1960

In its first year of competition, South Melbourne competed in and won the First Division North (the modern-day equivalent of State League One) Championship. Whilst it was a fantastic achievement to gain promotion to the Victorian State League in its first official season, what was even more remarkable was the manner in which South was promoted. The club was undefeated, drawing only once (3-3 with Corio) and winning every other match in the league. South had so much talent that it won the reserve grade as well. The club also reached the Semi Final stage of both the Docherty Cup and Armstrong Cup before going down 0-2 and 0-3 in the respective competitions.

Final League Position:	1st out of 10 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (0-2 against Polonia)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coach:	Chris Georgousis

 

1961

In its first season of competition in the Victorian State League (now the Victorian Premier League), South managed a fifth-placed finish. Allan Young was appointed coach and was characterised as a person who said little but achieved much. He was replaced by Manny Poulakakis in July and Poulakakis arrived with a massive reputation. Many of the players arrived from Greece, including John Margaritis, Savvas Salapasidis and Takis Xanthopoulos. Crowd figures were impressive, with 11,000 against Juventus, 15,000 against Polonia, 16,000 against George Cross and 17,000 in the return match against Polonia. Further highlights included a 5-1 win over Slavia, a 6-1 win over Richmond and Antonis Karagiannis’ 15 goals in the league.

Final League Position:	5th out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Fifth Round (1-3 against Hungaria)
Top Goal Scorer:	Antonis Karagiannis (15)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coaches:	Allan Young, Manny Poulakakis

 

1962

South won the Victorian State League championship for the first time, finishing two points ahead of Juventus on the league table. More players arrived from Greece, including Boulis Kambouropoulos from Olympiakos and Takis Mantarakis from Panathinaikos. Under Poulakakis, South lost its first three matches of the season; however it won the fourth against Croatia 6-0 and for next 17 matches after that it only lost twice. Crowd figures were again exceptional, including 15,000 and 10,000 against Polonia, 12,000 and 25,000 against George Cross, 12,000 against Hakoah and 21,000 and 25,000 against Juventus. South competed in the Australian Cup for the first time, losing in the First Round against Yugal at Olympic Park in front of 14,000 spectators. Other highlights for the campaign included reaching the Semi Final of the Ampol Cup and Antonis Hatzieleftheriou’s 15 goals in the league.

Final League Position:	1st out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Ampol Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (0-1 against Croatia)
Australian Cup Placing:	First Round (1-2 against Yugal)
Top Goal Scorer:	Antonis Hatzieleftheriou (15)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coach:	Manny Poulakakis

 

1963

Despite signing Tommy Anderson from George Cross, John Anderson from Hakoah, Peter Barbalias from Olympiakos, Panayiotis Tsitsos from Drama and Jim Pyrgolios from Panathinaikos, South finished in sixth place in the league. John Margaritis finished top goal scorer for the club with 11 goals. However it fared a lot better in the Ampol Cup, reaching the Final where it was defeated 0-1 by Polonia. Despite the disappointing campaign, there were many strong crowd figures, including 20,000 against Polonia. That match was also remembered for Tsitsos getting involved in a clash against three Polonia players and being suspended for six matches. This resulted in 2,000 South fans going on strike outside Olympic Park in the following match against Richmond, protesting against the Federation’s ruling on Tsitsos.

Final League Position:	6th out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Ampol Cup Placing:	Runners-up (0-1 against Polonia)
Top Goal Scorer:	John Margaritis (7)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coach:	Manny Poulakakis

 

1964

More great players were recruited and South Melbourne won their second Victorian State League championship, finishing one point ahead of George Cross on the league table. Andreas Roussis (from Apollon) arrived at the club, joining other new signings in Jimmy Adam (Falkirk), Ernie Ackerley (Manchester United and Barrow), Savvas Kagioglou, Andreas Kosmopoulos and Harry Vamvakas (all from Greece). Young eighteen year old Mike Mandalis’ 17 goals in the league proved one of the highlights of the campaign. Further highlights included a 2-7 away win against Lions and reaching the Final of the Docherty Cup before losing 1-2 to Slavia.

