1870 Victorian football season: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
←Created page with '{{Infobox Australian rules football season | competition = Victorian football season | year = 1870 Victorian football | image = | image...' |
|||
| (99 intermediate revisions by 32 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|none}} |
|||
{{Infobox Australian rules football season |
|||
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} |
|||
| competition = Victorian football season |
|||
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2017}} |
|||
| year = 1870 Victorian football |
|||
{{Infobox |
|||
| image = |
|||
| above = 1870 Victorian football season |
|||
| imagesize = |
|||
| label1 = Senior teams |
|||
| caption = |
|||
| |
| data1 = 5 |
||
| label2 = Premiers |
|||
| premiers = {{AFL Mel}} |
|||
| data2 = {{AFL Mel}} (1st premiership) |
|||
| count = |
|||
| label3 = [[Challenge Cup (Australia)|Challenge Cup]] |
|||
| minor premiers = |
|||
| data3 = [[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]] ''(disputed)'' |
|||
| mpcount = |
|||
| below = {{align|left|}} {{align|right|[[1871 Victorian football season|1871]] →}} |
|||
| pre-season name = Challenge Cup |
|||
| pre-season cup = [[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]] ''(disputed)'' |
|||
| pscount = |
|||
| matches = |
|||
| attendance = |
|||
| highattend = |
|||
| leading goal medal = |
|||
| brownlow medal = |
|||
| prevseason = 1869 |
|||
| nextseason = [[1871 Victorian football season|1871]] |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
The '''1870 Victorian football season''' was an [[Australian rules football]] competition played during the winter of 1870, consisting of matches between metropolitan football clubs in Melbourne in the colony of Victoria. The premier club was {{AFL Mel}}. |
|||
== Historical status == |
|||
The '''1870 Victorian football season''' was an [[Australian rules football]] competition played during the winter of 1870. The season consisted of matches between metropolitan football clubs in Melbourne in the colony of Victoria. The premier club was {{AFL Mel}}. |
|||
Although Australian rules football had been played in some form during Melbourne winters since 1858, the 1870 season is conventionally considered to be the first season of senior football competition in Victorian history, or at least the first season for which a premiership can be officially allocated. |
|||
The convention of 1870 being the inaugural premiership was applied retrospectively: in 1889, ''The Argus'' newspaper first published a table of historical premiers, and second and third-placed teams, dating back to 1870. In the article adjoining the 1889 table, it was commented that the haphazard nature of scheduling, frequency of cancelled matches, and overall lower standard of play made it difficult to assign a premiership for the seasons played between 1858 and 1869.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=5|title=The Football Premiership|date=23 September 1889}}</ref> |
|||
==Historical status== |
|||
By convention, the 1870 season has often been considered to be the first season of senior football competition in Victoria's history; or, at least, the first for which a premiership can be formally allocated. The reasons for this are somewhat arbitrary, since the competing clubs, the structure of football organisation and the standard and style of play in 1870 were not materially different from 1869. However, the view of 1870 as being the inaugural premiership has existed since the late 19th century, when ''The Argus'' newspaper annually published a table of historical premiers and place-getters dating back to 1870 and no earlier; in the article which adjoined the publication of that table in 1889, the reporter commented that the haphazard nature of scheduling, the frequency of cancelled matches, and the lesser standard of play made it difficult to assign a premier team to seasons during the 1860s.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=5|title=The Football Premiership|date=23 September 1889}}</ref> As late as 1915, the VFL's ''[[Football Record]]'' also showed the same list of premiers, dating back to 1870 and no earlier.<ref name="agebackdate" /> |
|||
The VFL's official publication, the ''[[AFL Record|Football Record]]'', also showed this table from its inception in 1912 until 1918. From 1919 to 1923, this was replaced with a new table that showed the top four club placings since 1897, and two supplementary tables showing cumulated placings for the periods 1897-1918 and 1870-1918. These supplementary tables were omitted from the 1924 editions of the Record, and did not reappear after that.<ref name="agebackdate">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/history-of-the-afl-could-be-turned-on-its-head-20140620-zsglu.html|title=History of the AFL could be turned on its head|date=20 June 2014|access-date=18 October 2014|author=Caroline Wilson|work=[[The Age]]|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC}}</ref><ref>[http://australianfootball.com/articles/view/rethinking+the+historical+record/161 Rethinking the historical record]</ref> |
|||
