Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Henry John Dockerty | ||
Date of birth | 1881 | ||
Place of birth | Glasgow | ||
Date of death | 1965 | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
St Kilda SC | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Henry John Dockerty (Harry) was an early pioneer of association football in Victoria and significant figure its development as a leading administrator. [1]
Dockerty was born near Glasgow in 1881. [2] There he trained as a tailor before moving to Melbourne in his early twenties.
He became a successful businessman in the clothing trade of Melbourne shortly after. [3] [4] [5]
In 1908, his advertisements in local Melbourne papers initiated the rebirth of football in Victoria.
Dockerty formed the Dockerty Challenge Cup and re-establishment of the Victoria's 'British Association' league in 1909 (as president) which re-ignited competition football after years of stagnation due to the economic depression during the late 1890s. [6] [7] [8]
Dockerty quickly become a leading administrator of the game in Victoria. [9] [10]
Dockerty was vice-president of the Victorian Amateur Soccer Football Association from 1945 to 1955 and president from 1956 until 1962.
President of the newly formed Victorian Soccer Federation from 1962 until his death in 1965. [11]
The Dockerty cup continues to be played in 2024. [12] [13] [14]
Dockerty was posthumously inducted into Football Australia Hall of Fame in 1999. [15]
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established with 136 inductees. As of 2024, this figure has grown to more than 300, including 32 "Legends". Jason Dunstall became the most recent inductee to achieve Legend status in 2024. There had previously been 32 official Legends prior to Dunstall's elevation, but disgraced player Barry Cable had his football honours rescinded after being found guilty of historical child sex abuse.
Footscray Jugoslav United Soccer Team, commonly referred to as Footscray JUST or simply JUST, was an association football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club was established by Yugoslav migrants in 1950, and was a founding member of the National Soccer League.
The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the former president of Football Federation Victoria Harry Dockerty.
Ringwood City Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club from Ringwood, a suburb of Melbourne. The club was formed in 1953 as Wilhelmina by Dutch Australians. The club currently competes in Victorian State League Division 4 East, where it has been since 2014.
Hume City Football Club is a semi-professional Australian football club based in Broadmeadows, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Established by the local Turkish Australian community, the club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria.
The Geelong Regional Football Committee (GRFC) is the governing body of soccer in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is a sub-committee of governing body Football Victoria.
Harrison Hickey "Harry" Sawyer is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Macarthur FC in the A-League.
The first known St Kilda Soccer Club was an association football (soccer) club based in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda. The club was founded in late 1908 and competed in the inaugural first tier league season of the Victorian soccer system in 1909, finishing second. In its existence, the club accumulated fifteen achievements within the state's tier one and tier two leagues, and the Dockerty Cup. The year of 1923 would see the club at its peak in finishing first on the ladder of the tier one league, then known as 'Metropolitan League Division One', winning the finals series grand final against league runners-up Footscray Thistle, and winning the Dockerty Cup twice.
Carlton United Football Club was an Australian association football (soccer) club based in Melbourne, founded in 1908 that presumably dissolved in late 1912. The short lived club is known for its immediate success in being the first tier one state champions of Victoria, and winning the first Dockerty Cup, both in 1909. The club would also be the first in history to go back-to-back in repeating the same feat in 1910 for both the league and the cup. The club would finish second in 1911 and third in 1912 and presumably folded prior to the 1913 season. A photograph from 1909 shows the team wearing a white shirt with a blue pocket, and blue shorts & socks.
Yarraville Football Club was an Australian association football (soocer) club based in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown. Founded on 5 March 1909 as Williamstown FC before changing its name to Yarraville FC in 1913, the short lived club flourished in what was then the newly established first tier state league of Victoria. Finishing mid table in 1909 and 1910, the club would be the first in the league's history to be champions three consecutive seasons (1911–1913). The club would also win the Dockerty Cup in 1912 and 1913. Due to World War I, the 1916–1918 seasons were cancelled, being possible that the club folded within the three years no competition, not necessarily in 1915, and didn't re-establish in 1919. This club has no connection to any of the Williamstown and Yarraville soccer clubs that followed.
