1897 VFL season

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1897 VFL premiership season
Essendon fc 1897.jpg
Essendon 1897 VFL premiership team
Date8 May—4 September 1897
Teams8
Premiers Essendon
1st premiership
Runners-up Geelong
1st runners-up result
Minor premiers Geelong
1st minor premiership
Leading goalkicker medallist Eddy James (Geelong)
Jack Leith (Melbourne)
22 goals
Matches played62
1898  →

The 1897 VFL season was the inaugural season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season ran from 8 May to 4 September, comprising a 14-round home-and-away season followed by a three-week finals series featuring the top four clubs. Eight Victorian Football Association (VFA) clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne and St Kilda – featured in the inaugural season after seceding from the VFA in 1896.

Contents

Essendon won the inaugural premiership after winning all three of its finals matches, with Geelong finishing as runners-up with two wins. Geelong won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with an 11–3 win–loss record. Geelong's Eddy James and Melbourne's Jack Leith tied for the leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkickers.

Background

In 1897, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 20 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves" (although any of the 20 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match). [1] Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 14 rounds.

Once the 14-round home-and-away season had finished, the 1897 VFL Premiers were determined according to the conditions dictated by the specific format and conventions of the 1897 Finals System, which was used in this season only.

Home-and-away season

Round 1

Round 1
Saturday, 8 May (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 6.13 (49)def. Carlton 2.4 (16) Brunswick Street Oval
Saturday, 8 May (3:00 pm) Collingwood 5.11 (41)def. St Kilda 2.4 (16) Victoria Park
Saturday, 8 May (3:00 pm) Geelong 3.6 (24)def. by Essendon 7.5 (47) Corio Oval
Saturday, 8 May (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 3.9 (27)def. by Melbourne 6.8 (44) Lake Oval

Round 2

Round 2
Saturday, 15 May (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 6.4 (40)def. Carlton 5.6 (36) Lake Oval
Saturday, 15 May (3:00 pm) Essendon 4.6 (30)def. by Collingwood 8.2 (50) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 15 May (3:00 pm) St Kilda 3.8 (26)def. by Fitzroy 10.6 (66) Junction Oval
Saturday, 15 May (3:00 pm) Melbourne 9.10 (64)def. Geelong 3.1 (19) Melbourne Cricket Ground

Round 3

Round 3
Saturday, 22 May (3:00 pm) Collingwood 6.5 (41)def. Geelong 5.7 (37) Victoria Park
Saturday, 22 May (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 5.9 (39)def. by Melbourne 7.8 (50) Brunswick Street Oval
Monday, 24 May (3:00 pm) Essendon 12.6 (78)def. Carlton 6.5 (41) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Monday, 24 May (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 8.11 (59)def. St Kilda 0.2 (2) Lake Oval

Round 4

Round 4
Saturday, 29 May (3:00 pm) Geelong 5.14 (44)def. Carlton 3.4 (22) Corio Oval
Saturday, 29 May (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 5.11 (41)def. Collingwood 5.3 (33) Lake Oval
Saturday, 29 May (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 2.8 (20)def. by Essendon 6.6 (42) Brunswick Street Oval
Saturday, 29 May (3:00 pm) Melbourne 11.10 (76)def. St Kilda 7.4 (46) Melbourne Cricket Ground

Round 5

Round 5
Saturday, 5 June (3:00 pm) Melbourne 15.17 (107)def. Carlton 3.8 (26) Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 5 June (3:00 pm) Collingwood 5.7 (37)def. Fitzroy 2.9 (21) Victoria Park
Saturday, 5 June (3:00 pm) St Kilda 3.8 (26)def. by Essendon 9.9 (63) Junction Oval
Saturday, 5 June (3:00 pm) Geelong 10.12 (72)def. South Melbourne 3.6 (24) Corio Oval

