Melbourne Football Club,
nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club
playing in the Australian
Football League (AFL), based in Melbourne
, Victoria
.
In 1859, a few days after it was founded, some of its members
created the
code of football that it still
plays. In 1862 it competed in what may be the earliest challenge
trophy competition, was a foundation member of the
Victorian Football Association
(VFA) (1877), one of two associations and governing bodies formed
in the same year and in 1897 it became a foundation member of the
Victorian Football League (VFL) competition which later became the
national Australian Football League.
In 2008 the club celebrated what it claimed to be the 150th
anniversary of the first meeting of its founding members, published
"Melbourne FC - Since 1858 - An Illustrated History" and
commemorated its formation by naming "150 Heroes" as well as a
birthday logo which appears on its official jersey. This is despite
the club having not been formed until May 1859.
History
Although Tom Wills is now recognised to have played a larger role
in club's early development H.C.A.
Harrison (pictured above) is still regarded by the club as its
father figure.
Origins
The seeds of the Melbourne Football Club were set in 1858 with
matches and early meetings involving influential cricketer
Tom Wills,
Scotch
College headmaster
Thomas H.
Smith and Melbourne Cricket Club
member and publican Jerry Bryant, a personal friend of Wills. Wills
was instrumental in the push to establish senior football teams and
in the same year wrote a letter pushing for a
football club with a "
code of laws" to be established.
Melbourne's early team had a strong link to the
Melbourne Cricket Club through its
players playing both football and also for the cricket club and
playing under the name of Melbourne, with Wills as its inaugural
captain.
The team was formally acknowledged and established as a separate
sporting entity by the Melbourne Cricket Club on
May 14 1859.
Foundation
On
17 May in 1859, the Melbourne Football
Club was
incorporated at Bryant's
Parade Hotel in East Melbourne. In attendance were Tom Wills, W.J.
Hammersley and J.B. Thompson (some sources also include Thomas H.
Smith and/or
H.C.A. Harrison). During the meeting, the first set
of written rules.
In 1861, Melbourne participated in the Caledonian Society's Games,
but lost the trophy to the
Melbourne University Football
Club. The club pushed for its rules to be the accepted rules,
however many of the early suburban matches were played under
compromise rules decided between the captains of the competing
clubs.
Although
Melbourne was associated with the cricket club, it was not
initially allowed to use the Melbourne Cricket Ground
, so the club used a nearby field at Yarra Park as
its home ground instead.
By 1866 several other clubs had also adopted an updated version of
Melbourne's rules (which was drafted by H.C.A. Harrison.
During the 1870s, Melbourne fielded teams in the Seven Twenties and
South Yarra Cup competitions.
After a visit to England by one of the club's officials, the
colours of red and blue were officially adopted by the club.
Shortly following, the club began wearing a predominately red strip
and became informally known by supporters as the "Redlegs".
The name "Redlegs" was coined after a Melbourne official returned
from a trip to England with one set of red and another of blue
woollen socks. Melbourne wore the red set whilst the blue set were,
allegedly, given to the Carlton football club. This may be the
source of Carlton's nickname, 'The Blueboys'.
Founders of the VFA
Sketches of Melbourne vs Geelong from
the Pictorial Weekly in 1880
In 1877, the club became a foundation member of the
Victorian Football
Association.During this time, the club was known as the
"
Fuchsias".
In 1889 the MFC was reincorporated into the MCC, and for many years
the two organisations remained unhappily linked. The MFC's close
association with the MCC allowed it to claim the MCG as its home
ground and gave it access to a wealthy membership base, but
Melbourne's reputation as an "establishment" club was not always an
advantage. The MCC members' automatic right to attend all events at
the ground, including MFC football games. This meant many potential
members had a reduced incentive to join the football club, and
Melbourne's membership remains among the lowest in the
competition.
Entry to the VFL
In 1897 the MFC was part of the breakaway
Victorian Football League , and
has been a part of the competition ever since. The team became
known as the "Redlegs". This nickname is still used by certain
membership and supporter groups within the club.
In 1900 Melbourne won its first VFL premiership. They defeated
Fitzroy. Melbourne's greatest
player of these early years of the VFL was
Ivor Warne-Smith, who in 1926 won the
club's first
Brownlow Medal, the
League's annual award for the fairest and best player. In that year
Melbourne won its second flag. Warne-Smith won a second Brownlow in
1928.
Age of greatness
Demons great Norm Smith (during his
playing time at Fitzroy), many argue as being a catalyst for the
club's early success, then later as a coach
In 1933, the club changed its moniker to the "Demons".
F.V. "Checker" Hughes became Melbourne's
coach in 1933, and under his leadership the club entered a golden
age. In 1939, 1940 and 1941 Melbourne won its third, fourth and
fifth flags. In 1946 Don Cordner became the second Demon to win the
Brownlow. In 1947 Fred Fanning kicked a record 18 goals in the last
game of the season. The following season Melbourne played the first
ever drawn Grand Final, against
Essendon and went on to win the
premiership the following week.
Norm Smith became Melbourne's coach in
1952, and the following season
Ron
Barassi played his first game. These two were to take Melbourne
to new heights in the coming years. The Demons made the Grand Final
in 1954, losing to
Footscray, won
the flag in 1955, 1956 and 1957, lost to Collingwood in 1958, and
then won again in 1959 and 1960 with Smith as Coach and Barassi as
Captain.