On 9 June 2016, the [[AFL Commission]] formally recognised the top level of Victorian football back to 1870 as senior: this applies to both the unaffiliated period from 1870 to 1876 and the [[Victorian Football Association]] period from 1877 to 1896. However, it maintains a distinction between the 1870-1896 competitions and the history of the [[Australian Football League|VFL/AFL]] from 1897 onwards, and requires statistics and achievements from these periods to be delineated,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-09/afl-knocks-back-cats-bid-for-extra-flags|title=AFL knocks back Cats' bid for extra flags|access-date=9 June 2016|publisher=Australian Football League|author=Travis King}}</ref> while at the same time allowing clubs to recognise their 1870-1896 statistics and achievements in their own histories.<ref>[http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/teams/port-adelaide/afl-commission-accepts-all-clubs-can-acknowledge-their-success-from-outside-the-vflafl-competition/news-story/d7ab969dff3bfe01e75933e899e8b87a AFL Commission will allow clubs to recognise their history outside the VFL/AFL]</ref> |
|||
==1870 season== |
|||
Five clubs participated in senior football during the 1870 season: [[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]], {{AFL Car}}, [[Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company|Hobson's Bay Railway]], {{AFL Mel}} and South Yarra. |
|||
== 1870 season == |
|||
During the 1870 season, the senior clubs competed in specific matches for the Challenge Cup; and, separately, a premier team was selected based on all matches during the season, including Challenge Cup matches. |
|||
Five clubs participated in senior football during the 1870 season: the city's principal clubs ([[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]], {{AFL Car}}, {{AFL Mel}} and [[South Yarra Football Club (1858–1873)|South Yarra]]), and a new club representing the [[Hobson's Bay Railway Football Club|Hobson's Bay Railway]], which was playing its first season of senior football after three years of competing at junior level.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|page=13|title=Football Chatter|date=2 July 1870}}</ref> |
|||
The five clubs competed in specific matches for the Challenge Cup, and for the premiership (based on all matches played during the season). |
|||
===Challenge Cup=== |
|||
In 1870, the South Yarra Football Club purchased and put up a new trophy, known as the [[Challenge Cup (Australia)|Challenge Cup]] (or sometimes as the South Yarra Presentation Challenge Cup, to differentiate it from other challenge cups donated by different organisations), for competition. South Yarra was the permanent holder of the previous Challenge Cup, and decided it would be appropriate to provide a new trophy for competition. The rules relating to the new Challenge Cup were as follows:<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=652|author=|date=21 May 1870|volume=VIII|issue=216|title=The South Yarra Presentation Challenge Cup}}</ref> |
|||
*South Yarra would be the initial holder of the cup |
|||
*Any match between the holder of the cup and another senior team would be played for the cup |
|||
*In a cup match, the winner of the match would take possession of the cup; and the incumbent would retain the cup in the event of a draw |
|||
*A club would become the permanent holder of the cup if it won the cup four times in a row without a loss (but with no limit on the number of drawn games during that streak); until that time, the cup would remain a perpetual award. |
|||
Other rules relating to Challenge Cup games were that central umpires were required and that no player was allowed to play for more than one club in Challenge Cup games during the year. |
|||
=== Challenge Cup === |
|||
[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]] took possession of the Cup in the first game against South Yarra, and never relinquished it. However, the fate of the Cup became controversial when Hobson's Bay Railway forfeited its 11 June match against Albert-park due to lack of players; Railway declined to play when only fourteen of its selected twenty turned up on the day of the game,<ref name="railwayresponse">{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=332|author=J. Hacker (honorary secretary of the Hobson's Bay Railway Football Club)|date= 10 September 1870|volume=IX|issue=232|title=The "walk-over" and the Challenge Cup}}</ref> and Albert-park took to the field and scored two goals against no opposition as a [[walk-over#sports|walk-over]] formality.<ref name="walkover" /> Albert-park claimed the walk-over as its second Cup victory, and consequently claimed permanent possession of the Cup with its fourth win of the year on 20 August; South Yarra, as cup donors, and several other clubs argued that the walk-over should not have counted as a victory, and that another win was needed to claim permanent ownership of the Cup.<ref name="cancelled" /> Albert-park argued that enough procedural requirements, such as the appointment of umpires and the pre-game coin toss, had been carried out for the game to be considered official<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=300|author=C. Crooke (treasurer of Albert-park Football Club)|date=3 September 1870|volume=IX|issue=231|title=Albert-park v. Railway}}</ref> – Railway denied that these procedures had been carried out<ref name="railwayresponse" /> – and Albert-park argued that it was entitled to claim victory because Railway had declined the options of playing short or fielding other club officials or members who were present. Albert-park's position in claiming victory on a technicality was considered to be against the spirit of competition. There was no specific rule regarding walk-overs written into the rules which could be used to resolve the dispute.<ref name="cancelled" /> |
