1885 Victorian football season

1885 Victorian football season
Date	2 May – 26 September 1885 [1]
←  1884 1886  →

The 1885 Victorian football season was the 16th senior season of Australian rules football in the colony of Victoria. ^{[2] [3]}

Clubs

Founded

Future Australian Football League (AFL) club Richmond was founded in 1885. ^[4]

Club	League	Ref
East Ballarat	Ballarat District	[5]
Richmond	VFA	[6]

VFA

Main article: 1885 VFA season

South Melbourne won the Victorian Football Association (VFA) premiership for the second time, having finished the season with 22 wins from its 25 total matches. ^[7]

VJFA

1885 VJFA season
Date	2 May – 26 September 1885 [1]
Premiers	Williamstown Juniors 1st premiership
←  1884 1886  →

The 1885 VJFA season was the third season of the Victorian Junior Football Association (VJFA). ^[a] Williamstown Juniors won the premiership for the first time. ^[9] The second-rate junior premiership was won by North Carlton Imperial, although Osborne also claimed the premiership. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Club records

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA
1	Williamstown Juniors (P)	22	17	5	0	54	16
2	Brunswick
3	North Park
4	South Melbourne Juniors
5	Port Melbourne
	Star of Carlton
	Royal Park
	Britannia
	Northcote

Source: ^{[1] [13] [14] [15]}
(P) Premiers

Ballarat District

South Ballarat was the premier club in the Ballarat District competition. ^{[16] [17]} Ballarat Imperial formed a second twenty (reserves) team at the start of the season. ^[18] The second-rate junior premiership was won by the Reserve Football Club. ^[19]

Club records

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA
1	South Ballarat (P)	13	9	3	1	49	29
2	Ballarat Imperial	12	5	7	0	30	38
	Ballarat	12	0	12	0	13	48

Source: ^[1]
(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. Follower (3 October 1885). "The past season". Leader. p. 21. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
3. Follower (3 October 1885). "The tabulated records, 1883". Leader. p. 22. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
4. Bartlett, Rhett (20 February 2025). "Richmond Football Club celebrates 140th birthday". Richmond Football Club. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
5. "Club History". GameDay. East Ballarat Junior Football Club. 24 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
6. Bartlett, Rhett (20 February 2024). "Stop the Presses: The birth of a Club in 1885". Richmond Football Club. Archived from the original on 20 February 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
7. Blucher, Peter (11 May 2017). "Our history: South Melbourne foundations". Sydney Swans. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 10 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. "Williamstown Juniors Football Club (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 3 June 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
10. "North Carlton Imperial v. North Brunswick". The Age. 21 September 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
11. "OSBORNE FOOTBALL CLUB". Williamstown Chronicle. 31 October 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
12. "FOOTBALL". Sportsman. 24 March 1885. p. 8. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
13. Pindar, Peter (3 October 1885). "The football season of 1885". The Australasian. p. 22. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
14. "Williamstown Junior Football Club – premier juniors, 1885". Williamstown Advertiser. 3 October 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
15. "Evansdale Football Club statistics 1885". Early History of the Hawthorn Football Club 1873–1935. 1998. Archived from the original on 16 August 2004. Retrieved 16 August 2004.
16. "SOUTH BALLARAT FOOTBALL CLUB". The Ballarat Courier. 27 March 1885. p. 4. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
17. "THE GRAND FINAL". The Ballarat Star. 26 September 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
18. "BALLARAT IMPERIAL FOOTBALL CLUB". The Ballarat Star. 26 March 1885. p. 4. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
19. "FOOTBALL". The Ballarat Star. 3 April 1886. p. 4. Retrieved 7 June 2025.