CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB - HOME OF THE SEAGULLS

NORWOOD OVAL HISTORY - 1925 - 1949

1929 Sir Edwin T. Smith Pavilion
After nearly 10 years of discussions and a possible move to Kensington Oval, the southern-end grandstand was built and named the Sir Edwin T. Smith Pavilion.
It was opened by the Governor, Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven on May 18th . Mr. S. Talbot Smith, son of Sir E.T. Smith, unveiled the plaque. It was one of the largest and best appointed pavilions in Australia at that time.

The Council transferred the original Osmond Terrace entrance to the Education Department in return for a strip of land along the eastern boundary to enable the oval to be widened by 30 feet (10 metres).
Other improvements were made with mound accommodation, terracing and an electric time bell installed.

1936 Returned Services League Hall
The original grandstand built in 1902 in the north-west corner was converted into a hall and taken over by the Returned Services League (RSL) and later in 1942 and 1953 substantial additions were made to the building.

1941 Record individual score
Champion full forward Bruce Schultz kicked 19 goals 2 behinds against Glenelg in round 12, on July 19th.
The highest individual score by any player on the Norwood Oval was made even more remarkable by the fact that he hit the goal post twice. Norwood won the game 29.7 to 17.13.

He became the first Norwood player to kick 100 goals in a season. He kicked his 100th goal in Round 13 of the 1941 season, injured his knee in that game and never played again.

Bruce Schultz is the highest goalscorer for Norwood with 669 goals kicked in 124 games for the club, and has kicked the most goals on Norwood Oval, 335 goals in 54 games at an average of 6.20 goals per game.

The great Ken Farmer played his last game on Norwood Oval and retired with 1419 goals at an average of 6.3 goals per game.


1943

In February, about 5,000 people saw USA’s ‘Alabama Kid’ defeat Australia’s Ernie Horne in a light heavyweight boxing bout on the Norwood Oval.
The fight ended in the second round after four minutes of boxing, when the towel was thrown into the ring from the Horne camp. The fight was most disappointing for the spectators, who did not forget to show their annoyance at the fiasco!