Australia Edition 5

THE MARKET

Winter inAustralia is all about Football. The great

game of Aussie Rules was formed in 1858 and to

this day is the largest football code in Australia.

Player participation in2007 exceeds 700,000people

across a number of cultural, gender and social

communities. Since 1990, player participation has

increased by 32 per cent and the game has never

been in a stronger position.AtAFLlevel attendance

rates are up 17 per cent since 2000. The competition

is now truly national.

The game is played in all States around the

country and is developing in other markets such as

NewZealand, Canada, USA, UKand SouthAfrica.

As the game has developed and grown to the

size it is today there has been one brand that is the

stable influence in the game: “The Sherrin” football.

Sherrin is the official brand of theAFL, and sells

over 500,000 balls into theAustralian market each

year. The remarkable penetration of the Sherrin

brand inAustralia has beenmade possible by years

of dedication to craftsmanship and providing the

game with the best possible product.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The Sherrin brand has received numerous awards

for its excellence of workmanship. As far back as

1881and1888,TomSherrinwas awardedaDiploma

of Merit for his fine craftsmanship.

Sherrin currently holds a dominant share of

football sales and is the official ball of the AFL

competition. It is the No.1 preferred football brand

by most leagues.

Sherrin is the official ball sponsor for the AFL

Auskick program and is committed to the growth

of participation at grass roots level.

HISTORY

Thomas William Sherrin grew up as one of nine

children in a close family. TomSherrin didn’t follow

his father into carpentry but decided to become a

saddler, repairing andmanufacturing horse saddles,

bridles and other leather equipment.

The saddlery where Tom worked was in

Wellington Street, Collingwood. In the 1870s this

area was dominated by tanneries and clothing and

shoe manufacturers.

Tom was involved with a small club close to

work called the Britannia Football Club.Australian

Rules Football was a game derived frommany fine

sports including Irish

Gaelic football, rugby

and soccer. In its

infancy, the game

used rugby balls

imported from

England. The

physical torture

these

balls

endured in this

tough, vibrant and

robust new game

created considerable wear.

They were regularly

sent toTom’s saddlery

to be repaired. Tom

had to pull the ball

apart in some cases to

complete the repair work, and one day had a

brainstorm which was to revolutionise the ball.

The rugby ball was elongated, and used to wear

heavily on the ends. Tom created a new shape and

developed a pattern that made the ball rounder on

the points. The ball was still oval in shape, but it

bounced more evenly and was easier to kick. His

design was quickly accepted.

Tom scraped his pennies together and in 1879

built a small factory at 32 Wellington Street in

Collingwood. T.W. Sherrin Pty Ltd was now

established, andTomemployed a small band

of tradesmen to produce enough

footballs to keep up with the

strong demand. The

design of the newball

was so widely

accepted that

the National

F o o t b a l l

League of

A u s t r a l i a

e v e n t u a l l y

used the size

and shape of

the

Sherrin

football as the

standard.

When Tom passed away in 1912, the business

was left to Tom’s nephew John Sydney Sherrin,

who had served his apprenticeship with the

company as a teenager.After his death in 1941, the

War Department instructed youngTom (Syd’s son)

to carry on the family business, and discharged

him fromduties with theAir Force.

Tomwas a very likeableman. He had a great

association with the Collingwood

Football Club and eventually

became president between

1963 and 1974. The

Collingwood

recognized

the

magnificent services

of the Sherrin family

in 1976, when they

named their new

stand at Victoria

Park, “The Sherrin

Stand”.

During

the

1960s,Tombattledwith

his football business.

He felt he had to double

the production in order to absorb running costs

and still remain profitable. Without growth, T.W.

Sherrin Pty.Ltd. would stagnate, and he could not

see a bright future for the next generation of the

family. He finally sold the business to Spalding in

1972.

Tom stayed on as manager of the Sherrin

division of Spalding until his death in 1978. The

Sherrin takeover by Spalding appeared on the

front page of every major newspaper inAustralia

and made news bulletins in Europe

andAmerica.

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10/21/2007, 6:13 AM