History of water polo (6) : Sirens, Balluta shine in the fifties

Abstract

During this decade, starting in 1950 and ending in 1959, it is observed that our local water polo standards have been consolidated and this leads to more ambitious experiments on the part of local associations and water polo clubs with tours organized abroad by representative Maltese sides in Sicily. In this period, we trace the phenomenal rise of two new clubs namely the Sirens of St. Paul's Bay and that of Balluta from St. Julian's, who today have been renamed "San Giljan". Whilst the pioneers of Maltese water polo namely Valletta and Sliema record notable doubles in the '50s, we find that the Neptunes of St. Julian's, the club which blazed away to such dizzy heights of fame in the 30's and the 40's, pass through a lean time in contrast to the previous decade, when they closed that period on such a high note.