'20s slump puts local game in jeopardy

The opening of the Empire Sports Ground in 1922 was marked by the retirement from the game of many of the old stars of the Mile End Sports Ground era.

One by one, these stalwarts of the local game left, leaving behind them a huge gap in the ranks and files of the local clubs.

The last to go were Ruggieru Friggieri, Jack Herbert, Salvu Tabone, Karmenu Tabone and Archie Caunter.

Herbert was the first to yield to the inevitable. Friggieri died suddenly when still in the prime of life. Tabone immigrated to Tunisia, while time finally caught up Tabone and Caunter.

By the second half of the 20s, those who had played at the Mile End could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

The clubs found it difficult to find replacements for their old stars. They looked around for fresh talent but, although the signs looked good for the future, the present looked bleak and they had to be content with moderate and, sometimes even mediocre, players.

The game suffered and the public began to lose interest. As a consequence, attendances dropped and for a while things got so bad that the very existence of the game seemed to be in doubt.

This slump could be confirmed by the fact that in seasons 1925-26 and 1926-27 none of the Maltese teams reached the final of the Cassar Cup, our most prestigious competition at the time.

Unfortunately, the attitude of the public did not contribute much towards the improvement of the situation. Always ready to criticise, the spectators booed and jeered every time the ball was played contrary to their own conception of the game.

The average spectator was still ignorant of the rules and added to the general bedlam by voicing the first wild thought that flashed into his mind. Many times the crowd roared 'offside' from a corner-kick or a throw-in!

For a while things looked bleak but then a new element was introduced into the game which saved football from extinction.

This 'uplift' in the fortunes of the local game was brought about by the introduction of Amateur League players in the First Division league.

Founded in 1922-23, the Amateur League steadily gained in popularity until attendances rivalled even those of the First Division.

The standard of play was satisfactory and attracted to it some of the best football talent around.

The league clubs soon realised the worth of players nurtured in an atmosphere of clean soccer and sportsmanship. They realised that if they were to survive then they had to find a place in their line-ups for first-class amateur players.

At first things did not work out so well. There was a lot of jealousy and bad blood towards the amateurs by the professionals who were afraid that they were a threat to their livelihood.

There were also instances when a 'star' amateur player gave but a modest performance in the professional league. The snap and hurry of the professional game upset him and he was glad to get back to the more familiar surroundings of Sunday morning football.

Despite all this however, a number of amateur players did make it good in the upper circle. Before long they had established themselves in the front ranks of Malta's best footballers.

The leading amateur players to emerge out of that trouble-strewn era were Victor Bonello, Teddy Holland, Guzi Mifsud, Guzi Pisani, J. Aquilina and Pawlu Storace.

In the 30s, these pioneers of the amateur game were followed by Charlie Andrews, Victor Miller, Effie Bencini, Eddie Cole, Robbie DeCesare, Joe Griffiths and Rogantin Pisani among others.

Some of them forfeited their amateur status but they never lost the gentlemanly upbringing they inherited from the Amateur League.