1964 Melbourne won its
12th
flag, defeating Collingwood, at the end of the season, Barassi
left the club to become captain-coach of
Carlton. The following season Norm
Smith was sacked after a dispute with the club. Although he was
soon reinstated, things were never the same again for the Demons.
The club appeared in Grand Finals from 1954-1960 and every Finals'
Series from 1954-1964.
After the 1954 Grand final loss to Footscray, no team was able to
score 100 points against the club until Collingwood in round 5
1963. The next team was Geelong with 110 in round 1 1964. The 1965
season started with 8 wins but only two wins from the next 10 games
saw the end of the era. They would have to wait until 1987 for
Melbourne to make the finals again.
Decades of disappointment
Statue of Melbourne's greatest, Ron
Barassi, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Poor
recruiting zones and
management meant that Melbourne, under coaches
John Beckwith (1968-70),
Ian Ridley (1971-73),
Bob
Skilton (1974-77),
Dennis Jones
(1978) and
Carl Ditterich (1979-80),
languished at the bottom of the League ladder throughout the 1970s.
However, in 1971 the club started the season at the top and
maintained that position until it lost to
Collingwood in round 6. Melbourne
was still in second place at the start of the second half of the
season but within five weeks was out of the top four and finished
with only two more wins and a draw.
Melbourne collected
Wooden
spoons in 1974 and 1978.
In 1980 the MFC finally legally separated from the MCC, becoming a
public company, in an effort to attract more members and improve
the club's finances. The season produced one less win than 1979
(five) but the club finished higher - 9th. It became evident that
drastic action was needed for a club that had missed 16 finals
series in a row the return of former star Ron Barassi was seen as
the cure. When Barassi had left in 1965 it was felt that he would
eventually return and his arrival caused much excitement and an
expectation of immediate success.
Melbourne 1980s shield logo
In 1981, under the chairmanship of Sir
Billy Snedden, Barassi returned to Melbourne
as coach and immediately appointed
Robert
Flower as captain. In Barassi's first year the team finished
last, but this was attributed to working out who the willing
players were and the club won some powerful victories in the next
three seasons. But although
Brian Wilson won
the Brownlow in 1982, and
Peter Moore won it
in 1984, Barassi was unable to get the club back into premiership
contention.
In 1986 Barassi was replaced by
John
Northey. Under Northey, Melbourne made the finals in 1987, for
the first time since 1964, losing the Preliminary Final to
Hawthorn on the last kick of the game
after the final siren. It was also the last game played by the team
captain
Robert Flower. In 1988 the
Demons did even better, reaching the
Grand Final, only to be defeated,
again, by Hawthorn.
From 1987 to 1991 Melbourne had five positive win-loss
differentials in successive seasons which the club had not been
able to achieve since the 1954-65 era. Thereafter things went
downhill for Northey, although
Jim Stynes
won the Brownlow in 1991. In 1992 the club finished 11th, and
Northey was replaced by
Neil Balme as
coach. Balme got Melbourne into the finals in 1994, but a last game
loss to Brisbane saw them drop out of the top eight in 1995, and
the club lingered at or near the bottom of the ladder for most of
the 1996 season.
Facing oblivion
By 1996 the club was also in dire financial straits. The board,
headed by past player
Ian Ridley decided
on the desperate step of a merger with Hawthorn. In the ensuing
weeks, a passionate debate was fought between pro and anti-merger
supporters. In the first few days of this debate, life-long
supporters Mark and Anthony Jenkins met with coterie member George
Zagon to form the Demon Alternative - an anti-merger group that was
to signifiacntly impact on the plans of the incumbent board.
The Demon Alternative recruited members from a wide range of areas
but the two most recognised were former player and politician Brian
Dixon and Rabbi
Joseph Gutnick. The
group quickly organised itself into a creditable option for
Melbourne supporters; however given the support of the AFL and
other factors, when the merger issue was put to a vote a majority
of Melbourne members supported the Board. In a meeting run on the
opposite side of town, the Hawthorn members had rejected their
board's proposal and eventually the merger was defeated.
In the aftermath of the merger meetings Ridley focused on a
compromise with the Demons Alternative to ensure that Melbourne
could continue as a viable business. His board co-opted Gutnick and
Mark Jenkins onto the board and a truce of sorts was struck between
all parties.
In the months following the 1996 merger vote, the businessman and
rabbi Joseph Gutnick became president. He put $3 million of his own
money into the club, and sacked Balme as coach midway through the
1997 season. In 1998, under new coach
Neale Daniher, the club spent most of the
season in the top eight and beat the eventual premiers
Adelaide in the Qualifying Final.
Melbourne also eliminated
St
Kilda, but lost to North Melbourne in the Preliminary Final. In
1999 Melbourne finished in the bottom three.
Partial revival
David Neitz retired as the longest
serving captain, with the most games and most goals.
As an onfield leader he helped keep the Demons premiership
dream alive for almost a decade.
In 2000 Daniher took Melbourne to the Grand Final, where however
the Demons were convincingly beaten by a rampaging Essendon. The
members had expected a new era of success, but in 2001 it was same
old story: Melbourne finished 11th. In 2002, although Melbourne
again made the finals, Gutnick was voted out by the members.
