Fitzroy Reds

Fitzroy Reds
Names
Full name	Fitzroy Reds Amateur Football Club
Former name(s)	University (E) University Reds Football Club (1954−1997)
Nickname(s)	Reds, Roys
Former nickname(s)	Uni Reds (1954–1997)
Club details
Founded	1954;70 years ago (1954)
Dissolved	9 December 2008;15 years ago (2008-12-09)
Competition	VAFA (1955−64; 1973−2008) FFL (1971−72)
President	Craig Little
Premierships	VAFA (5) 1980 1995 2001 2003 2005
Ground(s)	Brunswick Street Oval (1991−2008) Crawford Oval Princes Park University Main Oval Yarra Bend Oval
Uniforms
Home Away
Other information
Official website	fitzroyreds.com.au

The Fitzroy Reds was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy. The club was formed in 1954 as the University Reds (or simply Uni Reds), competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).

In December 2008, the Reds merged with the Fitzroy Football Club, which is now officially known as "Fitzroy Football Club (incorporating the Fitzroy Reds)" and currently competes in the VAFA's Premier Division. ^{[1] [2]}

History

University Reds

Fitzroy Reds logo in 2002

University Reds was formed in 1954, joining the University Blacks and University Blues as the Melbourne University Football Club's third team in the VAFA for the 1955 season. ^[3]

The club, which was originally in E Section and known as "University (E)", provided opportunities for Blacks and Blues players who were not selected in either of those sides to get a regular match. ^{[4] [5]}

In 1964, the VAFA mandated reserves teams for all clubs. This forced the Reds to go into recess at the end of the season, however they soon returned and joined the Federal Football League (FFL) before returning to the VAFA in 1973 after two seasons in the FFL. ^{[3] [4]}

The Reds won their first seniors premiership in F Section in 1980. ^[4]

Split from Melbourne University

Following the 1997 season, under increasing pressure from the Melbourne University Sports Union to meet the required number of undergraduate and post graduate registrations to obtain funding, the club split from the university and were renamed to Fitzroy Reds, with 1998 their first season competing under the new name. ^{[3] [6]}

In 2003, the Reds played a curtain-raiser match against West Brunswick at the MCG before the Brisbane Lions met Collingwood during the AFL Heritage Round. ^{[7] [8]}

Merger with Fitzroy

Fitzroy Reds logo in 2003

On 2 April 2008, Reds president Craig Little announced a plan to merge the club with the Fitzroy Football Club. Fitzroy had left the AFL following the 1996 season, but had not entirely disbanded and had a sponsorship arrangement with the Reds. ^[9]

In December 2008, the Reds formally transferred all its assets to the Fitzroy Football Club. The Reds terminated its membership of the VAFA and was wound up as an incorporated company and football club. ^[10]

By special dispensation from the VAFA, the Fitzroy Football Club then replaced the Reds in Division 1 of the VAFA, beginning in the 2009 season, fielding a senior and reserves side, as well as two under-19s sides and a Club XVIII side. ^[11]

Honours

Team of the Century (1955−2000)

Back	Peter O'Keefe	Greg Cook (vice-captain)	Stephen Drury
Half-Back	Andrew White	Chris Anderson	Greg Thomas
Centre	Russell Heddles	Greg Roughsedge	Daniel Cahir
Half Forward	Paul James	Jack Clancy	Denis Fossa
Forward	Bruce Dare	Marc Marsden	Justin Doyle
Followers	Peter Clayden	Gerry Hardy	Michael Smale (captain)
Interchange	Charlie Hosking	Peter Barone	Patrick Jackson
	Ian Jennens
Coach	Andrew McNair

