Norm Smith is arguably the greatest Australian Football coach in history. Smith - who, in 1996, was selected as the coach of the Australian Football League's Team of the Century - led the Melbourne Demons to a staggering six premierships from 1955 to 1964. When it came to football, he was a hard man, brutally honest to his players and an utterly ruthless and fearsome disciplinarian, but this was offset by a gentler, charitable side of his nature which was rarely seen in public. This is his story, and secondarily that of his older brother and fellow coach Len Smith, from their childhood in tough, working-class Northcote during the Depression; Norm as a childhood supporter of Collingwood, the club he would conquer many times over as a man; through his distinguished playing career at Melbourne where he built a reputation as the most unselfish player in the game; his first coaching job at Fitzroy; his triumphant reign at Melbourne, detailing his relationship with his ‘foster son' Ron Barassi, his friendly coaching rivalry with his brother, and his controversial sacking and reinstatement in 1965; to his last coaching job at South Melbourne, which in 1970 he lifted to its first finals series in 25 years, and culminating in his premature death at the age of 57

The book examines a period when football underwent a seismic and ineradicable change brought about by the determination of the Victorian Football League to wrest control of the game's development and destiny from the various state controlling bodies and the Australian Football Council. Whereas the VFL had initially been the first among equals, it gradually assumed the role of the sole and undisputed guardian of the code. The AFC, once football's ostensible national controlling body, became an irrelevance. Instead of a national sport with a national remit we ended up with an expanded VFL with a majority of Victorian member clubs supplemented by a token sprinkling of teams from interstate. Such teams were in most cases created from scratch and could in no way be said to derive directly from the states? unique and distinctive football traditions and culture. For some, it was a brave new world, but evolution does not inevitably entail improvement.

With almost forty years' experience as a labor leader by 1909, Samuel Gompers had learned the value of practical achievements. Shorter hours, higher wages, safer and more sanitary workplaces, and a voice in establishing working conditions were the hallmarks of trade unionism in the Progressive Era, and these hard-won, incremental gains had significantly improved working-class lives. While these were not all he hoped to achieve, they represented, Gompers believed, essential victories in a bitter class struggle that was far from over. This installment of the multivolume documentary history of the nation's premier labor leader covers a period marked by industrial tragedies--such as the 1909 Cherry Hill mine disaster and the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire--and industrial violence, including the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times building. These years were punctuated by hard-fought strikes and judicial proceedings directed against trade unionists, most notably the Danbury Hatters' and Buck's Stove cases and the prosecution of the McNamaras. For Gompers, these were demanding years that taxed his health and energy but ultimately strengthened his resolve as he became a crucial player in the AFL's efforts to establish collective bargaining as the basis of industrial democracy.

New edition of a guide to Australian football, first published in 1995. Presents a history of the game, discussing the Anzac heritage and football during the Depression as well as outlining rules, strategies and positions. Includes references, a bibliography and an index. The author is foundation dean of arts at VUT. He has written widely on local history, sport and popular culture.

Throughout the 1970s, the Essendon Football Club was at its lowest ebb. The Bombers made just three finals appearances that decade - a huge shock to the system for a club accustomed to regular success. That all changed when Kevin Sheedy walked through the doors of Windy Hill in 1981. Glory and Fame: The Rise and Rise of The Essendon Football Club focuses on Essendon's resurgence from its lowest ebb to become a football superpower. In a series of essays, complemented by strong photography, some of Australia's leading football writers, including Rohan Connolly, Scott Gullan, Emma Quayle, Glenn McFarlane and John Harms, retrace the key moments in the Bombers' renaissance and look at the key people who helped transform the club - on and off the field. Glory and Fame: The Rise and Rise of The Essendon Football Club features in-depth interviews with Kevin Sheedy, James Hird, Tim Watson, Peter Jackson, Terry Daniher, Simon Madden, Michael Long and many others who have been pivotal to the Bombers' success over the past quarter of a century. Plus there is a comprehensive review of each of the Bombers' last four Grand Final triumphs (the drought-breaker of 1984, back-to-back success of 1985, the Baby Bombers of 1993, and the redemption of 2000). Glory and Fame: The Rise and Rise of The Essendon Football Club gives a wonderful insight into how to achieve sporting success and is essential reading for Essendon supporters and all sports fans.