In 2003 Melbourne plunged into a new crisis, winning only five
games for the year and posting a $1 million loss. President
Gabriel Szondy resigned and it seemed
that Daniher's tenure as coach was under threat. But, continuting
the recent trend, in 2004, Melbourne climbed the ladder again,
winning 14 games and leading the competition, albeit for one round
only, in Round 18. And although the team lost its remaining four
games, the club still made the finals, only to lose narrowly to
Essendon.
During the
2004 post-season the Demons tragically lost defender Troy Broadbridge in the Asian
tsunami
, when he was swept off Phi Phi
island in
Thailand
. He
was walking along the beach with his wife
Trisha when the tsunami struck. His body
was found on January 3, 2005, and brought home. A funeral was held
on January 20, 2005 in recognition to the No. 20 guernsey he wore
during his playing days. During the 2005 off-season, the whole team
travelled to the island in which Broadbridge was killed to build a
new school for those struck by the tsunami. The No.20 jumper was
then rested for two years.
Melbourne started 2005 strongly, being second after Round 12,
however losing momentum by Round 19 appeared unlikely to play
finals, then wins against Western Bulldogs , Geelong at Geelong
(where Melbourne had not won since the late 1980s), and Essendon in
Round 22, placed the club seventh and a finals berth,only to lose
the Elimination Final to Geelong by 55 points.
In 2006, after a slow start, Melbourne again finished the season in
seventh position. After defeating St Kilda in the first Elimination
Final by 18 points the season ended the following week when
Fremantle beat the Demons by
28 points. Melbourne's coach Neale Daniher had become the second
longest-serving coach of Melbourne, and the longest-surviving in
the entire history of the VFL-AFL not to have coached a premiership
side.
Daniher's departure and rebuilding
2007 was a poor season for Melbourne. After losing their first 9
games through a combination of injury and poor form, they finally
broke through with wins against
Adelaide and
Collingwood. But, following a loss
to
Richmond the next week,
Daniher was sacked by the club, and
Mark Riley was appointed
as caretaker coach. The sacking of Daniher caused significant
tension at the club. It was an unpopular move with the leadership
group, and captain David Neitz expressed their disatisfaction over
the decision. Winning three of their remaining nine games,
Melbourne avoided the wooden spoon and finished 14th.
Dean Bailey was appointed as coach for
the
2008 season, but success did not
follow, as Melbourne lost their first 6 matches, before breaking
through with a record comeback win in round 7 against Fremantle.
They showed signs of improvement, putting up a good fight in round
9 against top-of-the-ladder team Hawthorn, who were undefeated at
the time. Melbourne had to wait until Round 14 for the second win.
After good
performances against Collingwood, Richmond, and Sydney in the
preceding weeks, the Demons defeated Brisbane by a solitary point
in the two team's first encounter at the MCG in 9 years.
2008 - Birthday Celebrations and Financial Crisis
Off field, the club remained in serious turmoil. In the first sign
of troubles on February 2008, CEO Steve Harris resigned. Paul
Gardner addressed the media in response to comments from the club's
auditors spelling disaster for the club. Gardner reiterated that
the club had posted a $97,000 profit at the end of 2007. Harris was
replaced by the high profile former Wimbeldon tennis champion
Paul McNamee. Despite celebrating the
club's birthday with an official mid-season function at Crown
Casino, shortly afterward chairman Paul Gardiner resigned, handing
the presidency to former club champion Jim Stynes who inherited a
$4.5 million debt which media pundits suggested would cripple the
club. Hawthorn's president Jeff Kennett caused controversy with
remarks about relocating the Demons to the Gold Coast, something
which Stynes spoke against. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou dispelled the
notion that the club's future was in doubt, he admitted that Stynes
board faced a huge challenge.. Demons legend, games and goalkicking
record holder David Neitz announced his immediate retirement due to
injury on May 9.
Stynes wasted no time attempting to change the club's direction and
eliminate its debt, commencing a drive called "Debt Demolition",
beginning with a call for members to sign up. Under his direction,
a new board sacked Paul McNamee after just four months. During
McNamee's tenure, he had drawn criticisms for holidaying in
Wimbledon to compete in a legends match and after his sacking an
attempt to lure Brisbane Lions star
Jonathan Brown was also
revealed. An August 5 fundraiser raised $1.3 million
AUD. To date the club has raised well over $3 million
AUD. Despite the reduced debt, in November club CEO Cameron Schwab
declared that it required urgent AFL assistance to continue,
requesting additional funding to its special annual distribution.
In December, a fallout in negotiations between the Melbourne
Cricket Club resulted in the MCC not committing an expected $2
million to the club and Schwab declared that the club's immediate
future was in doubt.
This doubt was quickly put away when the AFL and MCC finalised
negotioations. The AFL is to commit $1million to the MFC in 09,
with the MCC replicating the AFL's actions.
