75 Years of Oakleigh District

By Jayden Adolph.

The Oakleigh District Football Netball Cricket Club (ODFNC) celebrate 75 years in Season 2025, and the club has announced they will wear the original playing guernseys of the club in their own Heritage Round against Silvan next weekend.

Back in 1949, then local sports store proprietor Alan Laffan kindly donated a set of Collingwood guernseys to the club and following this, the club was formed and called the ‘Oakleigh District Magpies’.

In the mid 60’s after moving from the Caulfield-Oakleigh District Football League into the Federal League, ODFNC was made aware that new local rivals Clayton wore the same guernsey, therefore the club made the decision to change their guernsey from the black & white stripes to the black jumper with the white sash - which is similar to Richmond and Essendon.

To this day, the club has the distinction of being the only football club in Australia to wear a black jumper with a white sash.

Thanks to the generosity of the family of club legend, Ron ‘Daisy’ Davies, from this year Oakleigh is celebrating the founding of the club and their 75 years of history through an annual Heritage round and special guernsey. 

Oakleigh is honouring the players and coaches that have contributed towards their four senior football premierships in 1953, 1957, 1958 and 2015. Each team is named and highlighted across the vertical stripes on the back of the jumper and for this round only, the club is changing their logo to a modernized version of their original logo which can be found on on the front of the guernsey - this was inspired by the emblem that featured on the club blazers back in the 50s and 60s.

The EFNL caught up with Steve Laffan, a life member of the ODFNC and whose family has had an affiliation with the club for the best part of 60 years.

Steve said, "To have the original guernsey worn on our Heritage Round is quite something special especially for those of us who were around to see the striped jumper worn before the change.’‘

This club has been such an important part of people’s lives and my life and to see the history of the club celebrated is incredible. This jumper being worn next week will undoubtedly invoke a whole lot of emotion from so many of our member.

’‘The Heritage Round is a tremendous innovation and I am positive that the likes of Ron Davies, Bluey Peddle and all members, officials and players who are sadly no longer with us will be looking down next Saturday with an immense amount of pride."

For Round 10, Oakleigh District are proud to have acquired Dane Swan’s services to don the mighty Black and White stripes one more time at Princes Highway Reserve against Silvan.

See below for further details regarding next weekend’s festivities at Princes Highway Reserve.