Friday night’s AFLX Tournament, with mixed teams and super-hero inspired uniforms, might seem strange to some, but it has nothing on the Truth Newspaper’s Footy Olympics.

Thanks to one die-hard Saints fan, who brought in some beautifully shot images from the 1975 event, saints.com.au has been able to piece together one of Australian football’s more unusual events.

The Footy Olympics were first held in 1974, bringing together players from each VFL club with more than $10,000 on offer from those involved.

Events such as the 100m sprint and 1500m mirrored a typical athletics carnival, while others like the ‘Iron-Man ball race’ and the ‘Umpires Backwards Race’ were a little different to say the least.

The winner of the ‘Marathon’ (approx. six miles) received $250 for their efforts, while the first coach home in the event scored themselves $100.

The club with the most aggregate points across all events was awarded $2,000, while the best individual performance of the day won $500 – not bad money when you consider most players took home about $600 a year at the time.

In the pictures we were given, we see the burly figure of Kevin “Cowboy” Neale carrying diminutive rover Lance Taylor in the “Iron Man Piggy Back race” over 100 metres.

Kevin 'Cowboy' Neale carries Lance Taylor.

Cowboy couldn’t remember where the pair finished in that event and chuckled when he was reminded that his jockey that day was Taylor. “I couldn’t pick him in the photo”.

On the hot February day we see the young Saint player Michael Malthouse getting some temporary relief as he splashes through the water hazard in the steeplechase.

The entry on the programme of a Saints fan notes curtly “Malthouse last”.

Mick Malthouse gets some relief.

The same program records one J. Newman from Geelong finishing first across the line in heat one of the 400m event.

The sprints had better results for the red, white and black colours.

Half back Neil Besanko wasn’t known by Saints fans as “Racehorse” for nothing, and reports of the day tell us that he won both the 100 metres and 200 metre events.

Besanko once ran third in the prestigious Bendigo Thousand and was no slouch. We see him pictured in the relay where footballs were used instead of batons.

Neil Besanko wasn’t known by Saints fans as “Racehorse” for nothing.

Popular winger Colin Carter is seen leading the pack in the 800 metres at VFL Park which he eventually won.

Thinking back to that day he recalls that he had no idea about running strategy and after a flying start decided to slow down the pace. He remembers famed athletics coach John Toleman yelling to one of his charges, South Melbourne’s Robert Dean, to pick up the pace, but it was to no avail.

“Every winner got $100. I think Teddy Whitten presented the envelope and it had nothing in it. He said don’t worry Col, it will be coming, but it never did!”

Carter’s main recollection is of the Saints’ post Olympics get-together in the pool at the house of teammate David Ellis.

The Footy Olympics in 1975 took place at Olympic Park, before moving to Waverley Park which is where the final event in 1977 was held.

The Truth Newspaper was last published in 1995.