2009-Improvement
By the mid-point of the 2009 season, things had improved both on
and off field for Melbourne. They had secured a record number of
members, knocked off more debt and were starting to show some fight
on field. Players such as
Liam Jurrah
had begun to emerge as top young talents and were catching the eye
of the footballing public. However, on the eve of the Round 14
clash against West Coast, influential president Jim Stynes
announced that he had
cancer, this evoked a
very emotional response from the footballing public and the club
lifted from three embarrassing defeats the weeks before to
convincingly beat West Coast in front of a passionate MCG crowd. At
the end of the season Melbourne finished 16th on the ladder and for
a second year in a row won no more than 4 games which granted them
a Priority Pick in the
National
Draft. Melbourne therefore had picks 1 and 2 in the draft to
build on their young talent. At the end of the season fan
favourites
Russell Robertson,
Matthew Whelan and
Paul Wheatley announced that they would no
longer be playing for Melbourne in 2010 and beyond. During
September 2009, midfielder
Brock McLean
asked to be a traded and a deal involving
Carlton's pick 11 in the National
Draft was agreed to.
Membership base
Melbourne Football Club has listed a record amount of members in
2009, but still has one of the smallest membership bases in the AFL
competition. This is partly because many traditional Melbourne
supporters are already members of the Melbourne Cricket Club
(around 23% of MCC members have Melbourne Football Club nominated
support), which gets them privileged access to the MCG, so they
don't see the need to pay for a separate MFC membership. With
approximately 21,850 MCC members supporting the football club, if
these members were to become full members, the Demons would have
one of the largest memberships in the competition. Although
previously not allowed, for the 2007/08 season, the Melbourne
Football Club are offering MCC members the chance to become
official members of the club for a heavily reduced cost, in order
to entice members to join. This helped the club to achieve a
membership of over 28,000 - well over the club's previous record -
even with a poor season on-field. On the 20th June, 2008 a new
membership record was set, surpassing the 28,077 of 2007. It was
later announced the club finished with 29,619 members, a great
effort in such a poor year on-field. On the 24th April 2009 the
Demons broke their all-time membership record, registering 29,706
members. Five days later the MFC recorded its target of 30,000
members registering 30,032 for the first time in their
history.
| Year |
Members |
Finishing position |
| 1998 |
17,870 |
4th |
| 1999 |
19,713 |
14th |
| 2000 |
18,227 |
2nd |
| 2001 |
22,940 |
11th |
| 2002 |
20,152 |
6th |
| 2003 |
20,555 |
14th |
| 2004 |
25,252 |
7th |
| 2005 |
24,220 |
8th |
| 2006 |
24,698 |
5th |
| 2007 |
28,077 |
14th |
| 2008 |
29,619 |
16th |
| 2009 |
31,508 |
16th |
| 2010 |
14,017¹ |
² |
¹
Numbers from melbournefc.com.au as of November 23,
2009
²
Season yet to commence
Club Song
The official Melbourne Club Song is called "It's A Grand Old Flag"
(sung to the tune of "
You're a
Grand Old Flag")
- It's a grand old flag
- It's a high flying flag
- It's the emblem for me and for you
- It's the emblem of the team we love
- The team of the red and the blue
- Ev'ry heart beats true
- For the red and the blue
- And we sing this song to you (What do we sing!)
- Should auld acquaintance be forgot
- Keep your eye on the red and the blue
Club Jumper
The current Melbourne club jumper consists of a red v-neck on a
navy blue background, with the AFL logo on the front as well as the
Hankook Tyres logo, their main sponsor. Kaspersky Lab, Melbourne's
other sponsor, has a logo on the back beneath the player's
number.The Melbourne clash strip, new in 2009, consists of a red
backing with a traditional blue Demon on the chest. This replaced
the much derided grey and red jumper of 2008.Melbourne also have a
third jumper which acts as both a pre-season and a clash jumper.
This jumper is white with a blue vee below the chest and the same
demon that appears on the red clash jumper but in red instead of
blue. On the 19th of September 2009, Club Official
Cameron Schwab annpunced that the club would
return to the colours the Demons wore during their era of success
in the 1960's. Schwab told that the current tomato red V would be
replaced by one closer to the colour of
blood
and that the Blue/Purple body would be replaced by Dark
Navy. It was not stated whether they would wear the
changed jumper for the 2010 season.
Prominent Fans
Current squad
As of November 29, 2008:
Club Honours
Challenge Cup
- Premiers 1865, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1872,
1876
VFA
- Premiers -
- Runners-up 1877, 1878, 1893, 1894
VFL/AFL
- Premiers
(12) 1900, 1926, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959,
1960, 1964
- Grand Finalists 1946, 1954, 1958, 1988,
2000
- Minor
Premiers 1939, 1940, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959,
1960, 1964
- VFL Lightning Premiership - Premiers (1)
1952
- VFL Lightning Premiership - Grand Finalists
1941, 1951
- Reserves - Premiers (12) 1931, 1932, 1933,
1934, 1935, 1939, 1949, 1956, 1969, 1970, 1984, 1993
- Under 19s - Premiers (6) 1947, 1953, 1964,
1971, 1981, 1983
Honour Board
The honour board is listed from the first VFL/AFL season and
includes the following individual awards:
- Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal - awarded to
Melbourne Football Club's Best & Fairest. Named after Keith Truscott who died in World War II.
