2017 Australian Football Hall of Fame: South Australian footy pioneers win a national salute

SA football’s early leaders — John Acraman, Charles Kingston and Noel Twopenny — finally have their place in the Australian Football Hall of Fame as “pioneers”.

Pioneers ... John Acraman, left, and Charles Kingston

SA football’s early leaders — John Acraman, Charles Kingston and Noel Twopenny — finally have their place in the Australian Football Hall of Fame as “pioneers”.

The trio follows Australian football’s five Victorian founders, who were recognised at the Hall’s induction ceremony in 2014. The Hall’s national agenda will continue to recognise the game’s pioneers in other states.

SANFL president John Olsen, on Tuesday night at the induction ceremony at Adelaide Oval, paid tribute to Acraman, Kingston and Twopenny — and the Hall of Fame’s commitment to recognising the game’s growth beyond Victoria to be “the biggest sport in Australia”.

“It is important we recognise the part these South Australian pioneers played in the development of the game of Australian football, particularly in establishing its oldest league in 1877,” Olsen said.

“To have their story told in the Australian Football Hall of Fame pays tribute to these three men for taking up key roles in the foundation days of South Australian football.

“It also acknowledges the important part they played in establishing the path to a national game.

“It is appropriate that South Australia — and these three visionary South Australians — be recognised for their development of the national game of Australian football and the biggest sport in Australia.”

Acraman, an inaugural member of the SA Football Hall of Fame, is recognised as the “founding father” of Australian football in South Australia.

Kingston, a former SA Premier, and Twopenny were at the forefront of establishing the SANFL as the oldest, continuous State league in Australia — outdating even the Victorian Football Association.

Both Kingston and Twopenny were critical in unifying the game under one controlling body — and establishing one set of rules for all games played in Adelaide — in the 1870s.

They also were pioneers in setting up competition between SA and Victoria, and Twopenny continued his role in developing Australian football as a national sport by promoting the game’s merit in Perth.

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