|||
In 1870, the South Yarra Football Club purchased and put up a new trophy, known as the [[Challenge Cup (Australia)|Challenge Cup]] (sometimes as the ''South Yarra Presentation Challenge Cup'' to differentiate it from previous challenge cups donated by different organisations), for competition. |
|||
South Yarra was the permanent holder of the previous Challenge Cup, having won it in 1866, and decided it would be appropriate to provide a new trophy for competition. The rules related to the presentation of the new Challenge Cup were as follows:<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=652|date=21 May 1870|volume=VIII|issue=216|title=The South Yarra Presentation Challenge Cup}}</ref> |
|||
Ultimately, the dispute was unresolved. There was no central body which could make a binding ruling on whether or not the walk-over counted as a victory, and neither side conceded its opponent's point. Albert-park played only one further game for the season, a draw against {{AFL Mel}}, but it refused to put the Cup up for contest in the match. |
|||
* South Yarra would be the initial holder of the cup. |
|||
Albert-park ultimately gave the Cup back to South Yarra at the end of the year, but maintained its position that it had won the Cup outright and was donating it in its capacity as the Cup's owner.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=492|author=Fair Play|date=15 October 1870|volume=IX|issue=237|title=Football – retrospect of the season}}</ref> South Yarra maintained its position that Albert-park had not won the Cup, and had forfeited its position as incumbent holder.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=684|author=|date=3 June 1871|volume=X|issue=270|title=The Challenge Cup}}</ref> |
|||
* Any match between the holder of the cup and another senior team would be played for the cup. |
|||
* In a cup match, the winner of the match would take possession of the cup, and the incumbent holder would retain the cup in the event of a draw. |
|||
* A club would become the permanent holder of the cup if it won the cup four times in a row without a loss (but with no limit on the number of drawn games during that streak); until that time, the cup would remain a perpetual award. |
|||
Other stipulations relating to Challenge Cup games were that they were required to be controlled by central umpires, rather than by the team captains, and that no player was allowed to play for more than one club in Challenge Cup games during the year. |
|||
[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]] took possession of the Cup in the first game against South Yarra, and never relinquished it. |
|||
However, the fate of the Cup became controversial when Hobson's Bay Railway forfeited its 11 June match against Albert-park due to lack of players: Railway declined to play when only fourteen of its selected twenty turned up on the day of the match.<ref name="railwayresponse">{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=332|author=J. Hacker (honorary secretary of the Hobson's Bay Railway Football Club)|date= 10 September 1870|volume=IX|issue=232|title=The "walk-over" and the Challenge Cup}}</ref> Conventionally, such a game would simply be considered a no-contest, but with the Challenge Cup at stake, Albert-park took to the field and scored two goals against no opposition as a formality and claimed a [[walkover#sports|walkover]] victory.<ref name="walkover" /> Such an outcome had never been seen before, one sportswriter commenting that "in connection with football, the idea of a walkover is simply absurd and unprecedented."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Leader|title=Football|date=6 August 1870|page=10}}</ref> |
|||
Having counted the walkover as its second Cup win, Albert-park subsequently claimed permanent possession of the Cup with its fourth win of the year on 20 August. However, the walkover victory was not recognised by South Yarra (as cup donors) or the other clubs, who all argued that the match was a no-contest rather than an Albert-park victory, and that another win was required to claim permanent ownership of the Cup.<ref name="cancelled" /> Albert-park argued that enough procedural requirements, such as the appointment of umpires and the pre-game coin toss, had been carried out for the game to be considered official,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=300|author=C. Crooke (treasurer of Albert-park Football Club)|date=3 September 1870|volume=IX|issue=231|title=Albert-park v. Railway}}</ref> while Railway denied that these procedures had been carried out.<ref name="railwayresponse" /> Albert-park also argued that it was entitled to claim victory because Railway had declined the options of playing short or fielding other club officials or members who were present. |