- Leading goalkicker award
- Harold Ball Memorial Trophy - awarded to the
Best First Year Player. Named in honour of Harold Ball who died in World War II.
| Season |
Position |
President |
Coach |
Captain |
Best and Fairest |
Leading Goalkicker (Total) |
Best First Year Player |
| 1897 |
4th |
H. C. A.
Harrison |
|
Ned Sutton |
|
Jack Leith (22) |
|
| 1898 |
6th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
Ned Sutton |
|
Charlie Young (21) |
|
| 1899 |
6th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
Eddie Sholl |
|
Jack Leith (21) |
|
| 1900 |
1st |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
Dick Wardill |
|
Tommy W. Ryan (24) |
|
| 1901 |
5th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
William C. McLelland |
|
Frank Langley (17) |
|
| 1902 |
4th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
William C. McLelland |
|
Jack Leith (26) |
|
| 1903 |
7th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
William C. McLelland |
|
Vince Coutie (19) |
|
| 1904 |
6th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
William C. McLelland |
|
Vince Coutie (39) |
|
| 1905 |
8th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
Frank Langley |
|
Harry Cordner (16) |
|
| 1906 |
8th |
H. C. A. Harrison |
|
Arthur Sowden |
|
Basil Onyons (16) |
|
| 1907 |
7th |
|
Alex Hall |
Vince Coutie |
|
Jack Leith (21) |
|
| 1908 |
8th |
|
Alex Hall |
Hugh Purse |
|
Vince Coutie (37) |
|
| 1909 |
5th |
|
Alex Hall |
Bernie Nolan |
|
Harry Brereton (34) |
|
| 1910 |
9th |
|
Eddie Drohan |
Vince Coutie |
|
Stan Fairbarn (24) |
|
| 1911 |
7th |
|
|
Vince Coutie |
|
Harry Brereton (46) |
|
| 1912 |
6th |
William C. McLelland |
Alex Hall |
Alf George |
|
Harry Brereton (56) |
|
| 1913 |
9th |
William C. McLelland |
Alex Hall |
Alf George |
|
Mick Maguire (13) |
|
| 1914 |
9th |
William C. McLelland |
Alex Hall |
Len Incigneri |
|
Arthur Best (30) |
|
| 1915 |
4th |
William C. McLelland |
Jack McKenzie |
Jack McKenzie |
|
Roy Park (35) |
|
| 1916-1918 |
- |
William C. McLelland |
George Heinz |
George Heinz |
|
|
| 1919 |
9th |
William C. McLelland |
George Heinz |
George Heinz |
|
George Heinz (15) |
|
| 1920 |
8th |
William C. McLelland |
Gerald Brosnan |
George Heinz |
|
Harry Harker (23) |
|
| 1921 |
6th |
William C. McLelland |
Percy Wilson |
Percy Wilson |
|
Harry Harker (47) |
|
| 1922 |
6th |
William C. McLelland |
Percy Wilson |
Percy Wilson |
|
Harry Harker (47) |
|
| 1923 |
9th |
William C. McLelland |
Percy Wilson |
Percy Wilson |
|
Percy Tulloh (31) |
|
| 1924 |
8th |
William C. McLelland |
Gordon Rattray |
Albert Chadwick |
|
Percy Tulloh (24) |
|
| 1925 |
3rd |
William C. McLelland |
Albert Chadwick |
Albert Chadwick |
|
Harry Davie (56) |
|
| 1926 |
1st |
William C. McLelland |
Albert Chadwick |
Albert Chadwick |
|
Harry Moyes (55) |
|
| 1927 |
5th |
|
Albert Chadwick |
Albert Chadwick |
|
Harry Davie (40) |
|
| 1928 |
3rd |
|
Ivor Warne-Smith |
Ivor Warne-Smith |
|
Bob C. Johnson (55) |
|
| 1929 |
5th |
|
Ivor Warne-Smith |
Ivor Warne-Smith |
|
Dick
Taylor (30) |
|
| 1930 |
5th |
|
Ivor Warne-Smith |
Ivor Warne-Smith |
|
George Margitich (73) |
|
| 1931 |
8th |
|
Ivor Warne-Smith |
Ivor Warne-Smith |
|
George Margitich (66) |
|
| 1932 |
9th |
|
Ivor Warne-Smith |
Ivor Warne-Smith |
|
George Margitich (60) |
|
| 1933 |
10th |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Ivor Warne-Smith |
|
Bob C. Johnson (62) |
|
| 1934 |
6th |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Colin Niven |
|
Jack Mueller (52) |
|
| 1935 |
6th |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Colin Niven |
Allan La Fontaine |
Maurie Gibb (59) |
|
| 1936 |
