The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Melbourne Airport that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1872 in the nearby suburb of Essendon, the club participated in the Victorian Football Association from 1878 until 1896, when it 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 in Melbourne Airport in 2013, and currently plays its home games at either Docklands Stadium or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Dyson Heppell is the current club captain.
James Albert Hird is a former professional Australian rules football player and the former senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
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.
Matthew James Lloyd is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Simon Madden is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire 19 season career with the Essendon Football Club from 1974 until 1992. He 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 Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After retiring from the game, he has continued working in the Australian football industry as a coach, sports journalist and media personality.
Roger Merrett is a former Australian rules footballer who played in two Victorian Football League premiership sides with the Essendon Football Club in the mid-1980s before moving to the fledgling Brisbane Bears, later captaining the new club for seven seasons. He was the last VFL/AFL player from the 1970s to retire from professional football.
Robert Shaw is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club and coach in the VFL/AFL with the Fitzroy and Adelaide Football Clubs. Shaw was recruited from Sandy Bay Football Club in Tasmania.
Damien Patrick Hardwick is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He has been the senior coach of the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2010. His playing career as a defender comprised 153 games for Essendon (1994–2001) and 54 games for Port Adelaide (2002–2004). He won premierships with each club, in 2000 and 2004 respectively. He later coached Richmond to the 2017, 2019 and 2020 premierships and is the longest tenured coach in Richmond club history.
Jobe Watson is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Watson, the son of three-time Essendon premiership champion Tim Watson, was drafted by Essendon under the father–son rule in the 2002 national draft, and went on to become one of the best midfielders of the modern era. A dual All-Australian and three-time Crichton Medallist, he captained Essendon from 2010 to 2015, and was the face of the Essendon playing group during the most turbulent period in the club's 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.
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.
The 1965 Victorian Football League season was the 69th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.
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).
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.
Ben Howlett is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
