Editing Sydney Swans (section)

===Premiership success: 1909–1945===
[[File:Aerial view of Albert Park Lake and the South Melbourne Cricket Ground in the foreground with a football match in progress.jpeg|thumb|left|Aerial photo of the South Melbourne cricket ground during the 1920s with a SMFC match in progress]]
The club had early success and won three VFL premierships in 1909, 1918 and 1933.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} However, they were the subject of some off-field difficulties, and the late 1920s, the [[South Melbourne Districts Football Club]] donated 40 [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] to South Melbourne to stop them from folding.<ref name="vafasmd">{{cite web |title=South Melbourne Districts Football Club |url=https://www.vafa.com.au/clubs/south-melbourne-districts/ |publisher=Victorian Amateur Football Association |access-date=29 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240929012207/https://www.vafa.com.au/clubs/south-melbourne-districts/ |archive-date=29 September 2024}}</ref> The Districts also often provided assistance payments to players when needed.<ref name="vafasmd"/>

In 1932, the red sash on the guernsey was replaced with a red "V".<ref>Branagan, Mark and Lefebvre, Mike, Bloodstained Angels, The Rise & Fall of the Foreign Legion, 1995, self-published, Melbourne, Australia</ref> 
The club was at its most successful in the 1930s, when key recruits from both Victoria and interstate led to a string of appearances in the finals, including four successive grand final appearances from 1933 to 1936, albeit with only one premiership in 1933. The collection of players recruited from interstate in 1932/1933 became known as South Melbourne's "Foreign Legion".<ref>The caricature at the foot of [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/149547747/17704724 page 10 of ''Table Talk'' (22 June 1933)] was created by Richard "Dick" Ovenden (1897–1972). From left to right those represented are: [[Jack Bisset]], the team's captain; [[Dick Mullaly]], the club's secretary; [[Brighton Diggins]], from Subiaco (WAFL); [[Bert Beard]], from South Fremantle (WAFL); [[Bill Faul]], from Subiaco (WAFL); [[Joe O'Meara]], from East Perth (WAFL); [[Frank Davies (footballer, born 1907)|Frank Davies]], from City (NTFA); [[Laurie Nash]], from City (NTFA); [[John Bowe (footballer)|John Bowe]], from Subiaco (WAFL); [[Jack Wade (footballer)|Jack Wade]], from Port Adelaide (SANFL); [[Ossie Bertram]], from West Torrens (SANFL); and [[Wilbur Harris]], from West Torrens (SANFL).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/club/history/timeline/1898-1930|title=Timeline: Early VFL days (1898–1930)|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref>

On grand final eve, 1935, as the Swans prepared to take on Collingwood, star full-forward Bob Pratt was clipped by a truck moments after stepping off a tram and subsequently missed the match for South. Ironically, the truck driver was a South Melbourne supporter.<ref>Shaw, I.W. (2006) ''The Bloodbath''. Scribe Publications.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/club/history/timeline/1930-1960|title=Timeline: A second wave of success (1930–1960)|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Laurie Nash1937.jpg|thumb|150px|Captain [[Laurie Nash]] marks on 26 June 1937]]
It was during this period that the team became known as the Swans. The nickname, which was suggested by a ''[[Herald and Weekly Times]]'' artist in 1933, was inspired by the number of Western Australians in the team (the [[black swan]] being the state emblem of Western Australia), and was formally adopted by the club before the following season 1934.<ref name="J. M. Rohan 7">{{cite news|newspaper=The Sporting Globe|date=24 January 1934|location=Melbourne|title=Real story behind South Melbourne's football premiership|page=7|author=J. M. Rohan}}</ref> The name stuck, in part due to the club's association with nearby [[Albert Park and Lake]], also known for its [[swan]]s (although there are no longer any non-native white swans and only black, indigenous swans in the lake).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/club/history/timeline/1930-1960|title=Timeline: A second wave of success (1930–1960)|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref>

After several years with only limited success, South Melbourne next reached the grand final in 1945. The match, played against Carlton, was to become known colloquially as "[[1945 VFL Grand Final|the Bloodbath]]", due to the player brawl that overshadowed the match, with a total of 9 players being reported by the umpires. Carlton won the match by 28 points, and from then on, South Melbourne struggled for many years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/club/history/timeline/1930-1960|title=Timeline: A second wave of success (1930–1960)|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref>