Australian Football (Footy) in Portland, Oregon

1990 - AFL Exhibition Match played at Civic Stadium - Melbourne Demons defeat the West Coast Eagles.

1998 - Formation of Portland Footy Club by Scott Johnson - club becomes a contact point for followers of footy but does not play matches or hold training sessions.

2001 - David Douglas High School - A visiting PE teacher from Australia teaches students how to play footy - Reported on in the Portland Tribune newspaper - follow the link to read the article.

2003 - Portland Footy Club Becomes Active...

The arrival of players from other clubs in the United States and other several small groups of players from around Portland and northern Oregon prompted the club to become active at last.

Since our first training session in perfect weather in November 2003, many players, officials, and supporters have contributed to a very fast rate of growth for the club. After several training sessions, we held a 9-a-side intra-club match. The two teams from that game has since become the founding members of the Portland Metro Footy League, designed to foster local football within the Portland Metropolitan area, southern Washington, and northern Oregon and to ease the burden of travel.

After a week off for Thanksgiving came the big day, our first match against another member of the Northwest Pacific Australian Football League on Saturday, 6th of December. Our opponent was Seattle and we traveled up to confront them at Lake Washington High School. In cold clear weather, Portland had clearly come to play and after three tight quarters, the Power broke away from Seattle to win convincingly 70 points to 19.

After one final Portland Metro Footy League match on Sunday, 14th December, the club went into hiatus over the holiday break. We will resume training on the second weekend of January 2004 and played a tournament against Seattle and Vancouver in late January. Portland lost both of its matches in tight contests with Vancouver the overall winner.  

After another game against a strong Seattle outfit on June 12, 2004, several founding members of the Portland club retired.  The new team, led by Peter Klaebe and Sean Quinn, have commenced social training sessions every two weeks over the summer (followed by a drink at a local pub).

2005 - Portland Footy Club has First Winning Season - follow the link to the results page

2006 - Sean Quinn Plays 75th USAFL Game

One of the earliest players to help develop the game of footy in the US, Quinn began his career in 1997 while in Indianapolis. There he helped lead the Indianapolis Swans to many hard fought losses to the then-powerhouse Cincinnati Dockers. After graduating law school in 1999, Quinn returned to his hometown of Chicago and founded the Chicago Mob (who eventually became the Chicago Swans). There he stayed for 5 years and played in 55 games, the highlight being the National Championship in Los Angeles in which the Swans advanced to the second round.


Sean Quinn in Action for Portland Power (left) and Chicago Swans (right)

In 2003 Quinn left Chicago for a brief stint in Nashville before heading west to Portland, Oregon. Teaming up with Power founder Mark O'Brien, Quinn has helped build his third club into a competitive force that regularly gives rival Seattle a run for their money. On March 19 the Power will host their 2006 season opener at Duniway Park and Quinn's 75th USAFL game.  Hope to see you there as we pay tribute to a remarkable contribution to footy in the United States and in Portland.

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