Every now and again the question crops up: why are footy shorts so short?

I thought about this recently as I sent my noted to the illustrator who has done the cover and jacket for After The Siren (the incredible Jess Cruickshank). I found myself explaining that it was very important to me that the shorts were recognisable as footy shorts. I sent reference pictures.

Then, because I can become preoccupied with trifles, I decided to conduct an investigation into this important question.

I am by no means the first person to raise the issue.

In 2012, a New Zealand article described AFL shorts as “something of a sartorial travesty,” and went on to observe that “[t]hough today's Australian rules shorts are only a little longer than undies, we can be thankful that hemlines have come down since the 1980s.”
A 2013 article from a local Wellington newspaper apparently contained an explanation of why AFL players wore shorts “just south of undies” (tragically I could not find the article, only this article that refers to it).
In 2015 this article from the ABC observed that “[i]n the 1970s and 80s, shorts crept shorter…”. Why? I asked myself. How short were they before?
In 2022 an American woman went viral on TikTok after asking whether it was “normal” for her boyfriend, an Australian, to wear footy shorts out and about.

One of my favourite queries on the topic comes from this forum post from the 2008 (you can tell I’ve done my research):

They just showed highlights of the AFL champions here on ESPN and they look so silly in their 80's style short shorts. It looks like a bad Wham video. I was in Australia for 3 weeks a few years ago and I like Rugby and Aussie rules but it's such an oxymoron to have these warriors prance around in such dorky shorts. Just my .2 cents on an odd sports phenomenon.

Let the warriors prance, OP. LET THEM PRANCE.

The consensus on the internet seemed to be split between those who pointed to the need for ease of movement (true) and those who (more cynically and perhaps more accurately) suggested it was (to quote someone off Reddit) “purely for drip”.

I decided to start my analysis sometime around the formation of the Victorian Football League (the precursor to the AFL) in 1896.

I should say here that the AFL in 2019 acknowledged the connection between AFL and the game of Marngrook, which was played by Aboriginal people across Australia for a very long time before the game we now call AFL was devised — there’s an interesting article in Meanjin about that history here).

The 19th century

So I said I’d start around 1896, but I just had to share this incredible image from 1881. I have never seen footy depicted as so genteel. It is glorious. The trousers! The little hats!

*Image available through the State Library of Victoria's online collection. Attributed to a collection from Alfred May and Alfred Martin Ebsworth. (1881)*

We then move to the 1890s. Here are a couple of pictures from just before the formation of the VFL. In the second image the goal umpire appears to be wearing a little cape, which I think we should bring back immediately.

*Image available through the State Library of Victoria's online collection. Attributed to the collection from David Syme & Co. (1895)*

*Image available through the State Library of Victoria's online collection. Attributed to David Syme & Co. (1895)*

This delightful picture is was labelled ‘Women in the crowd at a football match’, and is dated from 1880. I would guess that their team is not winning.

*Image available through the State Library of Victoria's online collection. Unattributed.*

The early 20th century

In 1906, we were still in the era of longs, though (long) shorts have made an appearance. I assume the entrance of bare knees was a topic of agitated conversation at the time.

Image The Australian, June 30 1906 (available on Trove).

The State Library of Victoria has digitised copies of The Footy Record from 1912 onwards, which has proved to be an excellent source of information for tracing the progression of shorts. By 1912 it appears the progression from trousers to shorts had been made, but the shorts weren’t exactly short.

I’ll be real: I thought the shorts might stay long in the 1920s. It brings me great joy to know that the inhabitants of Melbourne could head along to the football in the 1920s and see a man in some short shorts. For example:

*From the Charles Boyles collection available online from the State Library in Victoria.*

This photo (taken by Charles Boyles) does not clearly illustrate the shorts, but: (a) I am obsessed with these collars; and (b) they still look pretty short to me.

Speaking of the 1930s, this photo (another taken by Boyles) identifies the team as the “Fire Brigade F.C.”. Which leads me to conclude that these men are both firefighters and footballers. Somebody hold my beer, I need to start writing immediately.

This next picture is identified as being from 1945 (it’s very cool to see Victoria Park in 1945). I am very much enjoying the longer socks and the tucked jumpers. 10/10.

And here (thankyou Charles Boyles, the hero I didn’t know I needed) we see a fine specimen the late 40s. (I’m talking about the shorts, obviously.) They have definitely crept higher, but we’re not in the “actually undies” territory yet.

The next photo (Boyles again) is identified in the archives as taken circa 1940-1950, but I’m including it because the man on the far right (if looking at the photo) is the earliest example I could find of a very familiar posture. I have never had the confidence to sit like that in footy shorts, for fear of what might be visible. Also, because firefighters weren’t enough, these men were in the Airforce.

The 1950s

This image is from 1950, and is from the Victorian Collections. The shorts appear to have crept higher, and I Iove the cheeky buttons down the front of that jumper:

In the early 1960s, the shorts are quite short, but they haven’t gotten tight yet.

*Article written by Jim Keep in the Herald-Sun Football Privilege magazine. (1962)*

In the early 1970s things haven’t changed much from the 1960s, but they’re creeping higher and getting tighter.

*Rennie Ellis collection. Available online through the State Library of Victoria.*

By the late 1970s we’re definitely getting into the short shorts territory.

I would like to award this player 11/10 for the combination of the shorts and the tucked jumper.

*Photo taken by Ellis. Image available through the State Library of Victoria's online collection. (1979)*

By the mid 80s, we have reached the point where the shorts really don’t merit the moniker.

*Taken by Ellis, available online through the State Library of Victoria.*

The 80s also saw the advent of Warwick Capper, frequently described as “notorious” for how short his shorts were (I couldn’t find out who took these photos).

The 90s

Our mate Capper is still going (this photo is by Bruce Howard).

The shorts stay short, but I’m going to say they’re now a little less tight.

*1997. Photo from the Adelaide Crows website.*

The 2000s and the 2010s

So this is the era of football etched most vividly in my mind. Here we are in the mid-2000s (I couldn’t find the photographer for the first image, but the the second one was taken by John Donegan).

In the 2010s I feel like there is a slight increase in bagginess, but they’re staying pretty consistently on the upper echelons of the quadricep.

*Photo taken by Lachlan Cunningham. (2013)*

The present

So here we are in the present day. Personally, I think they are getting tighter again. Some clubs are interesting a little side slit.

The award for the highest side-split goes to these Collingwood training shorts.

*Photo from the Collingwood Football Club.*

The wrap-up

So, have they always been so short? No. Why are they so short? I still don’t know. Is it because it is impossible to undertake feats of athleticism with more than a five-inch inseam? Maybe. Is it because quads like that should not be concealed? Maybe.

I would note that now there seems to be a great diversity of shorts choices - some players (e.g., Jack Ginnivan) have elected for baggier shorts, whereas others are maintaining a more 90s/2000s aesthetic. I can’t think of anyone currently channelling the 90s, but I might be wrong.

In any event, I hope you have enjoyed this short and unscholarly history of 130 years of AFL shorts.

Darcy xx

Footy shorts: a history

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