Whineray, having previously played for five other sides before settling at his home-town team, made 61 appearances for Auckland from 1959 to 1966, while Allen introduced an attractive brand of running rugby as coach from 1957 to 1963. And the pair's overlap produced a domination of the Ranfurly Shield that stood for 20 years before being surpassed by their latter-day peers.
When Auckland claimed the Log O' Wood from Southland in 1959 and lost it to North Auckland after only two challenges, there was no indication of the stranglehold to follow. But, claiming it back from their northern neighbours a year later, Allen and Whineray conspired on a then-record 25 defences, stretching to a 1963 defeat against Wellington.
Summing up the spirit of those halcyon days, Whineray described the period as full of "excitement, drama and fervour that transformed Eden Park into an oasis of magic during the winters".
It was a magic that was eventually replicated two decades later, when the region was graced by a group of players destined for greatness. And greatness they found, winning 11 of 15 national provincial championships from 1982 until 1996.
Auckland's Ranfurly Shield win over Canterbury in 1985 started a record-breaking era that stretched to 61 defences over nine seasons. Photo / Paul Estcourt
A cursory look at the All Blacks those teams produced succinctly explains such dominance - John Kirwan, Grant Fox, Sean Fitzpatrick, Joe Stanley, Michael Jones, Zinzan Brooke, Frank Bunce ... to name but a few.
Along with the NPC titles, those players produced a Ranfurly Shield run that spanned nine years and 61 defences, a number no other side has threatened in the 113-year history of the Log.
Such a stretch rewrote many Ranfurly Shield records that stand to this day. Grant Fox played the most matches (57) and scored the most points (932), Terry Wright notched the most tries (53), and North Otago copped the biggest margin of defeat (139-5) in a game that saw Kirwan cross for a record eight tries.
Cricket
Auckland's two greatest cricket teams arrived at either end of the 1980s and featured some of the best players this country has ever produced.
The first vintage began their innings at the turn of the decade and thrived through to 1984, while the second crop came a couple of years later and prolonged the province's prosperity until 1992.
While three first-class titles and five one-day trophies hardly represents an era of absolute domination, they do mark Auckland as the most successful of New Zealand's six sides during the 1980s.
Martin Crowe helped his team to a Cup and Shield double in 1980-81. Photo / NZH ARCHIVE
The 1980-81 season marked the birth of that era, when a team led by the likes of Martin Crowe and John Reid completed a Shell Cup/Shell Trophy double.
The four-day competition was won with an unbeaten run across seven matches, while the one-day trophy was clinched by three wickets after Auckland chased down Wellington's 186 in the final over.
The team failed to defend either trophy the following year but, boosted by the arrivals of Mark Greatbatch and John Bracewell, Auckland won back-to-back Shell Cups in the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons.
Those four titles in the early part of the decade were soon matched by the team that came together in the latter half, with the first piece of silverware being claimed in the 1986-87 campaign, when a 51-run victory over Northern Districts on the final day of the season saw Auckland barely edge Canterbury on net run rate.
The following season was again fruitless but the next three years produced three more titles. First, the 1988-89 Shell Trophy was clinched with a final-round rout of Otago, with Danny Morrison (5-16), Martin Snedden (4-14) and Adam Parore (five catches) combining to dismiss the opposition for 50 in the second innings.
Then, the 1989-90 Shell Cup was claimed with a win over Central Districts in the final, when Auckland fielded a starting XI comprised of 11 current or recent internationals, including the likes of Dipak Patel, John Wright and Ian Smith.
And finally, the province tasted more four-day success the following season, with an unbeaten run seeing Auckland record a comprehensive 20-point victory in the standings.
Football
While Auckland City's success at the Club World Cup was unprecedented, there have been times in the past decade when they weren't even the best team in their own town.
Which is why, when assessing the best football sides the Super City has produced, Auckland City must sit on almost level pegging with Waitakere United.
Auckland City celebrate in Morocco. Photo / AP
With a nod to the strength of the region in the 1970s - when Eastern Suburbs, Blockhouse Bay and, particularly, Mt Wellington combined to rule the national league and pave the way for the efforts of the '82 All Whites - the dominance enjoyed by City and United is unmatched.
For anyone in need of refreshing, since the New Zealand Football Championship was launched in 2004 only two sides have emerged on top of the table at the end of the regular season and only two sides have triumphed in the grand final.
Auckland City kicked things off with a three-peat of titles in the first three seasons but, not to be outdone, Waitakere United replied with four championships on the bounce from 2010 to 2013. The score after 10 years of the competition currently sits at 5-5.
Which provides the need to look offshore to separate the sides and, while the derby rivals have won eight of the nine OFC Champions League trophies since Australia left the conference, that is where City emerge the clear victor.
They have won the competition six times, compared with Waitakere's two, while Auckland have won five games at the Club World Cup, compared with their neighbours' none.
League
The rivalry that graced the glory days at Carlaw Park saw Otahuhu own the 1970s and Mt Albert dominate the 1980s.
Between them, Otahuhu and Mt Albert won 11 of 17 Fox Memorial trophies between 1970 and 1986, controlling the Auckland Rugby League premiership like no other clubs since.
And their control was split almost evenly along the two distinct decade lines, with Otahuhu first gaining a stranglehold before passing the baton to Mt Albert to press their claim as Auckland league's best ever side.
Otahuhu beat Richmond in the 1977 Fox Memorial final. Photo / NZH ARCHIVE
Boasting a couple of Kiwis captains in the 1970s, Otahuhu won five Fox Memorial trophies in nine years, as first Roy Christian and then Mark Graham helped guide their sides to premiership success.
But, under the stewardship of Mike McClennan, Mt Albert snatched the upper hand in the rivalry as the 1980s arrived, claiming five premierships in the next six years. The only title they missed, in 1983, was won, of course, by Otahuhu.
Basketball
Only one team can realistically be considered as the best basketball side attached to Auckland.
There has, after all, hardly been an illustrious history of hoops in the city, leaving the 2011-13 Breakers as the stand-out contenders.
That team first broke the duck of Kiwi sporting sides in Australian competitions and, unsatisfied with that accomplishment, then completed the ANBL's second ever three-peat.
The Breakers celebrate their 2012 finals win. Photo / Sarah Ivey
Led by Australian coach Andrej Lemanis, those Breakers teams were built around a solid Kiwi core of Kirk Penney, Mika Vukona and Dillon Boucher, and sparked by outstanding imports Gary Wilkinson, Cedric Jackson and Kevin Braswell.
The first championship arrived after a come-from-behind semifinal series win over Perth followed by a three-game thriller against Cairns in Paul Henare's last game as a player. The second involved another dramatic triumph over old rivals Perth, while the third saw the Breakers clinch in Western Australia as Boucher and CJ Bruton wore the singlet for the last time.
Netball
Netball's greatest era in Auckland came, unsurprisingly, under the guidance of one of New Zealand's greatest coaches.
Yvonne Willering led Auckland to 10 national titles. Photo / PHOTOSPORT
Yvonne Willering had already enjoyed a stand-out playing career, starring for the Silver Ferns from 1974 to 1983, when she decided to try coaching. That decision quickly paid dividends, as Willering took charge of Auckland's national provincial championship side and made them virtually unbeatable.
Willering led Auckland to 10 consecutive NPC titles from 1986 to 1995 before she crossed the bridge and dragged North Harbour from relative obscurity to a national championship. Her success saw Willering take the Silver Ferns coaching job and netball in Auckland has never been the same.
