I went to school in Brisbane during the 1990s. Fumbleball wasn't popular at the primary school I attended, but it wasn't hated, either. The high school I attended had fumbleball in its curriculum.
The Brisbane Bears weren't a joke in 1996. They were pulling strong crowds at a run down Gabba with a winning team and were getting strong coverage from the Brisbane media. An average of 18k fans flocked to the Gabba in 1996 to watch the Bears. To put that into perspective, Melbourne drew an average of 17k at MRS in 2023. This is a fair comparison because the Bears and Storm finished in the top four in 1996 and 2023.
Australian rules football in Queensland (typically referred to as "AFL", or less frequently "Australian Football", "Aussie Rules" or "Australian Rules") was the first official football code played in 1866.[3]
The Colony of Queensland was the second after Victoria to adopt Australian rules football, just days after the rules were widely published. For two decades it was the most popular football code, however a strong desire for representative football success saw Queenslanders favour British football variants for more than a century. As a result, Queensland is one of the two states to the east of the Australian cultural divide described as the Barassi Line.
120 years later in 1986 Queensland was the first state awarded a licence to have a club, the Brisbane Bears, in the national (AFL) competition, also its first privately owned club. However the Gold Coast based Bears had a detrimental effect until the 1993 redevelopment of the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba).
In contrast the Bears transformation into a Brisbane and traditional membership based club resulted in enormous growth, and a tripling of average AFL attendances by 1996.[4][5][6]
en.m.wikipedia.org
Christopher Skase hurt fumbleball in the late 1980s and early 1990s because he was a crook and based the team at Carrara.
A Gold Coast QAFL team called South Port Sharks applied to join AwFuL in 1996.
1982 – February 10. Gold Coast Australian Football league launches a campaign to have a VFL team based on the Gold Coast within five years.
1986 – May 22. QAFL President announces plans to introduce a team into Queensland. While wanting to field a Queensland side in its own right, they felt that having a relocated side was more likely.
1986 – July 1. VFL Commissioner reported in talks with consortium over possible team in Queensland
1986 – July 29. Kevin Bartlett writes that the national league wont get off the ground. (Football Limited pg 154)
1986, July 31. The VFL reaffirms its commitment to a national competition in 1987, with a preference for a team from Brisbane. The league was uncertain as to whether teams from SA or WA would be involved.
1986 – Fitzroy board approves an in principle move to Brisbane 5-3. It was later declared a “straw vote”.
1986 – August 19. Paul Cronin and the QAFL join forces for their bid, leaving Alistair Norwood (Jeans West) and John Brown out on their own. Cronin was providing most of the funding.
1986 – October 1. VFL Board of Directors approves teams from Western Australia and Queensland to join the VFL in 1987.
1986 – October 1. Richmond propose to play 11 games a year in Brisbane. (The Phoenix Rises pg. 78) Richmond, with the strong backing of president-elect Alan Bond, announced it was planning to play 11 away games in Brisbane from the 1987 season onwards, with 11 home games at the MCG.
1986 – October 4. Perth clothing millionare Allister Norwood withdraws from the bidding for a Queensland side.
1986 – October 7. A syndicate headed by Actor Paul Cronin and the QAFL wins the right to field a new team in Brisbane. The VFL directors vote is unanimous.
1986 – October 30. VFL Commission notes with concern that Skase intended to base the Bears in Carrara. The league specified that this cold only be a temporary arrangement.
1986, December 3. The new Queensland club is launched as the Brisbane Bears.
1989 – August 9. North Melbourne president Bob Ansett says he is considering an offer from a Queensland entrepreneur to buy the privately owned football club and relocate to Brisbane
1989 – November. Brisbane is effectively Broke. Mr Cronin had indicated that the companies involved in the Brisbane Bears structure could survive providing a capital injection of $3 million prior to Christmas and a further $3 million by February 1990 was provided. Mr Cronin further advised that none of the club’s existing creditors were likely to make a move against the club prior to Christmas, however they needed the League’s co-operation to bring forward its December distribution entitlement of $100,000 in order that staff salaries could be met.
1990 – February 16. Pelerman finalises his takever and formally takes control of Brisbane.
1992 – Reuben Pelerman voluntarily returns Brisbane to the AFL and subsequently to a member owned structure.
1996 - Southport (QAFL) make a bid for an AFL license, but are denied
1996 – May 13. A Brisbane merger offer is formally rejected by the Fitzroy board.
1996 – June 24. The Brisbane Bears are contacted by Fitzroy and advised to submit their best merger offer to Fitzroy for consideration.
1996 – July 3. The Fitzroy board re-opens merger discussions with the Brisbane Bears. The Bears are told that the merger door with Fitzroy is “open half an inch”
1996 – July 4. AFL Presidents’ Meeting rejects the Fitzroy-North Melbourne merger. After a meeting between the administrator of Fitzroy and the AFL commission, the AFL commission recommends a Bears-Fitzroy merger. North Melbourne withdraws from the merger race. A reconvened AFL presidents’ meeting endorses the AFL commission’s recommendation of a Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy merger.
1996 – November 1. Brisbane Lions officially launch.
1998 – A Commission is launched into the improving football in Queensland resulting in the formation of AFL Queensland.
Sources used: The Australian Game of Football…since 1858, edited by Geoff Slattery 100 Years of Australian Football – the official History of the AFL The South Australian Football Story, by Bernard Whimpress Behind the Play – A history of football in Western Australia, by Anthony Barker From...
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Theres been a few threads come up that deal with scattered issues pertaining to this so I thought Id throw this up for anyone whose interested. If theres stuff mising thats relevant Id be delighted to know what it is Note: much of this was sourced from fullpointsfooty.net which is no longer...
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thesentiment.com.au
