The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their Ascot Vale home "Alisa" adopting the name of the local borough. While the exact date is unknown, it is generally accepted to have been in 1872. The club's first recorded game took place on 7 June 1873 against a Carlton seconds team. From 1878 until 1896, the club played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), then joined seven other clubs in October 1896 to form the breakaway Victorian Football League. Headquartered at the Essendon Recreation Ground, known as Windy Hill, from 1922 to 2013, the club moved to The Hangar in Tullamarine in late 2013 on land owned by the Melbourne Airport corporation. The club shares its home games between Docklands Stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Zach Merrett is the current club 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 29 May 2018 was elevated to legend status.
Simon Madden is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire 19-season career with the Essendon Football Club from 1974 until 1992. Madden is one of the most decorated players in the club's history and widely regarded as one of the finest ruckmen to ever play the game.
Timothy Michael Watson is a former AFL player for Essendon and current broadcaster for more than 30 years, with the Seven Network since 1992 & 1116 SEN radio.
Dustin Andrew 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 the history of the league.
Paul Salmon is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League for Essendon and Hawthorn. Recruited from North Ringwood, Salmon had a prolific career, with many accolades such as being inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, a two-time premiership player, seven-time leading goalkicker at Essendon, and the fourth-highest goalkicker for Essendon.
Brent Harvey, often known by his nickname "Boomer", is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He holds the record for most matches played by an individual in VFL/AFL history, breaking Michael Tuck's previous VFL/AFL record in 2016 with a total of 432 games played.
Graham Frank Moss is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the Claremont Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).
The 1923 VFL season was the 27th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured nine clubs and ran from 5 May to 20 October, comprising a 16-match home-and-away season followed by a four-week finals series featuring the top four clubs.
The 1926 VFL season was the 30th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs and ran from 1 May to 9 October, comprising an 18-match home-and-away season followed by a four-week finals series featuring the top four clubs.
The 1952 VFL season was the 56th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 19 April until 27 September, and comprised a 19-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
The 1966 VFL season was the 70th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 23 April until 24 September, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
Paul Vander Haar is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1990 AFL season. The match, attended by 98,944 spectators, was won by Collingwood by a margin of 48 points, marking that club's 14th premiership victory.
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.
Walter Henry Chalmers was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
The 1985 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1985. It was the 89th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1985 VFL season. The match, attended by 100,042 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 78 points, marking that club's 14th premiership victory.
John James Kirby was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Jacob Townsend is an Australian rules footballer who currently plays for the Southport Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He previously played professionally for Greater Western Sydney, Richmond, Essendon and the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Jonathan Simpkin is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Joffa", his younger brother, Tom Simpkin was also a professional Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda.
