1888 Victorian football season

1888 Victorian football season
Date	14 April – 29 September 1888 [1]
←  1887 1889  →

The 1888 Victorian football season was the 19th senior season of Australian rules football in the colony of Victoria. ^{[2] [3]}

VFA

Main article: 1888 VFA season

South Melbourne won the Victorian Football Association (VFA) premiership for the third time, after finishing the season with 15 wins from its 19 matches. ^[4]

VJFA

1888 VJFA season
Premiers	North Park 3rd premiership
←  1887 1889  →

The 1888 VJFA season was the sixth season of the Victorian Junior Football Association (VJFA). ^[a] North Park won the premiership for the third time, as part of a sequence of five premierships won by the club between 1886 and 1890. ^{[6] [7]}

The third-rate premiership was won by the Domain Football Club. ^[8]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	Pts
1	North Park (P)	15	13	1	1	59	9	54
2	Fitzroy Imperial	13	9	2	2	37	17	40
3	Britannia	14	8	2	4			40
4	South St Kilda	12	8	4	0			32
5	Union Jack	16	8	5	3			38
6	Clifton	18	8	8	2			36
7	Coburg	10	5	3	2			24
8	Brunswick	11	2	6	3			14

Source: ^{[6] [9] [10] [11]}
(P) Premiers

Ballarat District

Ballarat and South Ballarat were the premier clubs in the Ballarat District competition.

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pts
1	Ballarat (P)	22
2	South Ballarat (P)	22
3	Ballarat Imperial	4

Source: ^[12]
(P) Premiers

Goulburn Valley

1888 GVFA season
Premiers	Numurkah 1st premiership
1889  →

The 1888 GVFA season was the inaugural season of the Goulburn Valley Football Association (GVFA). ^[13]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA
1	Numurkah (P)			1
2	Muckatah
	Narioka
	Nathalia
	Wunghnu
	Yarroweyah

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

Sandhurst

1888 SFA season
Premiers	Bendigo 3rd premiership
←  1887 1889  →

The 1888 SFA season was the eighth season of the Sandhurst Football Association (SFA). ^[16]

Bendigo won the premiership for the third time.

Ladder

Pos	Team
1	Bendigo (P)
	Eaglehawk
	North Bendigo
	Sandhurst

Source: ^[17]
(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. ^[5]

References

1. "FOOTBALL". North Melbourne Advertiser. 21 April 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
2. "FOOTBALL". The Kyneton Observer. 21 June 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
3. "JUNIOR FOOTBALL". Sportsman. 15 August 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
4. "Heritage Week: South Melbourne History". Sydney Swans. 3 July 2023. Archived from the original on 16 September 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
5. Gigacz, Andrew (5 June 2023). "Still snarling: 140 years on". Western Bulldogs. Archived from the original on 4 June 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
6. "Victorian Junior Football Association". Sportsman. 24 October 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
7. "Victorian Junior Football Association (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
8. "JUNIOR FOOTBALL". Sportsman. 3 October 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
9. "Riversdale Football Club statistics 1888". Early History of the Hawthorn Football Club 1873–1935. 1998. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
10. "JUNIOR FOOTBALL". Sportsman. 30 May 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
11. "JUNIOR FOOTBALL". Sportsman. 26 September 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
12. "The last football match for the local premiership for the present season was played on Saturday afternoon". The Ballarat Star. 1 October 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
13. "Goulburn Valley Football Association (Vic/NSW)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 16 September 2025. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
14. "Numarkah". Cobram Courier. 12 September 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
15. "Goulbarn Valley Football Association". Cobram Courier. 26 September 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
16. "Sandhurst Football Association". Sportsman. 13 June 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
17. "Bendigo FNL Premiership List – Senior Football" (PDF). Bendigo Football Netball League. October 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2025.