October 20, 1963
Hitcham Air Force Base, Honolulu
Crowd: 1500

Melbourne 17.21.123
Geelong 15.21.111

Melbourne win by 12 points

The first Australian Rules players ever to take the game to the United States were given a rock star welcome on arrival in Honolulu.

Hula dancers, musicians, TV cameras and radio reporters all flocked for a look at the mysterious foreign footballers.

Played on a square-stadium with 15 players a side, the Demons went into the match against the premiers with a side missing many stars. With the umpires not given the power to report players the match was a bloodbath. Ron Barassi flattened Polly Farmer.

The crowd were helped with their understanding of the rules by a live broadcast over the stadium's public address system from caller Tony Charlton.

The Honolulu Advertiser newspaper said Aussie Rules was "too strenuous for our athletes, but an exciting, completely fascinating game".

Notes
The 1963 Annual Report carries a report saying that the match was 11 a side.

Media
"Hectic welcome for the Demons" - The Age 09/10/1963

Links
Program image courtesy of grandoldflag.net