Wandsworth
Brewers
The Official Gridball Site
Wandsworth Brewers
Second Round 1953 & 1954
Formed 1948
Colours: Alazarin, Dark Blue & Yellow
Feeder Teams: Lambeth Walkers, Camberwell Chargers, Lewisham Londoners, Battersea Power, Fulham Cravens
Second Round 1953 & 1954
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Record Appearances:
Liz Feldman 71 {1951-}
Record Scorer:
Pat Rowlands 43 {1952-1955}
Record Victory
7-1 vs Detroit Motors 1954
Record Defeat
0-8 at Stepney Eastenders 1953
Most Goals in a Game
Liz Feldman, 4 vs Detroit Motors {7-1 1954}
Most Goals in a Season
Liz Feldman 20 {1951}
Season History
1951 First Round
1952 First Round
1953 Second Round
1954 Second Round
1955 First Round
1956 Failed to Qualify
1957 Failed to Qualify
1958 Failed to Qualify
1958 Second Division
Players of the Year
None
Young Players of the Year
None
Team of the Season
Audrey O'Neill - Centre - 1951
Golden Bat
None
Silver Bat
None
Bronze Bat
None
Nations Cup Champions
None
The Wandsworth Story
The Wandsworth Brewers were formed in 1948 to represent West London, England. Brewers was chosen as their nickname in honour of the ancient Wandsworth Brewery. Alazarin, a shade of deep red was selected as the club's official colour.
The Brewers played out the unofficial Championships of 1948 at Gridball HQ in Shoeburyness the first season and then at The Wandsworth Gynmasium in 1949, and 50, before relocating to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre for the first official season in 1951. They finished 9th in the single league format that season, failing to progress to the Quarter-Finals. However, the team improved to reach the Second Round for the first time in 1953, a feat they repeated the following year, but that remains the last time the Brewers progressed in the competition.
At the other extreme, they failed to qualify entirely in 1956 and have not reached the competition proper since. In 1959 they became founder members of the Second Division.
Wandsworth Starting Seven
1959
Coach: Marion Mathie: Age 42: Rated 0 {Average}
Netminder: Liz Feldman: Age 31: Rated 5 {Excellent}
Left Guard: Jean Atkins: Age 24: Rated 4 {Very Good}
Right Guard: Caroline Collins: Age 27: Rated 2 {Okay}
Sweeper: Gretchen Bradshaw: Age 23: Rated 2 {Okay}
Centre: Janice Greene: Age 26: Rated 3 {Good}
Attacker: Charlotte Unerti: Age 29: Rated 3 {Good}
Shooter: Jane Suffrini: Age 27: Rated 2 {Okay}
Substitutes
SW: Gillian Needham {Squad Player}
CE: Roberta Alway {Average}
Unavailable:
RG: Polly Orbycha {Okay- Filming a movie}
Coach Mathie is a new coach
Janice Greene new from West Virginia
1959 Team Rating - Okay
1959 World Ranking {26}
Highest {15} 1952-1956
Wandsworth Legends
Audrey O'Neill: 22 appearances, 6 goals {1951} - Team of the Year 1951
Audrey O'Neill
Team of the Season - 1951
Date and place of Birth: 12th November 1922: Lewisham
Age: 29 [as of March 1st 1952]
Position: Centre
Debut: 1951
Appearances: 22 {1951}
Goals: 6 {1951}
Tall elegant blonde Audrey Bennett was born in Lewisham in 1922, and attended school where her father was the music teacher. Like many young Londoners in the thirties, Audrey considered a career on the stage and became a chorus girl, though her height here was sometimes a hindrance as she stood out among smaller girls.
Bennett initially quit the entertainment world in 1940 to marry an architect. However the first five years of their marriage was spent apart due to his call up for military service. Audrey, now O'Neill, remained in London during the war years and kept in touch with many friends in the cabaret circuit, which brought her to the attention of Gridball in 1947 when recruiting
players. O'Neill tried out and was selected to represent the Wandsworth team in 1948 in the Championship staged solely at the Shoeburyness Gridball HQ. As a member of a London based team, O'Neill wasn't faced with the dilemma of having to move in 1949 when the various teams relocated to the places they represented. She became a founder member of the Brewer's pro team in 1951, playing in front of crowds of up to 20,000 at Earls Court. Sadly the team were unable to match the venue and struggled for the most part, with O'Neill singled out as the one shining light of the season, chipping in with 6 goals and being named as the best centre in the tournament. After a more modest season in 1952, she sat out the 1953 campaign on maternity, giving birth to her son in December, and recovered her fitness sufficiently to play a major part in the Brewer's 1954 campaign where they reached the Second Round and she extablished herself as a player of quality. After a disappointing 1955 campaign, O'Neill was encouraged to travel north and signed for the Liverpool Liverbirds for 1956.
Despite surprise in some quarters at the Liverbirds recruiting a player well into her thirties, O'Neill has continued to improve year on year, helping the Liverpudlians to the Quarterfinals in each of the last two seasons. She also adpoted a more attacking role in 1957, hitting double figures in the scoring charts for the first time that season. O'Neill finally reached a World Gridball Final in 1958 but ended up on the losing side. However, despite being thirty-six years of age, she remains one of the stars of the game and says she feels she could play for another four or five years at the highest level.