The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1872 in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon, the club entered the Victorian Football Association in 1878, and in 1896, joined seven other clubs in forming the breakaway Victorian Football League. Headquartered at Windy Hill for much of the 20th century, the club moved to The Hangar, Melbourne Airport in 2013, and now plays its home games at either Docklands Stadium or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Dyson Heppell is the current team captain.
Kevin John Sheedy AO is a former Australian rules football coach and player in the Australian Football League. He played and coached in a combined total of 929 games over 47 years from 1967 until 2013, which is a VFL/AFL record. Sheedy was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and on the 29th of May 2018 was elevated to legend status.
Mark "Bomber" Thompson is a retired Australian rules footballer and former senior coach. He played 202 games for the Essendon Football Club from 1983 to 1996, captaining the side from 1992 until 1995. After retiring, he was an assistant coach at Essendon and then at North Melbourne before becoming the senior coach of the Geelong Football Club from 2000 to 2010 and coaching them to two premierships. In November 2010, Thompson returned to Essendon as a senior assistant coach and was then appointed the senior coach for the 2014 season. He left the club at the end of 2014. On 2 May 2018, he was charged with seven counts of drug trafficking and possession. He was released on $20,000 bail to appear in court at a later date. He was later cleared of trafficking but convicted of possession.
Timothy Michael Watson is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, sports journalist and media personality.
The 1908 Victorian Football League season was the 12th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.
Dustin Fletcher is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire 23 season career for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is widely acknowledged as one of the finest defenders in VFL/AFL history.
Barry Davis is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) with Essendon and North Melbourne, before coaching his original team between 1978 and 1980.
William Stephen was an Australian rules footballer with Fitzroy Football Club. He also coached Fitzroy and Essendon.
Matthew Knights is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Geelong Football Club. Knights played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from 1988 to 2002, before going on to forge a coaching career, most notably as head coach of the Essendon Football Club from 2008 to 2010 where he became the head coach of the Geelong VFL Football Club from 2012–14, guiding the Cats to the 2012 VFL Premiership and the 2013 VFL Grand Final.
Kevin Morris is a former Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1971 and 1976 for the Richmond Football Club and then from 1977 until 1981 for the Collingwood Football Club.
John Beckwith is a former Australian rules football player and coach, for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Keith MacKenzie Forbes is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Coburg in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), and for Essendon, North Melbourne, and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Allan Thomas Hird Sr. was an Australian rules football player, coach and executive in the Victorian Football League.
John Joseph "Dookie" McKenzie was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Percival Gordon Ogden was an Australian rules footballer who played with and coached Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Sydney Quinton Barker Sr. was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond, Essendon and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). His son, also named Syd Barker, had a brief league career with North Melbourne.
Charlie Hardy was an Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1910s and Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the early 1920s.
Norm Betson was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the early 1940s.
Larry John Watson is a former Australian rules football player who played with Essendon and Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Robert Bruce Anderson was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).