1921 MAFA season

1921 MAFA season
Date	7 May − 3 September 1921
Teams	14
Premiers	University B 1st premiership
Minor premiers	University A 1st minor premiership
←  1920 1922  →

The 1921 MAFA season was the 26th season of the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA), an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria. The season began on 7 May and concluded on 3 September, comprising a 13-match home-and-away season, followed by a two-week finals series. ^{[1] [2]}

University B won the MAFA premiership for the first time, defeating University A by five points in the 1921 MAFA Grand Final. ^[3]

Association membership

Six new teams entered the MAFA in 1921 – Hampton, Old Brightonians, Old Scotch Collegians, Old Trinity, Sandringham and University A. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

University A joined the MAFA after leaving the Victorian Junior Football League (VJFL). ^[7] They joined the University Football Club's other team, University B, which had crossed from the VJFL in 1920. ^{[8] [9]} The teams were known as the "Blues" and the "Blacks" respectively, although the nicknames were not formally used until 1930. ^{[1] [10]}

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	Pts	Qualification
1	University A	13				44	Finals series
2	University B (P)	13				44
3	Hampton	13				44
4	Old Melburnians	13				40
5	Elsternwick	13				36
6	Sandringham	13				32
7	Old Scotch	13				28
8	Collegians	13				24
9	Old Caulfield Grammarians	13				20
10	South Yarra	13				16
11	Melbourne Swimming Club	13				12
12	Old Trinity	13				8
13	Teachers College	13				4
14	Old Brightonians	13	0			0

Source: ^{[11] [12]}
(P) Premiers

Finals

Semi-finals

	Semi-finals
Saturday, 13 August	University B 10.12 (72)	def.	Hampton 8.6 (54)	Melbourne Grammar School	[13]
Saturday, 13 August	University A 18.19 (127)	def.	Old Melburnians 5.9 (39)	Scotch College	[14] [15]

Grand Final

	1921 MAFA Grand Final
Saturday, 3 September	University A	def. by	University B	University Oval	[16] [17]
	9.8 (62)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	9.13 (67)
Cook 6, Morrison, Howells, Rush		Goals	Flemming 3, Taylor 2, Grounds 2, Lennon, Hasker
Howells, Richardson, Lockwood, Ross, Rush, Stephens		Best	Orchard, Dunn, Lennon, McClean, Grounds
While the grand final would have ordinarily been held on 20 August (one week after the semi-final), it was delayed by three weeks until students from the University of Melbourne returned from holidays. [18]

Notable events

• The MAFA sent a delegation to a meeting of the Protestant Churches Football Association to form a "union of junior leagues". ^[6] Ultimately, the MAFA declined to join, stating it no longer considered itself a "junior association" (having renamed itself from the "Metropolitan Junior Football Association" in 1912). ^[a]

Notes

1. In 1900, the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA, now VAFA) decided on a change of name to the Metropolitan Football Association (MFA). MJFA president Lawrence Adamson brokered a deal that the existing MFA (of 1899) became the MJFA, giving his MJFA (of 1892) the "Metropolitan Football Association" name. ^{[19] [20]} Despite this, various newspaper reports from 1900 until 1912 still use the MJFA name when referring to Adamson's competition, most consensus is that "MJFA" in this time period refers to the now-VAFA, and the VAFA's official history continues to use the MJFA name until 1912. ^{[6] [21]}

References

1. "METROPOLITAN AMATEUR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 9 May 1921. p. 11. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
2. "Premier Men's Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
3. "University Blacks Football Club". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 30 September 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
4. "METROPOLITAN AMATEUR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 17 March 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
5. McLellan, Bob. "OBGFC: A Tribute" (PDF). Old Brighton Grammarians Football Club. pp. 1–194. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
6. "A BRIEF HISTORY" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
7. "METROPOLITAN AMATEUR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 1 August 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
8. "METROPOLITAN AMATEUR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 26 March 1920. p. 11. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
9. "Fitzroy v. University: rivalry and respect that began 136 years ago but remains strong today". Fitzroy Football Club. 8 April 1921. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
10. "METROPOLITAN AMATEURS". The Argus. 29 April 1930. p. 17. Retrieved 20 October 2024. The Melbourne University Football Club notified the association that the two teams entered should be known as the University Blues and University Blacks instead of University A and University B respectively
11. "METROPOLITAN AMATEUR ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 8 August 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
12. "METROP. AMATEUR FOOTBALL". The Herald. 12 August 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
13. "SEMI-FINALS PLAYED". The Herald. 13 August 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
14. "THE SEMI-FINALS". The Argus. 15 August 1921. p. 11. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
15. "METROPOLITAN SEMI-FINALS". The Age. 15 August 1921. p. 11. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
16. "METROPOLITAN ASSOCIATION FINAL". The Argus. 5 September 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
17. Student (10 September 1921). "UNIVERSITY NOTES". The Herald. p. 17. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
18. "Metropolitan Amateur Association". The Argus. 20 August 1921. p. 18. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
19. "CLUB HISTORY". Kew Football Club. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
20. "METROPOLITAN ASSOCIATION". The Herald. 17 August 1906. p. 5. Retrieved 13 August 2024. Tomorrow's MFA matches
21. "Metropolitan Junior Football Association (Vic)". Footypedia. Archived from the original on 10 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.