, players and fans until it reached the point in the early 1980s where it was set to disappear.

The Swans moved to Sydney in 1981 as part of the VFL's attempts to broaden its appeal which culminated in the national competition of the AFL. In 1985 the VFL created one of the messiest deals ever associated with football and almost brought an end to the Sydney Swans.

On 31 July 1985, for what was thought to be $6.3 million, Dr Geoffrey Edelsten "bought" the Swans. In reality it was $2.9 million in cash with funding and other payments spread over five years. Edelsten resigned as chairman in less than twelve months. By 1988 the licence was sold back to the VFL for ten million dollars. Losses were in the millions. A group of financial backers including Mike Willessee, Basil Sellers, Peter Weinert and Craig Kimberley purchased the licence and bankrolled the club until 1993, when the AFL stepped in.

With substantial monetary and management support from the AFL, the club survived, and with player draft concessions in the early 1990s, has fielded a competitive team throughout the past decade and attracted reasonable crowds - mediocre by Melbourne standards but larger on average than Sydney's native sporting code, rugby league.

They lost the 1996 grand final to North Melbourne, their first appearance in a grand final since 1945Events January January 5 The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland. January 7 British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge. January 12 World War II:.

1 VFL/AFL PremiershipsThis page is a chronological listing of Australian Football League premiers . The Australian Football League (formerly Victorian Football League) is the elite competition in Australian rules football. Between 1897, when the VFL was formed, and the 1980s w:

• 1909Events January 5 Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. January 16 Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole. January 28 United States troops leave Cuba after being there since the Spanish-American War. February 12 The National (as South Melbourne)
• 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long). (as South Melbourne)
• 1933Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 See also 1933 in aviation 1933 in film 1933 in literature 1933 in mu (as South Melbourne)