Round 6

Round 6
Saturday, 19 June (3:00 pm) St Kilda 3.6 (24)def. by Carlton 5.5 (35) Junction Oval
Saturday, 19 June (3:00 pm) Melbourne 5.3 (33)def. Collingwood 3.8 (26) Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 19 June (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 2.4 (16)def. by Essendon 1.13 (19) Lake Oval
Saturday, 19 June (3:00 pm) Geelong 3.13 (31)def. Fitzroy 2.3 (15) Corio Oval

Round 7

Round 7
Tuesday, 22 June (3:00 pm) Carlton 5.5 (35)def. by Collingwood 6.5 (41) Princes Park
Tuesday, 22 June (3:00 pm) Essendon 8.15 (63)def. Melbourne 3.9 (27) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Tuesday, 22 June (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 5.13 (43)drew with South Melbourne 5.13 (43) Brunswick Street Oval
Tuesday, 22 June (3:00 pm) St Kilda 4.7 (31)def. by Geelong 16.18 (114) Junction Oval

Round 8

Round 8
Saturday, 26 June (3:00 pm) Carlton 1.3 (9)def. by Fitzroy 5.17 (47) Princes Park
Saturday, 26 June (3:00 pm) St Kilda 4.5 (29)def. by Collingwood 7.11 (53) Junction Oval
Saturday, 26 June (3;00 pm) Essendon 5.2 (32)def. by Geelong 8.9 (57) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 26 June (3:00 pm) Melbourne 3.2 (20)def. by South Melbourne 11.7 (73) Melbourne Cricket Ground

Round 9

Round 9
Saturday, 3 July (3:00 pm) Carlton 4.4 (28)def. by South Melbourne 11.8 (74) Princes Park
Saturday, 3 July (3:00 pm) Collingwood 5.7 (37)def. by Essendon 6.10 (46) Victoria Park
Saturday, 3 July (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 9.21 (75)def. St Kilda 2.6 (18) Brunswick Street Oval
Saturday, 3 July (3:00 pm) Geelong 1.9 (15)def. Melbourne 0.10 (10) Corio Oval

Round 10

Round 10
Saturday, 10 July (3:00 pm) Carlton 2.1 (13)def. by Essendon 5.12 (42) Princes Park
Saturday, 10 July (3:00 pm) Geelong 7.10 (52)def. Collingwood 1.4 (10) Corio Oval
Saturday, 10 July (3:00 pm) Melbourne 8.5 (53)def. Fitzroy 3.8 (26) Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 10 July (3:00 pm) St Kilda 0.3 (3)def. by South Melbourne 8.16 (64) Junction Oval

Round 11

Round 11
Saturday, 17 July (3:00 pm) Carlton 2.4 (16)def. by Geelong 9.12 (66) Princes Park
Saturday, 17 July (3:00 pm) Collingwood 0.8 (8)def. by South Melbourne 2.15 (27) Victoria Park
Saturday, 17 July (3:00 pm) Essendon 9.8 (62)def. Fitzroy 4.6 (30) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 17 July (3:00 pm) St Kilda 1.7 (13)def. by Melbourne 10.11 (71) Junction Oval

Round 12

Round 12
Saturday, 24 July (3:00 pm) Carlton 2.6 (18)def. by Melbourne 5.16 (46) Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 24 July (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 4.4 (28)def. by Collingwood 3.17 (35) Brunswick Street Oval
Saturday, 24 July (3:00 pm) Essendon 13.16 (94)def. St Kilda 0.3 (3) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 24 July (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 5.2 (32)def. by Geelong 6.8 (44) Lake Oval

Round 13

Round 13
Saturday, 31 July (3:00 pm) Carlton 8.11 (59)def. St Kilda 3.7 (25) Princes Park
Saturday, 31 July (3:00 pm) Collingwood 5.13 (43)def. Melbourne 3.10 (28) Victoria Park
Saturday, 31 July (3:00 pm) Essendon 8.1 (49)def. South Melbourne 6.9 (45) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 31 July (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 2.9 (21)def. by Geelong 5.3 (33) Brunswick Street Oval

