Nickname(s) The Pirates 2016 10th Manager Derek Hall | Ground John Hart Reserve Website Club home page Founded 1903 | |
 | ||
Full name Port Adelaide Lion Soccer Club League National Premier Leagues State League Profiles | ||
Port Adelaide Lion SC, commonly known as The Pirates, is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Port Adelaide, South Australia. It competes in the South Australian National Premier Leagues State League 1. The Pirates home ground is at John Hart Reserve, Ethelton.
Contents
History
The club was founded in 1903 under the name of Port Adelaide British Football Club. They entered the official competition in season 1904.
The founders included F.Salmon, G.Haywood, J.Haywood, EP Rowley, F.Meakin and J.McColl.
The amalgamation of Port Adelaide and the Cheltenham British Football Club was formalised on Friday March 26, 1914 in the Globe Hotel Port Adelaide. There were elements of the Cheltenham Club who did not agree with the merger and they formed another Cheltenham Club for the 1914 season.
In 1956 the club merged with Port Thistle S.C which had been known as the Port Presbyterian Thistle S.C. Their home ground was Nazar Reserve which was across the road from the Port Adelaide club. The ground was also known as Stevedores Paddock because horses used on the wharves were left in the paddock. The area was notorious for getting flooded every time there was an extra high tide in the Port River.
The Port Adelaide club's original ground was on a site adjacent to Alberton Oval. In the late 1920s the club moved to a wasteland that became known as John Hart Reserve.
The club has been at John Hart Reserve for over 75 years except for a period in 1955 and 1956 when they moved to Allenby Gardens Reserve while John Hart Reserve was being redeveloped. There was also a period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the club played its home games at the old ICI Oval at Peterhead while using John Hart Reserve for training and amateur games.
At the end of the 1941 season the club went into recess and did not field a team in the local competition until 1944. This was because the club lost so many members and players to the war effort.
In 1993 the club merged with the Ukrainian Sports Club Lion to form the Port Adelaide Lion Soccer club currently known as the Pirates.
Club honours
As USC Lion
1st Division Champions: 1965
2nd Division Champions: 1954 & 1964
Federation Cup Winners: 1956 & 1961
As Port Adelaide
1st Division Champions: 1911, 1912, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1934 (Pt.Thistle) & 1937 (Pt.Thistle)
2nd Division Champions: 1939, 1948 (Pt.Thistle), 1956, 1969, 1979 & 1988
Federation Cup Winners: 1926, 1933, 1934 (Pt.Thistle), 1945 & 1979
As Port Adelaide Lion
Premier League Minor Premiers: 1994 & 1999
NPL State League Champions 2014
Premier League Reserves Devine Homes Final 5 Series Winners 2010
Premier League Reserves Devine Homes Final 5 Series Winners 2009
U/23 State League Champions: 2004 & 2005
U/23 Cup winners: 2004
U/19 Premier League Top 5 Challenge Winners 2008
U/19 Champions: 1995
U/19 State League Champions: 2005