Seasons

See also: List of Fitzroy Football Club seasons § VAFA

Source: ^{[12] [13]}

Premiers

Grand Finalist

Minor premiers

Finals appearance

Wooden spoon

Seniors

Year	League	Division	Finish	W	L	D	Coach	Captain	Best and fairest	Leading goalkicker	Ref
1955	VAFA	E Section
1956	VAFA									Marc Marsden	102
1957	VAFA
1958	VAFA	E Section	2nd	16	2	0				Marc Marsden	52	[14]
1959	VAFA
1960	VAFA									L. Walker	48
1961	VAFA	E Section							G. Hardy
1962	VAFA
1963	VAFA
1964	VAFA	E Section							J. Clancy			[15]
1965	VAFA	(In recess)
1966	VAFA	(In recess)
1967	VAFA	(In recess)
1968	VAFA	(In recess)
1969	VAFA	(In recess)
1970	VAFA	(In recess)
1971	FFL
1972	FFL
1973	VAFA						K. Frencham	D. King	G. Courtis	P. Lipshut	45
1974	VAFA						K. Frencham	S. Maule	J. Clarke; G. Lipshut	D. King	37
1975	VAFA						K. Frencham	R. Sheppard	R. Grigg	L. Lachal	29
1976	VAFA						N. Sharpe	N. Sharpe	N. Sharpe	N. Sharpe	42
1977	VAFA						D. Cole	D. Cole	S. Bayley; G. Long	J. Sturm	30
1978	VAFA						Andrew McNair	R. Wright	M. Smale	Peter Hille	42
1979	VAFA						Andrew McNair	R. Wright	M. Smale	Peter Hille	71
1980	VAFA	F Section	1st	16	2	0	Andrew McNair	M. Smale	Chris Anderson	Peter Hille	103	[16]
1981	VAFA						Andrew McNair	M. Smale	P. Clayden			[4]
1982	VAFA						A. Holloway	G. Thomas	P. Clayden
1983	VAFA						G. Mahoney	Chris Anderson	Russell Heddles
1984	VAFA						I. Steward	I. Steward	G. Funston
1985	VAFA						I. Steward	I. Steward	Greg Roughsedge
1986	VAFA						R. Chitty	R. Chitty	Greg Roughsedge
1987	VAFA	F Section	9th	6	12	0	L. Duffus	Charlie Hosking	Greg Roughsedge			[17]
1988	VAFA						L. Duffus	Charlie Hosking	Greg Roughsedge
1989	VAFA						L. Duffus	Andrew White	Ian Jennens
1990	VAFA						L. Duffus	Andrew White	F. Godschan
1991	VAFA						G. Burgen	B. Condon	B. Kane
1992	VAFA						I. Ewing	G. Cook	P. Curry
1993	VAFA						I. Ewing	G. Cook	J. Doyle
1994	VAFA						I. Ewing	Andrew White	J. Doyle			[18]
1995	VAFA	E Central					M. Farrell	B. Pickett	G. Wright			[19]
1996	VAFA						M. Farrell	B. Pickett	Stephen Drury; S. Rowland
1997	VAFA						J. Doyle	A. Jackson	Paul James
1998	VAFA						G. Hammond	M. Farrell	Peter Jackson	M. Farrell	23
1999	VAFA						G. Hammond	Stephen Drury	Jeremy Rawlins [20]	C. Farrell	32
2000	VAFA						G. Hammond	Stephen Drury	Stephen Drury; S. Addicott	T. Mitchell	21
2001	VAFA	Division 3	1st		0		Graham Burgen	Stephen Drury	Stephen Drury	D. Ronchi	65	[4]
2002	VAFA	Division 2	6th	8	10	0	Graham Burgen	Stephen Drury	Stephen Drury	J. Tornese	65	[21]
2003	VAFA	Division 2	2nd	15	3	0	Graham Burgen	Stephen Drury	T. Clarke	J. Tornese	59	[22]
2004	VAFA						Graham Burgen	T. Clarke; P. Diacogiorgis	B. Atherton	K.P. Cianci	35
2005	VAFA	Division 1	1st	17	1	0	Graham Burgen	V. Cahill; P. Diacogiorgis	V. Cahill; M. Zika	Phil Cianci	80	[23]
2006	VAFA	C Section	6th	8	10	0	Graham Burgen	V. Cahill; Jeremy Rawlins	C. Meighen	K. Maghamez	48	[24]
2007	VAFA						Steve Maus	Tim Davis [25]	C. Meighen	Nick Shuttleworth	22	[26]
2008	VAFA	Division 1		11			James Taylor	Jimmy O'Reilly [27]	Matthew Biggs	Leon Holderhead	18	[4]

