Early member's ticket for Australian Rules Football: South Melbourne FC 1883 The club was founded 19 June 1874 and it adopted the name ''South Melbou

Early member's ticket for Australian Rules Football: South Melbourne FC 1883 The club was founded 19 June 1874 and it adopted the name ''South Melbourne Football Club'' four weeks later, on 15 July. In 1880, South Melbourne amalgamated with the nearby Albert Park FC which had a senior football history dating back to May 1867 and in fact had been known as South Melbourne during its first year of existence. Following the amalgamation, the club retained the name South Melbourne, and adopted the club's now familiar red and white colours from Albert-Park. Nicknamed the ''Southerners'', the team was more colourfully known as the ''Bloods'', in reference to the bright red sash on their white jumpers. The colorful epithet the ''Bloodstained Angels'' was also in use. The club was based at Lake Oval also home of the South Melbourne Cricket Club. In 1883 South Melbourne finished runners-up to Geelong FC in the Victorian League.