|||
Ultimately, the dispute was unresolved: there was no central body which could make a binding ruling on whether or not the walkover counted as a victory, and neither side conceded its opponent's point. Albert-park played only one further game for the season, a draw against {{AFL Mel}}, but it refused to put the Cup up for contest in that match. Albert-park was denied the chance to become the undisputed permanent holder of the Cup on 6 August, when its return match with the weak Railway club was cancelled due to inclement weather.<ref name="cancelled" /> |
|||
Albert-park ultimately gave the Cup back to South Yarra at the end of the year, but maintained its position that it had won the Cup outright and was donating it in its capacity as the Cup's owner.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=492|author=Fair Play|date=15 October 1870|volume=IX|issue=237|title=Football – retrospect of the season}}</ref> South Yarra maintained its position that Albert-park had not won the Cup, and had forfeited its position as incumbent holder.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=684|date=3 June 1871|volume=X|issue=270|title=The Challenge Cup}}</ref> |
|||
The following table lists the final results of all Challenge Cup games. |
The following table lists the final results of all Challenge Cup games. |
||
{{AFLGameHeader|title=1870 Challenge Cup games}} |
{{AFLGameHeader|title=1870 Challenge Cup games}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 28 May|South Yarra|1|A|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|3|[[St Kilda Cricket Ground]]||<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=716|author=Fair Play|date=4 June 1870|volume=VIII|issue=218|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 28 May|[[South Yarra Football Club (1858–1873)|South Yarra]]|1|A|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|3|[[St Kilda Cricket Ground]]||<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=716|author=Fair Play|date=4 June 1870|volume=VIII|issue=218|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 4 June|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|0{{ref|1|Note}}|D|{{AFL Mel}}|0| |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 4 June|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|0{{ref|1|Note}}|D|{{AFL Mel}}|0|Emerald Hill Ground|1,500|<ref name="headcount">{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=748|author=Fair Play|date=11 June 1870|volume=VIII|issue=219|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|''Saturday, 11 June ([[ |
{{AFLGame|''Saturday, 11 June ([[walkover]], disputed)''|''[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]''||H|''[[Hobson's Bay Railway Football Club|Hobson's Bay Railway]]''||''Emerald Hill Ground''||<ref name="walkover">{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=779|author=Fair Play|date=18 June 1870|volume=VIII|issue=220|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 18 June|{{AFL Car}}|0|D|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|0|[[Royal Park, Melbourne|Royal Park]]||<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=812|author=Fair Play|date=25 June 1870|volume=VIII|issue=221|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 18 June|{{AFL Car}}|0|D|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|0|[[Royal Park, Melbourne|Royal Park]]|300|<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=812|author=Fair Play|date=25 June 1870|volume=VIII|issue=221|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 9 July|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|2|H|South Yarra|1| |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 9 July|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|2|H|[[South Yarra Football Club (1858–1873)|South Yarra]]|1|Emerald Hill Ground|450|<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=43|date=16 July 1870|volume=IX|issue=224|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 16 July|{{AFL Mel}}|0|D|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|0| |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 16 July|{{AFL Mel}}|0|D|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|0|Melbourne Ground|2,500|<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=108|date=23 July 1870|volume=IX|issue=225|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 23 July|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|0|D|{{AFL Car}}|0| |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 23 July|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|0|D|{{AFL Car}}|0|Emerald Hill Ground|3,000|<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=140|author=Fair Play|date=30 July 1870|volume=IX|issue=226|title=Football}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 6 August (cancelled due to rain)|Hobson's Bay Railway||V|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]| |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 