Up until that time Hyde Park had been the main sporting and racing ground in the colony but when it was dedicated as public gardens in 1856 city cricketers and footballers had to find somewhere else to play.

It is hardly surprising therefore that within a couple of years of the NSWCA taking control of the ground, the governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, appointed Driver himself, William W. Stephen and Phillip Sheridan (after whom a grandstand was named), the first trustees.

Boards with players' names on them were placed in different slits alongside scrolls of canvas with numbers painted on them which were rolled up and down to show the changing score.

The invention of the beer can and the portable cooler in the 1960s increased alcohol consumption at cricket matches which in turn fuelled bad crowd behaviour.

The SCG Trust rebuilt the MA Noble, Don Bradman and Dally Messenger stands for the 2013–14 Ashes series, it increased ground capacity to 48,000 spectators.

The feature of the tourists game against New South Wales at the SCG in 1879 was a riot sparked apparently when the crowd disagreed with an umpiring decision by George Coulthard that went against the locals.

In the last test of the 1970–71 English tour, England fast bowler John Snow struck Australian spinner and tailender Terry Jenner on the head with a bouncer.

At the end of the game the crowd of over 47,000 jumped the fence and invaded the field and congregated in front of the Members' Stand cheering and calling for Aussie captain Clive Churchill.

The SCG hosted the 1968 Rugby League World Cup final, won 20–2 by the Johnny Raper led Australians over France in front of 54,290.

In the first ten minutes of the game, South's captain Sattler had his jaw broken by a punch from Manly forward John Bucknall in an off-the-ball incident.

In an act of supreme courage Sattler played on, refusing treatment at half time and pleas from teammates not to take the field again, to lead Souths to a famous 23–12 win.

The Sharks were Captain-coached by Great Britain halfback Tommy Bishop and had a forward pack led by his tough St. Helens and GB teammate Cliff Watson and 1973 Rothmans Medallist Ken Maddison, along with goal kicking 18-year-old whiz-kid centre Steve Rogers.

In the opening minutes of the game, Mal Reilly was felled in back play by Cronulla hooker Ron "Rocky" Turner well after he kicked the ball and, after writhing on the ground in agony with a badly bruised hip, left the field for a pain killing injection.

[40] In 1975, in one of the most memorable grand finals ever, the Arthur Beetson captained, Jack Gibson coached Eastern Suburbs Roosters, defeated St. George 38–0 to win the premiership.

Easts were without two of their stars, rookie fullback Russell Fairfax and centre Mark Harris, and coach Jack Gibson gambled on an unknown player to help fill the void – John Rheinberger – who played in his first only first grade game in the grand final.

In 1981, the Eels 'dream team' (another team coached by Jack Gibson), comprising internationals Ray Price, Mick Cronin, Ron Hilditch and Bob "The Bear" O'Reilly, as well as budding stars Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Steve Ella, Eric Grothe and John Muggleton, outscored the Tommy Raudonikis captained Newtown four tries to three to win 20–11 and secure their first premiership.

Playing second-row for Newtown that day was future dual grand final winning, and NSW State of Origin coach Phil Gould.

Financial pressures at the Newtown club would result in the Jets competing in the New South Wales Rugby League first grade competition for only two seasons following their 1981 grand final appearance.

The last rugby league grand final played at the Cricket Ground was the 1987 decider between the Bob Fulton coached Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Canberra Raiders, who had joined the premiership in 1982.

Even so, between 1988 and 2018 the ground continued to host occasional National Rugby League matches,[41][42] mostly featuring the Heritage round game between St George Illawarra and South Sydney and the 2008 Centenary ANZAC Test between Australia and New Zealand, in what was the first test held at the famous old ground since the Wally Lewis captained Australians had defeated the Kiwis 29–12 on 19 July 1986 in front of 34,302 fans.

[43] The Roosters also played two home games at the SCG against the Melbourne Storm and Manly Warringah in 2023 due to the Sydney Football Stadium being used for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

[44] In 1898, Sydney cycle firm, Gavin Gibson Ltd, imported seven motorised tricycles produced by Count Jules-Albert de Dion and powered by one cylinder petrol engines designed by his partner Georges Bouton.

Marred by anti-apartheid protests, field invasions and objects being thrown onto the ground and halted several times to remove golf balls and protestors, it was won by South Africa who went through the tour undefeated.

The 1978 Welsh had arrived in Australia as (the then) Five Nations Champions, Triple Crown winners, the best rugby union team in the world but they were a sad and sorry bunch by the time they got to Sydney for the last game of the tour, the second test.

The team was decimated by injuries and in two earlier tour games had suffered a last minute loss to Sydney and a humiliating defeat midweek to the Australian Capital Territory.

The SCG crowd did not have long to wait because after the very first scrum Welsh prop Graham Price came out holding his bloodied jaw, the victim of a Finnane punch.

The kicking of a young five-eighth named Tony Melrose closed out the New Zealanders and Australia won a try-less game 12–6, to take back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 1949.

The club won five premierships with the VFA up to 1890 and three more in the VFL in the first half of the 20th century, but a lack of success in the post-war years and serious financial troubles left them ripe for relocation when the game's administrators were looking to expand the competition into other states.

The SCG has been a popular arena for a whole range of sports before the turn of the 20th century including cricket, tennis, baseball, soccer and cycling with athletics being staged there as early as 1879.

[63][64] As the games took place approximately one week before the normal season opening date, both the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers actually returned to their Spring Training schedules once the series ended.