1881 Victorian football season

1881 Victorian football season
Date	30 April – 1 October 1881 [1]
←  1880 1882  →

The 1881 Victorian football season was the twelfth senior season of Australian rules football in the colony of Victoria. ^[2] The season saw the formation of the Sandhurst Football Association in the Bendigo region, which followed the formation of the Victorian Football Association five years earlier in 1877. ^{[3] [4]}

Clubs

New clubs

Club	League	Ref
Canterbury	Juniors	[5]

VFA

Main article: 1881 VFA season

South Melbourne won the Victorian Football Association (VFA) premiership for the first time, after finishing the season with seven wins from its eleven senior matches. ^{[6] [7]}

Juniors

South Park was the premier club in the junior competition. ^[a] Battery United, Britannia, Brunswick, Hawthorn, Hotham United, Northcote, Powlett, Royal Park, Sandridge, South Carlton, South Yarra, Southern, Waverley and Williamstown were also mentioned as being among the top teams. ^{[9] [10]}

Club records

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA
1	South Park (P)	18	13	1	4	61	7
2	South Yarra	18	10	5	3	49	27
3	Hotham United	17	8	7	2	30	15
4	Hawthorn	14	7	6	1	31	29
5	Star of Carlton	19	8	3	8	30	16
6	Waverley	14	7	3	4	20	15
	Powlett	18	9	4	5	37	27
	Stanley	19	15	2	2	48	13
	Royal Park	15	4	4	7	16	19
	Battery United	16	11	1	4	36	6
	Sandridge	11	4	5	2	11	18
	Britannia	16		2		29	9
	Williamstown	13	6	3	4	22	13
	Northcote	14	4	8	2	23	35
	Southern	6	0	6	0	2	21
	Brunswick
	South Carlton

Source: ^{[1] [11] [9] [10]}
(P) Premiers

Ballarat District

Ballarat Imperial was the premier club in the Ballarat District competition, winning nine of its twelve matches. ^{[11] [12]}

Club records

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA
1	Ballarat Imperial (P)	12	9	2	1	34	10
2	Ballarat City	15	10	4	1	37	9
3	Albion Imperial	10	8	0	2	21	6
4	Victoria Imperial	13	5	1	7	13	9
5	Ballarat	19	0	15	4	11	47
6	Creswick	10	5	4	1	16	12

Source: ^[11]
(P) Premiers

Geelong District

Geelong West was the premier club in the Geelong District competition, winning seven of its 17 matches. ^{[13] [14]} A representative Geelong District team played a match against South Australia at Corio Cricket Ground on 27 August, with Geelong District winning eight goals to zero. ^{[15] [16]}

Club records

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA
1	Geelong West (P)	17	7	7	3	37	20
	Chilwell
	East Geelong
	North Geelong

Source: ^[1]
(P) Premiers

Sandhurst

1881 SFA season
Teams	7
Premiers	Sandhurst 1st premiership
1882  →

The 1881 SFA season was the inaugural season of the Sandhurst Football Association (SFA), which was formed at a meeting on 10 June 1881. ^{[17] [18]} Sandhurst was the premier club, winning 11 of its 19 matches. ^{[11] [19]}

Club records

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA
1	Sandhurst (P)	19	11	1	7	39	13
	Bendigo	16	9	4	3	30	15
	Civil Service	6	2	2	2	7	5
	Ironbark	12	3	3	6	13	14
	Coachbuilders	8	1	3	4	7	11
	Epsom	4	0	3	1	1	9
	Eaglehawk
−	Sandhurst (2nd 20)	6	2	4	0	6	11
−	Bendigo (2nd 20)	8	6	1	1	12	3

Source: ^{[11] [20] [21]}
(P) Premiers

Notes

1. At the time, the term "junior" was used to describe open age football of a lower standard than senior football, rather than under age football. ^[8]

References

1. Pennings, Mark (28 May 2014). "A Golden Era Begins: Football in 'Marvellous Melbourne', 1877 to 1885" (PDF). QUT. Origins of Australian Football (Volume II). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
2. An Old Player (15 October 1881). "Review of the past season". Leader. p. 12. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
3. "FOOTBALL". Bendigo Advertiser. 11 June 1881. p. 1. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
4. Johnston, David (17 April 2024). "These 10 country footy leagues are more than 100 years old". The Weekly Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
5. "Club info". Canterbury Football Club. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
6. Mark, Little (8 October 1881). "A review of the past season". The Herald. p. 2. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
7. Blucher, Peter (11 May 2017). "Our history: South Melbourne foundations". Sydney Swans. Archived from the original on 13 April 2025. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
8. Gigacz, Andrew (5 June 2023). "Still snarling: 140 years on". Western Bulldogs. Archived from the original on 4 June 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
9. "Victorian Junior Football Association (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
10. "Hawthorn Football Club statistics 1881". Early History of the Hawthorn Football Club 1873–1935. 1998. Archived from the original on 16 August 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2004.
11. Pindar, Peter (15 October 1881). "The football season of 1881". The Australasian. p. 12. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
12. "FOOTBALL". The Ballarat Courier. 14 September 1881. p. 4. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
13. "Geelong West Football Club (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
14. "Geelong West". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 29 March 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
15. "FOOTBALL". Geelong Advertiser. 26 August 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
16. "FOOTBALL". Geelong Advertiser. 29 August 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
17. "FOOTBALL". Bendigo Advertiser. 13 August 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
18. "Sandhurst v. Bendigo". Bendigo Advertiser. 15 September 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
19. "Football banquet". Bendigo Advertiser. 21 September 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
20. "FOOTBALL". Bendigo Advertiser. 22 August 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
21. Follower (1 October 1881). "The past football season". Bendigo Advertiser. p. 1. Retrieved 3 June 2025.