The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club which has its training and administration base in the northern Melbourne suburb of Tullamarine, Victoria. 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 ‘Ailsa’, 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 the Melbourne Airport. The club currently plays its home games at either Docklands Stadium or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Dyson Heppell is the current club captain; Ben Rutten is the senior coach.
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.
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 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.
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.
Alexander James Hall was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1891 to 1896 then in the Victorian Football League (VFL) from 1898 to 1900. In 1906, his first year of coaching in the VFL, he played his only game for the St Kilda Football Club. He went on to coach Melbourne (twice), Richmond and was Hawthorn's coach in their inaugural season in the VFL.
The 1949 VFL season was the 53rd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 16 April until 24 September, and comprised a 19-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
John Beckwith is a former Australian rules football player and coach, for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Robert Hyde is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Collingwood and Essendon football teams in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s.
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.
Charles Francis "Chooka" May was an Australian rules footballer who played with and coached Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was the father of double Essendon premiership player Wally May.
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.
Bruce Malcolm Reid was an Australian doctor and former Australian rules footballer. He was the senior medical officer at the Essendon Football Club and played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Ken W. Roberts is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Otto Bismarck Landmann was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and with Brighton in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
The 2015 Victorian Football League season was the 134th season of the Victorian Football Association/Victorian Football League Australian rules football competition.
Roger Hampson is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Hampson played eight games in his first season with Essendon and won the club's best first-year player award, but a severe knee injury forced him to miss the latter half of the year and all of 1970. He returned in 1971, but could only manage two more senior games before leaving mid-season to Victorian Football Association side Northcote. Hampson next played with fellow VFA team Sandringham for a year before moving to suburban football. He was captain-coach of East Caulfield, Balwyn and Edithvale-Aspendale before a stint as assistant coach to VFL club Melbourne's under-19s. Hampson came back to Essendon 1989 to be the club's general manager for seven years.
Keith Gent is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played for Essendon's under-19s in 1964, winning the club best and fairest as well as representing Victoria. Gent served in the Vietnam War in 1967 and 1968 where he was wounded. He returned to Australia in 1969 and played with Essendon's reserves before transferring to Victorian Football Association (VFA) side, Preston. Gent then spent three seasons with fellow VFA club Brunswick before he became captain-coach of Reservoir where his team won consecutive premierships in 1975 and 1976. He later returned to VFL football as a coach – he was a coach of Essendon's under-19s and also an assistant coach of Fitzroy's under-19s.
William Henry Roberts was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).