Reserves

Year	League	Division	Finish	W	L	D	Coach	Captain	Best and fairest	Leading goalkicker	Ref
1973	VAFA
1974	VAFA
1975	VAFA
1976	VAFA
1977	VAFA
1978	VAFA
1979	VAFA
1980	VAFA	F Section	1st	17	1	0						[16]
1981	VAFA
1982	VAFA
1983	VAFA
1984	VAFA
1985	VAFA
1986	VAFA
1987	VAFA	F Section	10th	3	15	0						[17]
1988	VAFA
1989	VAFA
1990	VAFA
1991	VAFA
1992	VAFA
1993	VAFA
1994	VAFA						Tim Bell					[28]
1995	VAFA	E Central										[19]
1996	VAFA
1997	VAFA
1998	VAFA						D. Kane		M. Frisby	E. Kyriacou	37
1999	VAFA						D. Kane		G. Box	C. Prior	64
2000	VAFA						D. Kane		G. Box	D. Kane	39
2001	VAFA						A. George		J. Card	D. Kane	56
2002	VAFA	Division 2	2nd	16	2	0	A. George		A. Grant	D. Kane	44	[29]
2003	VAFA	Division 2	3rd	15	3	0	D. Kane		M. Baker	M. Foster; S. Pidotto	19	[22]
2004	VAFA						C. Tehan	Damian Hannam	Sam Baillie	R. Capodiferro	40
2005	VAFA	Division 1	1st	16	2	0	C. Tehan	Sam Baillie	Sam Baillie	R. Capodiferro	70	[23]
2006	VAFA	C Section	3rd	12	6	0	C. Little		N. Evans	J. Tornese	59	[24]
2007	VAFA						F. Cameron	C. Sullivan	P. Wood; E. Tice	D. Hannam	36
2008	VAFA	Division 1					F. Cameron	J. Nagorka	Jayred Dawson-Smith	Tristan Pinkster	55

Thirds

Year	League	Division	Finish	W	L	D	Coach	Captain	Best and fairest	Leading goalkicker	Ref
2002	VAFA						G. Box		J. Hamilton	N. Currie	6	[21]
2003	VAFA						G. Box		T. Jackson	C. Prior	29	[22]
2004	VAFA						G. Box		J. Grimmett	J. Grimmett	54
2005	VAFA						A. George		S. McCarthy; T. Belleville	J. Grimmett; M. Foster; A. Walsh	15
2006	VAFA						A. George	Tim Campbell	D. Hannam	A. Dawson	27
2007	VAFA						A. George	A. Grant	R. Trigg	Gregg Crane	21
2008	VAFA						A. Grant	R. Hunter	Tim Campbell

Fourths

Year	League	Division	Finish	W	L	D	Coach	Captain	Best and fairest	Leading goalkicker	Ref
2005	VAFA						C. Little	Tony Jackson	Tony Jackson	C. Prior	23
2006	VAFA						T. Leske	Tony Jackson	N. Schofield	M. Kelly	27
2007	VAFA						J. Steer		D. Schleibs	Nick Auden	27

Under-19s

Year	League	Division	Finish	W	L	D	Coach	Captain	Best and fairest	Leading goalkicker	Ref
2003	VAFA	Red (2)	3rd	13	5	0	Tim Bell		M. Zika	K. Maghamez	100	[22]
2004	VAFA						Tim Bell		M. Zika	K. Maghamez	112	[28]
2005	VAFA	Red (2)	6th	9	9	0	Tim Bell		C. Dullard	K. McKenzie	32	[23]
2006	VAFA						Tim Bell		K. Donato	Christopher Ligris	52	[26]
2007	VAFA						Tim Bell		Matthew Biggs
2008	VAFA	Section 1					Tim Bell		A. Harbor	Christopher Ligris; Luke Novello	31
		Section 2					B. Edwards

Club XVIII

Year	League	Division	Finish	W	L	D	Coach	Captain	Best and fairest	Leading goalkicker	Ref
2002	VAFA	North	7th	3	12	0						[29]
2003	VAFA	North	3rd	9	5	0						[22]
2004	VAFA	Section 2	3rd									[30]
2005	VAFA	Section 2	4th	10	5	0						[23]
		Section 3	3rd	10	3	0						[23]
2006	VAFA	Section 2	3rd	11	4	0						[31]
		Section 3	2nd	12	3	0						[31]
2007	VAFA
2008	VAFA