Round 14

Round 14
Saturday, 7 August (3:00 pm) Collingwood 7.12 (54)def. Carlton 3.4 (22) Victoria Park
Saturday, 7 August (3:00 pm) Melbourne 8.8 (56)def. Essendon 6.3 (39) Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 7 August (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 3.12 (30)def. Fitzroy 4.5 (29) Lake Oval
Saturday, 7 August (3:00 pm) Geelong 14.12 (96)def. St Kilda 3.0 (18) Corio Oval

Ladder

(P)Premiers
Qualified for finals
#TeamPWLDPFPA %Pts
1 Geelong 141130704383183.844
2 Essendon (P)141130706445158.744
3 Melbourne 141040685473144.840
4 Collingwood 14950509445114.436
5 South Melbourne 14851595430138.434
6 Fitzroy 14491509485104.918
7 Carlton 14212037673751.08
8 St Kilda 14014028096629.00

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 39.0
Source: AFL Tables

Progression by round

4Finished the round in first place0Finished the round in last place
4Won the minor premiership0Won the wooden spoon
4Finished the round inside the top four
41Subscript indicates the ladder position at the end of the round
Team1234567891011121314
Geelong 0608074686124164204242282322362402441
Essendon 434485122162202241241281321361401441442
Melbourne 4482121161201241242243243283323363363403
Collingwood 4283122124163163203242244245245285324364
South Melbourne 054584123124125145185225264304304305345
Fitzroy 418183858586106146186186186186186186
Carlton 0806060707474747474747478787
St Kilda 0707080808080808080808080808

Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

Finals week 1

Finals week 1
Saturday, 21 August (2:30 pm) Geelong 3.11 (29)def. by Essendon 5.5 (35) Corio Oval (crowd: 5,000)
Saturday, 21 August (2:30 pm) Melbourne 7.5 (47)def. by Collingwood 7.9 (51) Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 7,000)

Finals week 2

Finals week 2
Saturday, 28 August (2:30 pm) Essendon 9.16 (70)def. Collingwood 4.6 (30) Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 8,000)
Saturday, 28 August (2:30 pm) Geelong 5.16 (46)def. Melbourne 5.7 (37) Brunswick Street Oval (crowd: 4,000)

Finals week 3

Finals week 3
Saturday, 4 September (2:30 pm) Essendon 1.8 (14)def. Melbourne 0.8 (8) Lake Oval (crowd: 3,800)
Saturday, 4 September (2:30 pm) Geelong 8.4 (52)def. Collingwood 6.12 (48) East Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 3,000)

Finals ladder

Won the premiership
#TeamPWLDPFPA %Pts
1 Essendon 330011967177.612
2 Geelong 3210127120105.88
3 Collingwood 312012916976.34
4 Melbourne 30309211182.90

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Source: AFL Tables

Win–loss table

The following table can be sorted from biggest winning margin to biggest losing margin for each round. If two or more matches in a round are decided by the same margin, these margins are sorted by percentage (i.e. the lowest-scoring winning team is ranked highest and the lowest-scoring losing team is ranked lowest). Opponents are listed above the margins and home matches are in bold.