6 August (cancelled due to rain)|[[Hobson's Bay Railway Football Club|Hobson's Bay Railway]]||V|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]||Lonsdale Ground<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=173|date=6 August 1870|volume=IX|issue=227|title=Football}}</ref>||<ref name="cancelled">{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=204|author=Fair Play|date=13 August 1870|volume=IX|issue=228|title=Football chatter}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 13 August|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|1|D|{{AFL Car}}|1| |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 13 August|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|1|D|{{AFL Car}}|1|Emerald Hill Ground|2,000|<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=236|author=Fair Play|date=20 August 1870|volume=IX|issue=226|title=Football chatter}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 20 August|South Yarra|0|A|[[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]]|2| |
{{AFLGame|Saturday, 20 August|[[South Yarra Football Club (1858–1873)|South Yarra]]|0|A|[[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]]|2|Melbourne Ground|2,500|<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=267|author=Fair Play|date=27 August 1870|volume=IX|issue=230|title=Football chatter}}</ref>}} |
||
{{AFLGameFooter}} |
{{AFLGameFooter}} |
||
===Premiership=== |
=== Premiership === |
||
Although it had |
Although it had claimed the Challenge Cup and was undefeated during the season, Albert-park was not recognised as premier club for 1870: instead, {{AFL Mel}}, which was also undefeated, was the premier. |
||
While Melbourne had a very similar record to Albert-park, the two matches between them were drawn, with Melbourne having a better head-to-head record against third-placed {{AFL Car}}: Melbourne had played four matches against {{AFL Car}} for two wins and two draws, while Albert-park's three matches against {{AFL Car}} were drawn (their three wins coming against the winless South Yarra). |
|||
The following table shows the five clubs' senior results during the year. This includes all matches played amongst the five Challenge Cup teams, plus matches Melbourne played against the Police and against the [[Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922)|18th Royal Irish Regiment]]. Albert-park's disputed walk-over victory against Railway is not included in the table. |
|||
Albert-park's claim to the Challenge Cup was helped in large part by the fact that it was the first team to play against South Yarra during the year; had South Yarra played its first game against Melbourne, Melbourne would have been in a strong position to win the Challenge Cup as well as the premiership. |
|||
<center> |
|||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; width: 60%" |
|||
|- |
|||
| colspan="14" style="background: #EBEBEB;" | |
|||
{| border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" |
|||
|- style="background: #EBEBEB;" |
|||
| width="25%" style="border: 0;" | |
|||
| style="border: 0; font-size: 115%;" | '''1870 Senior Clubs' Results''' |
|||
| width="25%" style="border: 0;" | |
|||
|} |
|||
|- style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;" |
|||
! width="25" | No. !! width="120" | TEAM !! width="25" | P !! width="25" | W !! width="25" | L !! width="25" | D |
|||
|- style="background: #CCFFCC;" |
|||
| 1 |
|||
| '''{{AFL Mel}} (P)''' |
|||
| 11 |
|||
| 7 |
|||
| 0 |
|||
| 4 |
|||
|- |
|||
| 2 |
|||
| [[Albert Park Football Club|Albert-park]] |
|||
| 8 |
|||
| 3 |
|||
| 0 |
|||
| 5 |
|||
|- |
|||
| 3 |
|||
| {{AFL Car}} |
|||
| 8 |
|||
| 1 |
|||
| 2 |
|||
| 5 |
|||
|- |
|||
| |
|||
| South Yarra |
|||
| 4 |
|||
| 0 |
|||
| 4 |
|||
| 0 |
|||
|- |
|||
| |
|||
| Hobson's Bay Railway |
|||
| 3 |
|||
| 0 |
|||
| 3 |
|||
| 0 |
|||
|- style="font-size: xx-small;" |
|||
| colspan="4" | '''Key:''' P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, (P) = Premiers |
|||
| colspan="2" | Source:<ref name="review">{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=524|author=Fair Play|date=23 October 1870|volume=IX|issue=238|title=Football – retrospect of the season}}</ref> |
|||
|}</center> |
|||
=== Senior results === |
|||
==Notable events== |
|||
*{{note|1}}In its Challenge Cup game against {{AFL Mel}} on 4 June, Albert-park scored a goal in the first half, but it was disallowed after it was discovered that Albert-park had two too many men on the field. The game ended in a 0–0 draw.<ref name="headcount" /> |
|||
*The practice of stopping play at half-time and changing ends was first introduced in the game between {{AFL Mel}} and {{AFL Car}} on 11 June; prior to this, teams had changed ends after each goal was scored.<ref name="walkover" /> |
|||
The following table shows the five clubs' senior results during the year: all matches played amongst the five Challenge Cup teams, plus matches that Melbourne played against the Police and against the [[Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922)|18th Royal Irish Regiment]]. Albert-park's disputed walkover victory against Railway is not included in the table. |
|||
==External links== |
|||
