Ken Farmer

Ken Farmer Profile 

The Bradman of Goalkickers

In the summer of 1928-29, a young Don Bradman made his debut for Australia in the first cricket test match of the season. Thus began an unparalleled career of run making in test cricket. A few months later a young Ken Farmer made his debut in the first league match of the 1929 season and this debut was the beginning of an unparalleled career of goal kicking in the SANFL. As regularly as Bradman would score centuries for Australia, Farmer would kick a century of goals in a season for North Adelaide. 

The Farmer Kicking Style - His 1,000th goal

Kenneth William George Farmer was born in Adelaide on 25 July 1910. He was introduced to Australian Rules football when some friends who were having a kick in the North Adelaide parklands asked him to join them and he discovered that he was able to mark the ball well – so much so that he ended up by himself at one end! He attended North Adelaide school, where he played Australian Rules football on Friday night and soccer on Saturday. He won many trophies for his athletic prowess and was selected in the State Schoolboys soccer team. By his own admission, however, he had difficulty in keeping his place in the school Australian Rules team. Ken left school at the age of 14 and didn't play soccer or football for the next two years. But he loved football, so in 1927 he formed and captained a Second eighteen team for North Adelaide Ramblers. He played 7 games for the Ramblers Seconds (mainly as a ruckman) and was best on ground each time. He knew that staying there would not get him far, so in mid-season he joined the amateur team at Marryatville where he played centre half forward for 10 matches and picked up valuable experience. In 1928 he was invited to join the North Adelaide juniors (then known as the "B Club"). He was best on ground in his first game, kicking 6 goals and impressing scribes with his marking ability. He played most of the season at centre half forward, kicking 47 goals in 11 matches. North won the "B" premiership and Ken Farmer won the award for Best Junior Player. No doubt his effort in that first game, presumably at full forward, was significant in him being placed at full forward when he began his league career.

In his first league season in 1929, Farmer scored 62 goals. This was a very good effort when one considers that he only played 14 games for the season and that he was inaccurate with his shooting for goal. It was the last time, though, that Farmer was ever going to be inaccurate. In the next 11 seasons he scored a century of goals every season (having been the first player to ever reach that milestone) and completed his career with a total of 1419 goals from 224 games, thus being the highest goal scorer in the history of league football, a record that stands to this day. No player has approached his average of 6.33 goals per game. Nor have they got near his record of 35 bags of 10 goals or more. In his second season (1930) he was a star, kicking 57 goals in the first 12 games. With only 17 minor round games in that season, there was never any thought of him reaching 100 at that stage. But he kicked 44 goals in the next 4 matches, including 15 against South in the penultimate round, to become the first SANFL player to kick 100 goals. Tragically, he and his younger brother Elliot were involved in a collision between their motor cycle and a truck in Frome Street near the zoo on The North Adelaide Football Club the following Friday. Ken injured an ankle but Elliott, who was the driver, sustained severe head injuries and died soon afterwards. They were taking home a box which was to be used to house the many trophies awarded to Ken in recognition of his athletic prowess. Ken carried the box on the pillion and it was this box which saved him from serious injury. Ken announced that he would not play football again that season.

North finished minor premiers that year, but without Farmer they were well beaten in their first final.

Luckily he returned for the Grand Final and helped North to a thrilling win.

The following year (1931) saw Farmer average 7 goals a match almost from the outset and as the season unfolded there was growing speculation that he might even break Gordon Coventry's (Collingwood) record of 124. As it turned out, he kicked his 125th goal in the Grand Final ! It was reported that this goal "provoked a tremendous outburst of enthusiasm unparalleled in the history of the game". It is of interest to note that Ken Farmer failed to score a goal in a game only once in his fabulous career. It was nothing to do with form or being beaten. He left the field injured early in the first quarter!

In the 1934 season, Farmer had kicked 93 goals with only one game remaining. When it transpired that the final game would be played in very wet conditions, it seemed unlikely that he could reach the ton. He kicked 13 goals from 16 shots with a sodden ball! Typical of the accolades he received is this excerpt from "The Mail" in 1935: "Farmer could do practically nothing wrong. Although he met with stiff opposition from South defenders and was watched very closely, he was able to bring down marks with wonderful grace and ease, and his shooting was phenomenal. At least half his goals were from difficult angles and several were from seemingly impossible positions"

The 1940 season was perhaps the most memorable of his illustrious career. On July 6 of that year at Prospect Oval, Farmer kicked a staggering 23.6 out of North's tally of 26.11 (Torrens scored 8.14). During the year Farmer also became the first North Adelaide player to play 200 games and he reached 1,333 goals, thus breaking Gordon Coventry's record of 1,299. 

Bos Daly congratulates Farmer on equalling his record of 23 goals in one match

Farmer's goal scoring exploits weren't limited to league football though. He played for South Australia ten times against Victoria. In teams that were usually defeated soundly, Farmer scored fifty goals - thus averaging 5 goals per game. Furthermore, Victoria's full back for most of this time was Jack Regan, the "king of full backs". Imagine the chagrin of all veteran South Australian football  supporters when the inaugural Hall of Fame was setup. Regan was a member but Ken Farmer wasn't. Luckily the AFL saw the error of their ways and Ken Farmer was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1998.

What made Farmer such a phenomenon? Firstly there was his uncanny goal sense. After his  first year when he scored nearly as many points as goals, he averaged four goals from every five shots. Yet when questioned in later life as to any areas of the game he could have improved upon Ken stated that he wished that the drop punt had been invented when he was playing. He believed he could have been even more accurate if this modern kick had been in vogue instead of having to rely on screw and flat punts. Additionally Ken had incredibly strong hands. Legend has it that at training he would hold the ball in one hand and dare the other players to punch the ball away. They couldn't. His marking was considered as graceful as it was strong. The late Don McInnes, a team mate of Ken throughout most of his career said "Ken had immensely strong fingers and was a great mark, something which has not been stressed. He was a man who loved breaking records.

But Ken Farmer's exploits weren't limited simply to that of goalkicker. After his retirement he became coach of North Adelaide in 1949. In four years of coaching he led North to two premierships, once runner up and once fifth. In his final game as coach of North Adelaide they won the premiership by a record margin of 108 points, defeating Norwood 23 goals 15 behinds to 6 goals 9 behinds. Ken then retired from active participation with the North Adelaide Football Club but he remained a staunch supporter throughout his life. In the early days of television he was an interesting, homespun commentator on the World of Sport program and when North Adelaide made a run towards the 1963 grand final with a very young team, Ken was often seen around the club in an advisory capacity.

On the 9th November, 1980 the new Ken Farmer Gates on the eastern side of Prospect Oval were opened by the Mayor of Prospect in the presence of Ken and a number of his team mates. He passed away on 5 March 1982.

In May 1998 his son Milton accepted Ken's induction into the AFL Hall of Fame with a moving speech, stating that "as a forward my father was awesome and as a father I adored him".

So did all. 

Farmer runs on to Norwood Oval for his last game in 1941

Record:
Year Goals
1929 62
1930 105
1931 126
1932 102
1933 112
1934 106
1935 128
1936 134
1937 108
1938 112
1939 113
1940 123
1941 86

Highest Tally against other SANFL Clubs:
West Torrens 23
South Adelaide 16
Glenelg 15
Norwood 13
West Adelaide 13
Sturt 13
Port Adelaide 12

Club Captain: 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1941
Club Coach: 1949 Premiers, 1950, 1951
Runner-Up, 1952 Premiers
Premiership Player: 1930, 1931
Club Best and Fairest: 1936
State Coach: 1954
AFL Hall of Fame: 1998