The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club 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", and 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 Second 20. From 1878 until 1896, the club played in the Victorian Football Association, 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 near Tullamarine in late 2013 on land owned by the Melbourne Airport. The club currently plays its home games at either Docklands Stadium or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Zach Merrett is the current club captain.
James Albert Hird is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Gavin Adrian Wanganeen is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and also for the Port Adelaide Magpies in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
The 1897 VFL season was the inaugural season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the new highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 8 May until 4 September, and comprised a 14-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
The 1898 VFL season was the second season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 14 May until 24 September, and comprised a 14-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring all eight clubs.
The 2000 AFL season was the 104th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
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 the history of the league.
Angus Monfries is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Monfries played as a forward pocket or half forward.
The 1990 AFL season was the 94th season of the Australian Football League (AFL) and the first under this name, having been known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. It was the highest level senior Australian rules football competition and administrative body in Victoria; and, as it featured clubs from New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, it was the de facto highest level senior competition in Australia. The season featured fourteen clubs, ran from 31 March until 6 October, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
Terrence "Terry" John Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Melbourne and Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Terry was also an assistant coach for the Essendon, Collingwood, St Kilda and Carlton Football Clubs. Terry's brothers, Neale, Anthony and Chris, also played for Essendon in the AFL. He is a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame and the Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame and is a Champion of Essendon. Terry is currently the owner of Terry Daniher Cleaning Services, a cleaning company based in Melbourne.
The 1918 VFL season was the 22nd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria.
David Myers is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 1993 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1993. It was the 97th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1993 AFL season. The match, attended by 96,862 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 44 points, marking that club's 15th premiership victory.
Ben Howlett is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Stewart Crameri is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon, Western Bulldogs and Geelong in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Andrew Phillips is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the 2011 rookie draft, with pick four. He made his debut in round 7, 2012, against Gold Coast at Manuka Oval, in Greater Western Sydney's first ever AFL win.
The Essendon Football Club supplements saga was a sports controversy that occurred during the early- and mid-2010s. It centred around the Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne and playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was investigated starting in February 2013 by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over the legality of its supplements program during the 2012 AFL season and the preceding preseason. After four years of investigations and legal proceedings, thirty-four players at the club were found guilty of having used the banned peptide Thymosin beta-4 and incurred suspensions.
VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL), and has since evolved into what is also the second primary competition for AFL Women's (AFLW) clubs in Victoria. The competition has been held concurrently with the AFLW since 2021.