*[[History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1853-1900)]] |
|||
{{#invoke:sports table|main|style=WDL |
|||
==References== |
|||
| loss_before_draw = true |
|||
{{reflist|2}} |
|||
| for_against_style = none |
|||
| ranking_style = none |
|||
| title = 1870 Senior Clubs' Results |
|||
| team1 = MEL | name_MEL = {{AFL Mel}} | status_MEL=P|status_text_P=Premiers |
|||
{{VFA/VFL seasons}} |
|||
| team2 = ALB | name_ALB = [[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]] |
|||
{{VFL}} |
|||
| team3 = CAR | name_CAR = {{AFL Car}} |
|||
{{Aussie Rules in Victoria}} |
|||
| team4 = SYA | pos_SYA = – | name_SYA = [[South Yarra Football Club (1858–1873)|South Yarra]] |
|||
| team5 = HBR | pos_HBR = – | name_HBR = [[Hobson's Bay Railway Football Club|Hobson's Bay Railway]] |
|||
| win_MEL = 7|loss_MEL =0|draw_MEL =4 |
|||
| win_ALB = 3|loss_ALB =0|draw_ALB =5 |
|||
| win_CAR = 1|loss_CAR =2|draw_CAR =5 |
|||
| win_SYA = 0|loss_SYA =4|draw_SYA =0 |
|||
| win_HBR = 0|loss_HBR =3|draw_HBR =0 |
|||
| result1 = P | text_P = |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:1870 Victorian football season}} |
|||
| col_P = green1 |
|||
| update = complete |
|||
[[Category:Australian rules football]] |
|||
| source = <ref name="review">{{cite news|newspaper=The Australasian|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=524|author=Fairplay|date=22 October 1870|volume=IX|issue=238|title=Football: Retrospect of the Season, Concluded}}</ref> |
|||
}} |
|||
== Notable events == |
|||
* {{note|1}}In its Challenge Cup game against {{AFL Mel}} on 4 June, Albert-park scored a goal in the first half, but it was later annulled after a head count discovered that Albert-park had 22 men instead of 20 on the field. The game ended in a 0–0 draw.<ref name="headcount" /> |
|||
* The practice of stopping play at half-time and changing ends was first introduced in the game between {{AFL Mel}} and {{AFL Car}} on 11 June; prior to this, teams had changed ends after each goal was scored.<ref name="walkover" /> |
|||
== See also == |
|||
* [[History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1853-1900)]] |
|||
== References == |
|||
{{reflist}} |
|||
{{VFA/VFL seasons}} |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:1870 Victorian football season}} |
|||
[[Category:Australian rules football competition seasons]] |
|||
[[Category:1870 in sports]] |
[[Category:1870 in sports]] |
||
[[Category:1870 in |
[[Category:1870 in Australian rules football]] |
||
Latest revision as of 07:45, 8 March 2024
| 1870 Victorian football season | |
|---|---|
| Senior teams | 5 |
| Premiers | Melbourne (1st premiership) |
| Challenge Cup | Albert-park (disputed) |
| 1871 → | |
The 1870 Victorian football season was an Australian rules football competition played during the winter of 1870, consisting of matches between metropolitan football clubs in Melbourne in the colony of Victoria. The premier club was Melbourne.
Historical status
[edit]Although Australian rules football had been played in some form during Melbourne winters since 1858, the 1870 season is conventionally considered to be the first season of senior football competition in Victorian history, or at least the first season for which a premiership can be officially allocated.
The convention of 1870 being the inaugural premiership was applied retrospectively: in 1889, The Argus newspaper first published a table of historical premiers, and second and third-placed teams, dating back to 1870. In the article adjoining the 1889 table, it was commented that the haphazard nature of scheduling, frequency of cancelled matches, and overall lower standard of play made it difficult to assign a premiership for the seasons played between 1858 and 1869.[1]
The VFL's official publication, the Football Record, also showed this table from its inception in 1912 until 1918. From 1919 to 1923, this was replaced with a new table that showed the top four club placings since 1897, and two supplementary tables showing cumulated placings for the periods 1897-1918 and 1870-1918. These supplementary tables were omitted from the 1924 editions of the Record, and did not reappear after that.[2][3]
On 9 June 2016, the AFL Commission formally recognised the top level of Victorian football back to 1870 as senior: this applies to both the unaffiliated period from 1870 to 1876 and the Victorian Football Association period from 1877 to 1896. However, it maintains a distinction between the 1870-1896 competitions and the history of the VFL/AFL from 1897 onwards, and requires statistics and achievements from these periods to be delineated,[4] while at the same time allowing clubs to recognise their 1870-1896 statistics and achievements in their own histories.[5]
1870 season
[edit]Five clubs participated in senior football during the 1870 season: the city's principal clubs (Albert-park, Carlton, Melbourne and South Yarra), and a new club representing the Hobson's Bay Railway, which was playing its first season of senior football after three years of competing at junior level.[6]
The five clubs competed in specific matches for the Challenge Cup, and for the premiership (based on all matches played during the season).