3rd |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Allan La Fontaine |
Allan La Fontaine |
Eric Glass (56) |
|
| 1937 |
3rd |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Allan La Fontaine |
Jack Mueller |
Ron Baggott (51) |
|
| 1938 |
5th |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Allan La Fontaine |
Norm Smith |
Norm Smith (80) |
|
| 1939 |
1st |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Allan La Fontaine |
Jack Mueller |
Norm Smith (54) |
|
| 1940 |
1st |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Allan La Fontaine |
Ron Baggott |
Norm Smith (86) |
|
| 1941 |
1st |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Allan La Fontaine |
Allan La Fontaine |
Norm Smith (89) |
|
| 1942 |
8th |
|
Percy Beames |
Percy Beames |
Allan La Fontaine |
Fred Fanning (37) |
|
| 1943 |
7th |
|
Percy Beames |
Percy Beames |
Don Cordner |
Fred Fanning (62) |
| 1944 |
8th |
|
Percy Beames |
Percy Beames |
Norm Smith |
Fred Fanning (87) |
| 1945 |
9th |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Norm Smith |
Fred Fanning |
Fred Fanning (67) |
| 1946 |
2nd |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Norm Smith |
Jack Mueller |
Jack Mueller (58) |
|
| 1947 |
6th |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Norm Smith |
Wally Lock |
Fred Fanning (97) |
| 1948 |
1st |
|
Frank 'Checker'
Hughes |
Don Cordner |
Alby Rodda |
Lance Arnold (41) |
|
| 1949 |
5th |
|
Allan La Fontaine |
Don Cordner |
Len Dockett |
Robert McKenzie
(40) |
|
| 1950 |
4th |
|
Allan La Fontaine |
Shane McGrath |
Denis Cordner |
Denis Cordner (36) |
|
| 1951 |
12th |
|
Allan La Fontaine |
Denis Cordner |
Noel McMahen |
Robert McKenzie
(40) |
|
| 1952 |
6th |
|
Norm Smith |
Denis Cordner |
Geoff McGivern |
Noel Clarke (49) |
|
| 1953 |
11th |
|
Norm Smith |
Denis Cordner |
Ken Melville |
Robert McKenzie
(38) |
|
| 1954 |
2nd |
|
Norm Smith |
Geoff Collins |
Denis Cordner |
Noel Clarke (51) |
|
| 1955 |
1st |
|
Norm Smith |
Noel McMahen |
Stuart Spencer |
Stuart Spencer
(34) |
|
| 1956 |
1st |
|
Norm Smith |
Noel McMahen |
Stuart Spencer |
Bob B. Johnson (43) |
|
| 1957 |
1st |
|
Norm Smith |
John Beckwith |
John Beckwith |
Athol Webb (56) |
|
| 1958 |
2nd |
|
Norm Smith |
John Beckwith |
Laurie Mithen |
Ron Barassi, Jr. / Athol Webb (44) |
| 1959 |
1st |
|
Norm Smith |
John Beckwith |
Laurie Mithen |
Ron Barassi, Jr. (46) |
|
| 1960 |
1st |
|
Norm Smith |
Ron Barassi |
Brian Dixon |
Ian Ridley (38) |
|
| 1961 |
3rd |
|
Norm Smith |
Ron Barassi |
Ron Barassi |
Bob B. Johnson (36) |
|
| 1962 |
4th |
|
Norm Smith |
Ron Barassi |
Hassa Mann |
Laurie Mithen (37) |
|
| 1963 |
3rd |
|
Norm Smith |
Ron Barassi |
Hassa Mann |
Barry Bourke (48) |
|
| 1964 |
1st |
|
Norm Smith |
Ron Barassi |
Ron Barassi |
John Townsend
(35) |
|
| 1965 |
7th |
|
Norm Smith |
Hassa Mann |
John Townsend |
John Townsend |
|
| 1966 |
11th |
|
Norm Smith |
Hassa Mann |
Terry Leahy |
Barrie Vagg (20) |
|
| 1967 |
7th |
|
Norm Smith |
Hassa Mann |
Hassa Mann |
Hassa Mann (38) |
|
| 1968 |
8th |
|
John Beckwith |
Hassa Mann |
Ray Groom |
Hassa Mann (29) |
|
| 1969 |
12th |
|
John Beckwith |
Hassa Mann |
John Townsend |
Ross Dillon (48) |
|
| 1970 |
10th |
|
John Beckwith |
Tassie Johnson |
Frank
Davis |
Ross Dillon (41) |
|
| 1971 |
7th |
|
Ian Ridley |
Frank
Davis |
Greg Wells |
Paul Callery (38) |
|
| 1972 |
8th |
|
Ian Ridley |
Frank
Davis |
Stan Alves |
Greg Parke (63) |
|
| 1973 |
10th |
|
Ian Ridley |
Stan Alves |
Carl Ditterich |
Ross Brewer (32) |
|
| 1974 |
12th |
|
Bob Skilton |
Stan Alves |
Stan Alves |
Ross Brewer (40) |
|
| 1975 |
10th |
|
Bob Skilton |
Stan Alves |
Laurie Fowler |
Greg Wells (32) |