Grand finals

Premiers

Runners-up

Drawn

Year	League	Division	Grade	Opponent	Score	Venue	Date	Report
1980	VAFA	F Section	Seniors	Thomastown		Beaurepaire Centre [16]	6 September 1980
1981	VAFA		Seniors					[4]
1994	VAFA		Reserves	VUT				[19]
1995	VAFA	E Central	Seniors					[4]
2001	VAFA	Division 1	Seniors					[4]
2003	VAFA	Division 2	Seniors	Peninsula Old Boys	12.9 (81) d. 9.12 (66)	Central Reserve [32]	13 September 2003	[22]
2003	VAFA	North	Club XVIII	Old Essendon	11.7 (73) d. 7.2 (44)			[30]
2005	VAFA	Division 1	Reserves	Old Mentonians	13.5 (93) d. 5.5 (35)	Box Hill City Oval [23]	10 September 2003	[33]
2005	VAFA	Division 1	Seniors	Ormond	24.6 (150) d. 10.11 (71)	Box Hill City Oval [23]	10 September 2003	[33]
2006	VAFA	Section 3	Club XVIII	Old Essendon	9.10 (64) d. 5.7 (37)	Elsternwick Park [26]	25 August 2006	[30] [34]

References

1. "You can take Fitzroy out of the AFL, but you can't take it out of the people". The Roar. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024.
2. Holmesby, Luke (9 December 2008). "Fitzroy back from the dead in alignment with VAFA club". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
3. "History of the VAFA". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
4. "The Reds". Fitzroy Football Club. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024.
5. "Our Club". fitzroyreds.com.au. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
6. "SENIOR OFFICIALS 1960 TO 1989". Melbourne University Football Club. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. The University Reds were a team between 1955 and 1997 when they were let go as they did not comply with Melbourne University Sport regulations. They became the Fitzroy Reds and are now Fitzroy.
7. "Brighton tops B-grade". The Age. 12 May 2003. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
8. "Old loyalties die hard as amateurs fight black and blue for University". The Age. 28 June 2003. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
9. "REDS TO BRING BACK LIONS". Victorian Amateur Football Association. 2 April 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
10. "THE BOYS FROM OLD FITZROY ARE BACK AT BRUNSWICK STREET". fitzroyreds.com.au. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
11. Barrett, Damian (9 December 2008). "The old Lion roars again as Fitzroy is reborn". Herald Sun.
12. "Fitzroy Reds Honourboard". Fitzroy Football Club. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
13. "125 years of VAFA and Fitzroy names its greatest contributors". Fitzroy Football Club. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
14. 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.
15. "BRUNSWICK VS. FITZROY". Brunswick Football Club. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
16. "The Amateur Footballer Week 22 1980" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 7 September 1980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
17. "The Amateur Footballer Week 23 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2024.
18. "The Amateur Footballer Week 1 1995" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 1 April 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
19. "The Amateur Footballer Week 2 1995" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 8 April 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
20. "Fitzroy Reds Football Club". fitzroyreds.com.au. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
21. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 20, 2002". Issuu. VAFA Media. 10 February 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
22. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 23, 2003". Issuu. VAFA Media. 9 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
23. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 21, 2005". Issuu. VAFA Media. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
24. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 19, 2006". Issuu. VAFA Media. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
25. "Fitzroy Reds Football Club". fitzroyreds.com.au. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
26. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 18, 2006". Issuu. VAFA Media. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
27. "Fitzroy Reds Football Club". fitzroyreds.com.au. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
28. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 19, 2006". Issuu. VAFA Media. 3 February 2016. p. 61. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024. Reds coach Tim Bell coached a Reds U19 flag in 2004 and a Reds Ressies flag in 2004
29. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 19, 2002". Issuu. VAFA Media. 10 February 2016. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
30. "Club XVIII Premiers". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
31. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 17, 2006". Issuu. VAFA Media. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
32. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 22, 2003". Issuu. VAFA Media. 9 February 2016. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
33. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 22, 2005". VAFA Media. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
34. "VAFA 2006 Club XVIII Grand Final Essendon Grammer v Fitzroy Reds". YouTube. RJA15 Productions. 16 July 2024. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.

External links

• Official website (archived 23 July 2008)