Challenge Cup
[edit]In 1870, the South Yarra Football Club purchased and put up a new trophy, known as the Challenge Cup (sometimes as the South Yarra Presentation Challenge Cup to differentiate it from previous challenge cups donated by different organisations), for competition.
South Yarra was the permanent holder of the previous Challenge Cup, having won it in 1866, and decided it would be appropriate to provide a new trophy for competition. The rules related to the presentation of the new Challenge Cup were as follows:[7]
- South Yarra would be the initial holder of the cup.
- Any match between the holder of the cup and another senior team would be played for the cup.
- In a cup match, the winner of the match would take possession of the cup, and the incumbent holder would retain the cup in the event of a draw.
- A club would become the permanent holder of the cup if it won the cup four times in a row without a loss (but with no limit on the number of drawn games during that streak); until that time, the cup would remain a perpetual award.
Other stipulations relating to Challenge Cup games were that they were required to be controlled by central umpires, rather than by the team captains, and that no player was allowed to play for more than one club in Challenge Cup games during the year.
Albert-park took possession of the Cup in the first game against South Yarra, and never relinquished it.
However, the fate of the Cup became controversial when Hobson's Bay Railway forfeited its 11 June match against Albert-park due to lack of players: Railway declined to play when only fourteen of its selected twenty turned up on the day of the match.[8] Conventionally, such a game would simply be considered a no-contest, but with the Challenge Cup at stake, Albert-park took to the field and scored two goals against no opposition as a formality and claimed a walkover victory.[9] Such an outcome had never been seen before, one sportswriter commenting that "in connection with football, the idea of a walkover is simply absurd and unprecedented."[10]
Having counted the walkover as its second Cup win, Albert-park subsequently claimed permanent possession of the Cup with its fourth win of the year on 20 August. However, the walkover victory was not recognised by South Yarra (as cup donors) or the other clubs, who all argued that the match was a no-contest rather than an Albert-park victory, and that another win was required to claim permanent ownership of the Cup.[11] Albert-park argued that enough procedural requirements, such as the appointment of umpires and the pre-game coin toss, had been carried out for the game to be considered official,[12] while Railway denied that these procedures had been carried out.[8] Albert-park also argued that it was entitled to claim victory because Railway had declined the options of playing short or fielding other club officials or members who were present.
Ultimately, the dispute was unresolved: there was no central body which could make a binding ruling on whether or not the walkover counted as a victory, and neither side conceded its opponent's point. Albert-park played only one further game for the season, a draw against Melbourne, but it refused to put the Cup up for contest in that match. Albert-park was denied the chance to become the undisputed permanent holder of the Cup on 6 August, when its return match with the weak Railway club was cancelled due to inclement weather.[11]
Albert-park ultimately gave the Cup back to South Yarra at the end of the year, but maintained its position that it had won the Cup outright and was donating it in its capacity as the Cup's owner.[13] South Yarra maintained its position that Albert-park had not won the Cup, and had forfeited its position as incumbent holder.[14]
The following table lists the final results of all Challenge Cup games.
| 1870 Challenge Cup games | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 28 May | South Yarra 1 | def. by | Albert-park 3 | St Kilda Cricket Ground | [15] |
| Saturday, 4 June | Albert-park 0Note | drew with | Melbourne 0 | Emerald Hill Ground (crowd: 1,500) | [16] |
| Saturday, 11 June (walkover, disputed) | Albert-park | def. | Hobson's Bay Railway | Emerald Hill Ground | [9] |
| Saturday, 18 June | Carlton 0 | drew with | Albert-park 0 | Royal Park (crowd: 300) | [17] |
| Saturday, 9 July | Albert-park 2 | def. | South Yarra 1 | Emerald Hill Ground (crowd: 450) | [18] |
| Saturday, 16 July | Melbourne 0 | drew with | Albert-park 0 | Melbourne Ground (crowd: 2,500) | [19] |
| Saturday, 23 July | Albert-park 0 | drew with | Carlton 0 | Emerald Hill Ground (crowd: 3,000) | [20] |
| Saturday, 6 August (cancelled due to rain) | Hobson's Bay Railway | v | Albert-park | Lonsdale Ground[21] | [11] |
| Saturday, 13 August | Albert-park 1 | drew with | Carlton 1 | Emerald Hill Ground (crowd: 2,000) | [22] |
| Saturday, 20 August | South Yarra 0 | def. by | Albert-park 2 | Melbourne Ground (crowd: 2,500) | [23] |
Premiership
[edit]Although it had claimed the Challenge Cup and was undefeated during the season, Albert-park was not recognised as premier club for 1870: instead, Melbourne, which was also undefeated, was the premier.
