In 1945, the Greeks founded their club officially under the name Olympic but within 15 years, the South Australian Soccer Federation suspended the club from competition due to crowd violence. The club reformed a year later and re-entered the state league as the Hellenic Athletic and Soccer Club. In 1962, the Greek club merged with the old West Adelaide Soccer Club, which had formed in 1910 and, until that point, did not have ties to the Greek community. The new club, West Adelaide Hellas quickly won promotion to the top tier of South Australian football and became a powerhouse.