+WinQualified for finals
-LossXBye
DrawEliminated
TeamHome-and-away seasonLadderFinals seriesFinals
ladder
1234567891011121314F1F2F3
Carlton FIT
-33		SM
-4		ESS
-37		GEE
-22		MEL
-81		STK
+11		COL
-6		FIT
-38		SM
-46		ESS
-29		GEE
-50		MEL
-28		STK
+34		COL
-32		7
(2–12–0)
Collingwood STK
+25		ESS
+20		GEE
+4		SM
-8		FIT
+16		MEL
-7		CAR
+6		STK
+24		ESS
-9		GEE
-42		SM
-19		FIT
+7		MEL
+15		CAR
+32		4
(9–5–0)		MEL
+4		ESS
-40		GEE
-4		3
(1–2–0)
Essendon GEE
+23		COL
-20		CAR
+37		FIT
+22		STK
+37		SM
+3		MEL
+36		GEE
-25		COL
+9		CAR
+29		FIT
+32		STK
+91		SM
+4		MEL
-17		2
(11–3–0)		GEE
+6		COL
+40		MEL
+6		1
(3–0–0)
Fitzroy CAR
+33		STK
+40		MEL
-11		ESS
-22		COL
-16		GEE
-16		SM
0		CAR
+38		STK
+57		MEL
-27		ESS
-32		COL
-7		GEE
-12		SM
-1		6
(4–9–1)
Geelong ESS
-23		MEL
-45		COL
-4		CAR
+22		SM
+48		FIT
+16		STK
+83		ESS
+25		MEL
+5		COL
+42		CAR
+50		SM
+12		FIT
+12		STK
+78		1
(11–3–0)		ESS
-6		MEL
+9		COL
+4		2
(2–1–0)
Melbourne SM
+17		GEE
+45		FIT
+11		STK
+30		CAR
+81		COL
+7		ESS
-36		SM
-53		GEE
-5		FIT
+27		STK
+58		CAR
+28		COL
-15		ESS
+17		3
(10–4–0)		COL
-4		GEE
-9		ESS
-6		4
(0–3–0)
South Melbourne MEL
-17		CAR
+4		STK
+57		COL
+8		GEE
-48		ESS
-3		FIT
0		MEL
+53		CAR
+46		STK
+61		COL
+19		GEE
-12		ESS
-4		FIT
+1		5
(8–5–1)
St Kilda COL
-25		FIT
-40		SM
-57		MEL
-30		ESS
-37		CAR
-11		GEE
-83		COL
-24		FIT
-57		SM
-61		MEL
-58		ESS
-91		CAR
-34		GEE
-78		8
(0–8–0)

Source: AFL Tables

Season notes

Leading goalkickers

1Led the goalkicking at the end of the round
1Led the goalkicking at the end of the home-and-away season
11Subscript indicates the player's goal tally to that point of the season
–Did not play during that round
#PlayerClubHome-and-away season (leading goalkicker medal)Finals seriesTotalGamesAverage
1234567891011121314F1F2F3
1 Eddy James Geelong 2213033639110313013114–14–1411541932212322522727151.80
2 Jack Leith Melbourne 2246170741131421601601611721922112202242602602626171.53
3 Norman Waugh Essendon 22021325–5–516281911021221441811901942302323151.53
4 Charlie Coles Geelong –0–01112351628311011213114115116117017–17–1717131.31
5 Wally O'Cock Carlton 11121314260639–9–9–9–921121321515101.50
Archie Smith Collingwood 0022241527180821011111201201221401401401411515170.88
7 Hugh Gavin Essendon –0000011230325052707310–1001021201221401414150.93
Dinny McKay South Melbourne 113426060606281931201201211311401414141.00
Jack Quinn Geelong 00001101121336–606281911001011111201221414160.88
Fred White Geelong –0–0–0–0–0000022–20235270731011111221414111.27
Charlie Young Melbourne 22023516–6170707072921101101111211311401414160.88

Source: AFL Tables

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References

  1. ↑ "THE FOOTBALL SEASON". The Argus. Melbourne. 8 May 1897. p. 11.
  2. ↑ 'Markwell', "Football Notes: Ballarat Defeat the League, The Australasian, (Saturday, 19 June 1897), p.1229.
  3. ↑ 'Markwell', "Football Notes: Hollow Defeat", The Australasian, (Saturday, 10 July 1897), p. 77.
  4. ↑ A Footballer's Romance: Rejected by his Sweetheart: He Attempts Suicide, The Argus, (Monday, 12 July 1897), p. 5.
  5. 1 2 Ross, John (1996). 100 Years of Australian Football. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin Books. p. 39. ISBN   978-0670868148.

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