Christies Beach and Port Noarlunga are set to battle for the special ‘sock trophy’ this weekend

Some football teams face off for a coveted trophy or a medal named after a club great. But two fierce Southern Football League rivals battle each year to win a dirty, old sock.

Ex-Christies Beach player Scott Boehm, whose old Saints sock is tied to the trophy the club vies for in its clashes with Port Noarlunga. Picture: AAP/Emma Brasier

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Some football teams face off for a coveted trophy or a medal named after a club great.

But not Christies Beach and Port Noarlunga.

The two fierce Southern Football League rivals battle each year to win a dirty, old sock.

The tale of the ‘sock trophy’ dates back to 1994 when ex-Port Noarlunga player Tim Boston stole ex-Christies Beach wingman Scott Boehm’s red, black and white Saints premiership sock.

The two friends were teammates during the summer, playing cricket with Port Noarlunga but were enemies in winter, as Boehm lined up with Christies Beach in the SFL.

Christies Beach co-coaches Jacob Crate and Neil Reeve will be hoping their side gets hold of the ‘sock trophy’ by beating rivals Port Noarlunga on Saturday. Picture: AAP/Morgan Sette

Since the duo retired, the sock has been handed to the winning club’s A-grade skipper after Saints and Cockledivers games.

Christies Beach will be keen to regain the trophy when the teams play each other at Port Noarlunga this Saturday.

Boehm, who hung up the boots in 2002, says his sock, along with an old football sock of Cockledivers veteran Aaron Peterson, is still tied to the trophy.

“In 1994, we won the premiership but they (Port Noarlunga) actually beat us in the last minor round,” Boehm, 51, says.

“Being a typical Aussie lad I had my thongs on with my socks and after a few beers during cricket season, Tim came along and grabbed my sock.

“He just said ‘from now on we (Port Noarlunga and Christies Beach) play for the sock’.

“The same stinky sock of mine is on the little cup – it’s got beer and all that one it now.

“Neither mine nor Aaron’s sock has been washed.”

An old sock of Port Noarlunga’s Aaron Peterson, pictured with the ball, is now tied to the ‘sock trophy’. (AAP Image/Dean Martin)

Port Noarlunga held the sock from 1994-2008, 2010-13, 2015-17 and again in 2018.

The Saints held the trophy in 2009 then from 2013-14 and in 2017.

“Beating Porties was always magnificent,” says Boehm, whose 19-year-old son Keelan plays for Christies Beach’s B grade.

“It didn’t matter whether your team was top or bottom, it was like playing in a final.”

Boston stopped playing for Port Noarlunga in 1998 when he moved to Queensland for work.

“I took Scott’s sock as a bit of a joke,” Boston, 45, recalls.

“It probably haunted him so much that they (Christies) had to wait for so long to get it back.

“But he’s a great mate of mine and eventually they got it back after a long time.

“A lot of supporters and officials probably don’t know anything about the history of the sock.

“It’s a very personal thing between the players and kept very much in the change rooms.

“There may have been some anger or having to hate the other side but this sock helped changed all of that.

“I believe the sock has been an amazing thing.”