Final League Position:	1st out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (1-2 against Slavia)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Australian Cup Placing:	First Round (0-1 against JUST)
Top Goal Scorer:	Michael Mandalis (17)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coach:	Manny Poulakakis

 

1965

The side was strengthened by the arrival of winger Leo Damianakos, who was finally granted a clearance from Kalamata. Damianakos had arrived in the previous season but was forced to sit on the bench for the entire year. Goalkeeper Sam Service also joined the club (from Alexander), as Jordan Ieremiadis, Jimmy Adam, Antonis Hatzieleftheriou and Minelis Tsolakis all departed. For a second consecutive season, South conquered the Victorian State League, finishing two points ahead of second-placed George Cross. Ernie Ackerley scored 17 goals, while Jim Pyrgolios scored 11. Further highlights included a 0-6 away win against Lions and a 1-9 away win against Triestina, with Mandalis and Pyrgolios both scoring hat-tricks. South fared better in the Australian Cup than it had in previous attempts but was beaten in the Semi Final against APIA.

Final League Position:	1st out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Fifth Round (0-1 against Hungaria)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Australian Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (3-6 aggregate loss against APIA)
Top Goal Scorer:	Ernie Ackerley (16)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coach:	Ron Sawecki

 

1966

Con Nestoridis was the greatest centre-forward Greece had produced since the war and he starred with the Greek national team and AEK Athens. When he joined South at the age of 37 in 1966 as captain-coach, the crowds flocked to Middle Park and Olympic Park to watch. With other quality signings like David Kelly (Slavia) and Ulysses Kokkinos, South won its third consecutive Victorian State League championship, this time finishing two points clear of Slavia. South continued their excellent campaign by reaching the Final of the Ampol Cup before being defeated by JUST 2-3. Other highlights of the season included a 5-1 win over Slavia and Ackerley scoring four goals in a match. Nestoridis however was the standout player throughout the campaign, with his 21 goals in the league being the highest by an individual player in the entire competition. He also scored two goals in the Docherty Cup and three goals in the Australian Cup, taking his overall total to an outstanding 26 goals.

Final League Position:	1st out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (1-3 against Slavia)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Runners-up (2-3 against JUST)
Australian Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (1-3 against Sydney Hakoah)
Top Goal Scorer:	Con Nestoridis (21)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coaches:	Ron Sawecki, Con Nestoridis

 

1967

South’s run of success ended in 1967, with the team finishing fourth in the league and losing the Ampol Cup Final to Slavia. The club also reached the Final of the Docherty Cup but suffered one of the heaviest defeats in its history, losing 0-4 to Slavia. However there were some highlights in an otherwise disappointing season, with a big 7-3 win over Alexander, a 5-0 win over Lions and a 6-1 win over Preston. Other highlights included Ulysses Kokkinos scoring 15 goals in the league, Nestoridis scoring 11 in the league and 17,000 spectators being present against Juventus.

Final League Position:	4th out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Runners-up (0-4 against Slavia)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Top Goal Scorer:	Ulysses Kokkinos (14)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coaches:	John Anderson, Con Nestoridis

 

1968

Lou Brocic was appointed coach and the club experimented with recruiting a large amount of players from Greece, however many failed to live up to expectation and were sent back. Other players signed included David Hay, Ougro Memet (from New Zealand), Frank Micic (JUST), Nikos Malisianos, Andreas Tzarellas and Vaggelis Drandrakis (all from Greece). South finished the season in third place in the league. Midway through the season Brocic left and was replaced by Ron Sawecki. For the second consecutive season the club reached the Final of the Docherty Cup, but lost 0-1 to Croatia in the Replay Final after the first Final finished in a 1-1 draw.

Final League Position:	3rd out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Runners-up (0-1 against Croatia)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Top Goal Scorers:	Jim Pyrgolios, Frank Micic (8 each)
President:	Theo Marmaras
Coaches:	Lou Brocic, Ron Sawecki

 

1969

After ten years, South finally won its first Cup competition when it defeated Croatia 2-1 in the Final of the Ampol Cup in front of 15,000 spectators. However the success of the Ampol Cup did not continue in the Victorian State League, as South finished in seventh position with 21 points, the club’s lowest position in the State League in its history. South repeated the import experiment, bringing 5 more players over from Greece, however this failed again and all of the players returned home. Highlights included Gorrie’s 17 goals in the league campaign and the 2-6 win against Polonia.

Final League Position:	7th out of 12 teams
Docherty Cup Placing:	Fifth Round (0-3 against Slavia)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Champions (2-1 against Croatia)
Top Goal Scorer:	David Gorrie (17)
Presidents:	Theo Marmaras and George Rallis
Coaches:	Ron Sawecki, Manny Poulakakis