|
| 1976 |
6th |
|
Bob Skilton |
Stan Alves |
Greg Wells |
Ray Biffin (47) |
|
| 1977 |
11th |
|
Bob Skilton |
Greg Wells |
Robert Flower |
Ross Brewer (26) |
|
| 1978 |
12th |
|
Bob Skilton |
Greg Wells |
Garry Baker |
Henry Coles (33) |
|
| 1979 |
11th |
|
Carl Ditterich |
Carl Ditterich |
Laurie Fowler |
Robert Flower (33) |
|
| 1980 |
9th |
Billy Snedden |
Carl Ditterich |
Carl Ditterich |
Laurie Fowler |
Brent Crosswell (31) |
|
| 1981 |
12th |
Billy Snedden |
Ron Barassi |
Robert Flower |
Steven
Smith |
Mark Jackson (76) |
|
| 1982 |
8th |
Billy Snedden |
Ron Barassi |
Robert Flower |
Steven Icke |
Gerard Healy (77) |
|
| 1983 |
8th |
Billy Snedden |
Ron Barassi |
Robert Flower |
Alan Johnson |
Robert Flower (40) |
|
| 1984 |
9th |
Billy Snedden |
Ron Barassi |
Robert Flower |
Gerard Healy |
Kelvin Templeton (51) |
|
| 1985 |
11th |
Billy Snedden |
Ron Barassi |
Robert Flower |
Danny Hughes |
Brian
Wilson (40) |
|
| 1986 |
11th |
Billy Snedden, Stuart Spencer |
John Northey |
Robert Flower |
Greg Healy |
Greg Healy (35) |
|
| 1987 |
3rd |
Stuart Spencer |
John Northey |
Robert Flower |
Steven Stretch |
Robert Flower (47) |
|
| 1988 |
2nd |
Stuart Spencer |
John Northey |
Greg Healy |
Steven O'Dwyer |
Ricky Jackson (43) |
|
| 1989 |
4th |
Stuart Spencer |
John Northey |
Greg Healy |
Alan Johnson |
Darren Bennett
(34) |
|
| 1990 |
4th |
Stuart Spencer |
John Northey |
Greg Healy |
Garry Lyon |
Darren Bennett
(87) |
|
| 1991 |
4th |
Stuart Spencer,
Ian Ridley |
John Northey |
Garry Lyon |
Jim Stynes |
Allen Jakovich (71) |
|
| 1992 |
11th |
Ian Ridley |
John Northey |
Garry Lyon |
Glenn Lovett |
Allen Jakovich (40) |
|
| 1993 |
10th |
Ian Ridley |
Neil Balme |
Garry Lyon |
Todd Viney |
Allen Jakovich (39) |
|
| 1994 |
4th |
Ian Ridley |
Neil Balme |
Garry Lyon |
Garry Lyon |
Garry Lyon (79) |
|
| 1995 |
9th |
Ian Ridley |
Neil Balme |
Garry Lyon |
Jim Stynes |
Garry Lyon (77) |
|
| 1996 |
14th |
Ian Ridley, Joseph Gutnick |
Neil Balme |
Garry Lyon |
Jim Stynes |
David Neitz (56) |
|
| 1997 |
16th |
Joseph Gutnick |
Neil Balme, Greg Hutchison |
Gary Lyon |
Jim Stynes |
David Neitz (30), Jeff Farmer (30) |
|
| 1998 |
4th |
Joseph Gutnick |
Neale Daniher |
Todd Viney |
Todd Viney |
Jeff Farmer (47) |
|
| 1999 |
14th |
Joseph Gutnick |
Neale Daniher |
Todd Viney |
David Schwarz |
David Neitz (46) |
|
| 2000 |
2nd |
Joseph Gutnick |
Neale Daniher |
David Neitz |
Shane Woewodin |
Jeff Farmer (76) |
Matthew Whelan |
| 2001 |
11th |
Joseph Gutnick |
Neale Daniher |
David Neitz |
Adem Yze |
Russell Robertson (42) |
Scott Thompson |
| 2002 |
6th |
Joseph Gutnick, Gabriel Szondy |
Neale Daniher |
David Neitz |
David Neitz |
David Neitz (82) |
Steven Armstrong |
| 2003 |
14th |
Gabriel Szondy, Paul Gardner |
Neale Daniher |
David Neitz |
Russell Robertson |
David Neitz (65) |
Ryan Ferguson |
| 2004 |
7th |
Paul Gardner |
Neale Daniher |
David Neitz |
Jeff White |
David Neitz (69) |
Aaron Davey |
| 2005 |
8th |
Paul Gardner |
Neale Daniher |
David Neitz |
Travis Johnstone |
Russell Robertson (73) |
Chris Johnson |
| 2006 |
5th |
Paul Gardner |
Neale Daniher |
David Neitz |
James I. McDonald |
David Neitz (68) |
Clint Bartram |
| 2007 |
14th |
Paul Gardner |
Neale Daniher, Mark Riley |
David Neitz |
James I. McDonald |
Russell Robertson (42) |
Ricky Petterd |
| 2008 |
16th |
Paul Gardner, Jim Stynes |
Dean Bailey |
David Neitz |
Cameron Bruce |
Brad Miller (26) |
Cale Morton |
| 2009 |
16th |
Jim Stynes |
Dean Bailey |
James McDonald |
Aaron Davey |
Russell Robertson (29) |
Liam Jurrah |
Team of the Century
Stan Alves,
Ian
Ridley,
Bob B. Johnson and
Greg Wells were all named as
emergencies.