The Melbourne Thistle Football Club was an Australian Anglo-Celtic backed association football (soccer) club based in Melbourne, presumably in the suburb of Albert Park. The club was founded in 1912 and spent most of its existence in the first division league of the Victorian soccer system. The club won seven titles within the state's tier one and tier two leagues, including the Dockerty Cup three times.
The Fitzroy District Football Club, that was commonly & simply referred to as 'Fitzroy', was an Anglo-Celtic backed association football (soccer) club from Melbourne, Australia, presumably based in the inner-northern suburbs of Fitzroy & Fitzroy North. Founded no later than 26 September 1908 and dissolving at the conclusion of the 1913 season, the short lived club is known for being one of the six clubs to compete in the inaugural Victorian state tier one football league season of 1909, then known as the 'Amateur League'. Except for Williamstown, the five other clubs including Fitzroy all used Middle Park stadium in Albert Park as a home venue for the regular season and Dockerty Cup matches. The club's colors were dark blue and black for the 1909 season, and did not achieve any accolades throughout its existence.
Windsor Football Club was an Australian association football club founded in May 1915, and was based in the Melbourne suburb of Windsor wearing an all purple kit with a gold sash. The short lived club is known for its Victorian first tier champions in 1921, and for playing a charity friendly match in Geelong on 26 April 1920, against the crews of HMAS Platypus and its accompanying submarines. The club achieved two league championships, and reached the final of the Dockerty Cup twice, losing both times. The club was dormant for seven years and resumed competitive fixtures in 1932. The club folded at the conclusion of the 1934 season alongside fellow tier one winner St Kilda and several other clubs. This club has no connection to the club of the same name that competed in the 1970 season of the Victorian state tier seven league.
The 1909 Victorian soccer season was the first competitive season of soccer in the Australian state of Victoria, under association of the governing body, Football Victoria. The season consisted of one league made up of six district teams from Melbourne that was known as the 'Amateur League'. This league season is recognized as being the first season of first-tier Victorian state soccer that is now formally recognized as National Premier Leagues Victoria. Carlton United were crowned as the inaugural premiers. The calendar season also saw the commencement of the Dockerty Cup, in which Carlton United defeated St Kilda 2–1, making United first club in the state's history to achieve both respective accolades in the same season.
The 1912 Victorian soccer season was the fourth competitive season of soccer in the Australian state of Victoria, under association with the governing body of Football Victoria. The season consisted of the fourth installment of the Dockerty Cup, and two premiership leagues then known as 'Division 1' and 'Division 2'. Division 1 was the first season of the reformed 'Amateur League', which is presently recognized as being the fourth season of first tier Victorian state soccer that is now formally known as the National Premier Leagues Victoria. Division 2 was introduced as the second tier of Victorian state soccer that is now formally known as the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2.
The 1914 Victorian soccer season was the sixth competitive season of soccer in the Australian state of Victoria, under association with the governing body of Football Victoria. The season consisted of two leagues, being 'Victorian Division 1' and 'Victorian Division 2'. The calendar season also saw the sixth tournament of the Dockerty Cup, in which Melbourne Thistle were crowned winners.
The 1915 Victorian soccer season was the seventh competitive season of soccer in the Australian state of Victoria, under association with the governing body of Football Victoria.
The 1919 Victorian soccer season was the eighth competitive season of soccer in the Australian state of Victoria, under association with the governing body of Football Victoria. It would be the first season of soccer following a three-year hiatus due to World War I in which approximately ninety percent of registered players were enlisted in the Australian Defence Force prior to the 1916 season. Only 'Victorian Division 1' was contested. The calendar season also saw the eighth tournament of the Dockerty Cup, in which Footscray Thistle were crowned winners after defeating the newly established Windsor 2–0.
Francis Walker McIver was an Australian soccer player, coach and administrator. A prolific forward, he represented Victoria and Australia. He was an inaugural inductee into the Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame in 1999 and inducted into the Football Victoria Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 2024 season is the 113th season of competitive association football in Victoria. The premier of the top tier of Victorian football was South Melbourne and would loose 1-0 to Oakleigh Cannons in the NPL Victoria Grand final making Oakleigh Cannons NPL Victoria champions. South Melbourne would beat Oakleigh Cannons 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 score line, to win the 2023 Dockerty Cup.