While Melbourne had a very similar record to Albert-park, the two matches between them were drawn, with Melbourne having a better head-to-head record against third-placed Carlton: Melbourne had played four matches against Carlton for two wins and two draws, while Albert-park's three matches against Carlton were drawn (their three wins coming against the winless South Yarra).
Albert-park's claim to the Challenge Cup was helped in large part by the fact that it was the first team to play against South Yarra during the year; had South Yarra played its first game against Melbourne, Melbourne would have been in a strong position to win the Challenge Cup as well as the premiership.
Senior results
[edit]The following table shows the five clubs' senior results during the year: all matches played amongst the five Challenge Cup teams, plus matches that Melbourne played against the Police and against the 18th Royal Irish Regiment. Albert-park's disputed walkover victory against Railway is not included in the table.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne (P) | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Albert-park | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Carlton | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| – | South Yarra | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| – | Hobson's Bay Railway | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Notable events
[edit]- ^ In its Challenge Cup game against Melbourne on 4 June, Albert-park scored a goal in the first half, but it was later annulled after a head count discovered that Albert-park had 22 men instead of 20 on the field. The game ended in a 0–0 draw.[16]
- The practice of stopping play at half-time and changing ends was first introduced in the game between Melbourne and Carlton on 11 June; prior to this, teams had changed ends after each goal was scored.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "The Football Premiership". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 23 September 1889. p. 5.
- ^ Caroline Wilson (20 June 2014). "History of the AFL could be turned on its head". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ Rethinking the historical record
- ^ Travis King. "AFL knocks back Cats' bid for extra flags". Australian Football League. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ^ AFL Commission will allow clubs to recognise their history outside the VFL/AFL
- ^ "Football Chatter". The Australasian. 2 July 1870. p. 13.
- ^ "The South Yarra Presentation Challenge Cup". The Australasian. Vol. VIII, no. 216. Melbourne, VIC. 21 May 1870. p. 652.
- ^ a b J. Hacker (honorary secretary of the Hobson's Bay Railway Football Club) (10 September 1870). "The "walk-over" and the Challenge Cup". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 232. Melbourne, VIC. p. 332.
- ^ a b c Fair Play (18 June 1870). "Football". The Australasian. Vol. VIII, no. 220. Melbourne, VIC. p. 779.
- ^ "Football". Leader. 6 August 1870. p. 10.
- ^ a b c Fair Play (13 August 1870). "Football chatter". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 228. Melbourne, VIC. p. 204.
- ^ C. Crooke (treasurer of Albert-park Football Club) (3 September 1870). "Albert-park v. Railway". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 231. Melbourne, VIC. p. 300.
- ^ Fair Play (15 October 1870). "Football – retrospect of the season". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 237. Melbourne, VIC. p. 492.
- ^ "The Challenge Cup". The Australasian. Vol. X, no. 270. Melbourne, VIC. 3 June 1871. p. 684.
- ^ Fair Play (4 June 1870). "Football". The Australasian. Vol. VIII, no. 218. Melbourne, VIC. p. 716.
- ^ a b Fair Play (11 June 1870). "Football". The Australasian. Vol. VIII, no. 219. Melbourne, VIC. p. 748.
- ^ Fair Play (25 June 1870). "Football". The Australasian. Vol. VIII, no. 221. Melbourne, VIC. p. 812.
- ^ "Football". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 224. Melbourne, VIC. 16 July 1870. p. 43.
- ^ "Football". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 225. Melbourne, VIC. 23 July 1870. p. 108.
- ^ Fair Play (30 July 1870). "Football". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 226. Melbourne, VIC. p. 140.
- ^ "Football". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 227. Melbourne, VIC. 6 August 1870. p. 173.
- ^ Fair Play (20 August 1870). "Football chatter". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 226. Melbourne, VIC. p. 236.
- ^ Fair Play (27 August 1870). "Football chatter". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 230. Melbourne, VIC. p. 267.
- ^ Fairplay (22 October 1870). "Football: Retrospect of the Season, Concluded". The Australasian. Vol. IX, no. 238. Melbourne, VIC. p. 524.