150 Heroes
Melbourne
FC announced its "150 Heroes" to celebrate its 150th birthday
Crown
Casino
on Saturday 7 June, 2008. Each player or
their closest relative were presented with an official 150 heroes
medallion.The criteria for inclusion was games played (minimum of
100), fairest-and-best awards, premierships, Brownlow medals,
contribution to the club and State representation. Those who died
in the war were judged based on their achievements before their
passing.The heroes named were:
Jim Abernethy,
Frank Adams,
Bill Allen,
Stan Alves,
Syd
Anderson,
Tony Anderson,
Lance Arnold,
Ron
Baggott,
Garry Baker,
Harold Ball,
Ron
Barassi,
Percy Beames,
John Beckwith,
George Rickford,
Ray
Biffin,
Barry Bourke,
Harry Brereton,
Cameron Bruce,
Keith
Carroll,
Geoff Case,
Albert Chadwick,
Noel
Clarke,
Geoff Collins,
Jack Collins,
Chris
Connolly,
Bob
Corbett,
Denis Cordner,
Don Cordner,
Ted
Cordner,
Vin Coutie,
Harry Coy,
Jim
Davidson,
Frank
Davis,
Ross Dillon,
Carl Ditterich,
Brian
Dixon,
Len Dockett,
Adrian Dullard,
Hugh
Dunbar,
Richie Emselle,
Fred Fanning,
Jeff Farmer,
Matthew Febey,
Steven
Febey,
Dick
Fenton-Smith,
Rolie
Fischer,
Robert Flower,
Laurie Fowler,
Maurice
Gibb,
Peter Giles,
Terry Gleeson,
Brad Green,
Rod Grinter,
George
Haines,
Gary Hardeman,
Henry Harrison,
Gerard Healy,
Greg
Healy,
Dick Hingston,
Paul Hopgood,
Danny
Hughes,
Anthony
Ingerson,
Eddie
Jackson,
Alan
Johnson,
Bob B. Johnson,
Tassie
Johnson,
Trevor
Johnson,
Travis
Johnstone,
Gordon Jones,
Les Jones,
Bryan
Kenneally,
Allan La
Fontaine,
Clyde Laidlaw,
Frank Langley,
Jack
Leith,
Andrew Leoncelli,
Chalie Liley,
Wally
Lock,
Harry Long,
John Lord,
Andy
Lovell,
Brett Lovett,
Glenn Lovett,
Garry
Lyon,
Hassa Mann,
George Margitich,
Peter Marquis,
Bernie
Massey,
Anthony
McDonald,
James
McDonald,
Fred McGinis,
Shane McGrath,
Bob McKenzie,
Col McLean,
Ian
McLean,
Noel McMahen,
Ken Melville,
Laurie
Mithen,
Peter
Moore,
Jack Mueller,
David Neitz,
Stephen
Newport,
Jack O'Keefe,
Andrew Obst,
Gordon
Ogden,
Greg
Parke,
Joe
Pearce,
Jack Purse,
Ian Ridley,
Guy
Rigoni,
Frank Roberts,
Russell Robertson,
Alby Rodda,
Brian
Roet,
Peter Rohde,
Alan Rowarth,
David Schwarz,
Norm Smith,
Steven
Smith,
Earl Spalding,
Stuart Spencer,
Charlie Streeter,
Steven Stretch,
Jim
Stynes,
Tony Sullivan,
Dick
Taylor,
Ted Thomas,
Ian Thorogood,
Stephen Tingay,
John Townsend,
Keith Truscott,
Geoff Tunbridge,
Bill
Tymms,
Barrie Vagg,
Frank Vine,
Todd
Viney,
Ivor Warne-Smith,
Ray Wartman,
Athol
Webb,
Greg Wells,
Jeff White,
Sean
Wight,
Don
Williams,
Brian
Wilson,
Stan Wittman,
Shane Woewodin,
Graeme
Yeats,
Charlie Young,
Adem Yze
Some controversy surrounded the inclusion of current football
manager and assistant coach
Chris
Connolly (who had played less than 100 games) and several
current players and the non-inclusion of players such as
Tom Wills (founder),
Allen Jakovich and
Troy Broadbridge (who died but not during
wartime).
Individual awards
Best and Fairest
- See Keith 'Bluey'
Truscott Medal
VFL Leading Goalkicker Medal winners (1897-1955)
All-Australian players - Interstate Carnivals (1953-1988)
Club Mascot
Rotten Ronald Deeman - Melbourne
Football Club's mascot at the MCG
The current club mascot is Ronald Deeman, or also known as
Ruckle.
He carries a
trident, has devil horns and
has a pointed Devil tail.
See also
References
- The Argus 21 May 1859
- The Argus 21 May 1859
- All Cricket topics - Freebase
- Paul Gardner addresses the facts
- McNamee named new Demons CEO
- Demons hope Heroes dinner will turn tide
- Chairman Jim Stynes drops Melbourne
bombshell
- Kennett kicks Demons while they're down
- AFL reassures Demons over future
- David Neitz calls it a day
- Dees' 'debt demolition' begins
- Paul McNamee wanted Jonathan Brown
-
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24135149-19742,00.html
- Funding critical for Dees from heraldsun.com.au
December 19, 2008
- Demons secure $2m in deal from heraldsun.com.au
December 20, 2008
- [1] from melbournefc.com.au September 23,
2009
- November MCC news. pg 11
- Tradition returned in Dees' new clash guernsey
-
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/MCG-in-the-pink-to-beat-breast-cancer/2005/02/10/1107890344527.html
-
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Geoff-McClure/Sporting-Life/2005/04/06/1112489557736.html
-
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/fullmonty/282/september2004.html
- Melbournefc debt demolition campaign
- Tony Hawk and the Demons - Melbournefc.com.au
16 March 2009
- in recess owing to war
- sacked mid-season
- caretaker
- retired after round 13
- resigned after round 11
External links
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