1877 VFA season

1st season of the Victorian Football Association December 2017 December 2017 1877 19 May – 6 October 1877FOOTBALL ENGAGEMENTS https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5922553 The Argus 14 April 2025 5 19 May 1877FOOTBALL ARRANGEMENTS https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5922714 The Argus 14 April 2025 6 21 May 1877 1 Charles Baker( – 14 goals) white 1876 Victorian football season 1876 (unaffiliated) white 1878 VFA season 1878 The 1877 VFA season was the inaugural season of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the colony of Victoria. It was the first season in which football in Victoria was run under a properly constituted administrative body.1877 http://demonwiki.org/1877 Demonwiki 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20241003160315/http://demonwiki.org/1877 3 October 20241877 Chronology https://www.tigerlandarchive.org/tiki-index.php?page=1877+Chronology Tigerland Archive 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250208225541/https://www.tigerlandarchive.org/tiki-index.php?page=1877+Chronology 8 February 2025 The VFA was formed with the view to governing the sport via a collective body, made up of delegates representing the clubs. Although the formation was a significant step in the organisation of football, it was effectively an administrative change only, and there was no significant change to the manner in which matches were scheduled and played – or the premiership decided – compared to the unaffiliated 1876 season.Cats' VFA golden era recognised https://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/350204/cats-vfa-golden-era-recognised Geelong Football Club 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250414022522/https://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/350204/cats-vfa-golden-era-recognised 14 April 2025 9 June 2016 won the inaugural VFA premiership after finishing the season with 14 wins from its 21 matches.1877 https://www.blueseum.org/1877 Blueseum 13 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250124170032/https://www.blueseum.org/1877 24 January 2025VFA PREMIERS (1877-1902) https://www.hardballget.net/l-vfa-vfl-finals-grand-finals.html Hard Ball Get 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20240415061358/https://www.hardballget.net/l-vfa-vfl-finals-grand-finals.html 15 April 2024 VFA foundation History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1859–1900) The Victorian Football Association was established on 17 May 1877 to provide administration of the game in Victoria. It was the second such body to have been formed, after the South Australian Football Association (SAFA) was formed 17 days prior to the VFA. Prior to 1877, the laws of the game had been agreed to at an annual meeting of club secretaries, however the clubs remained entirely independent and unaffiliated. This meant that when a dispute existed between two clubs, there was no formal means of resolving it or enforcing a decision. Disputes in the 1870s were common and were often left unresolved for this reason: for example, in 1876, a rule existed to prevent any player from playing with more than one club during the season, but when broke the rule against Albert-park, there was no means of recourse against it,North Melbourne Advertiser North Melbourne, VIC 9 June 1876 2 Football and the result of a disputed match between and was unresolved, with each club ultimately reporting a different score in its annual report and no central body existing to declare one score as official.The Australasian Melbourne, VIC Football Gossip Peter Pindar 5 May 1877 556 579 XXII Additionally, the matter of whether or not won the Challenge Cup in 1870 was never formally resolved.The Australasian Melbourne, VIC 684 3 June 1871 X 270 The Challenge CupThe Australasian Melbourne, VIC 492 Fair Play 15 October 1870 IX 237 Football – retrospect of the season The new Association was established, and was modelled in large part on the Victorian Cricket Association (VCA), which had been established in September 1875 to provide a similar level of centralised administration over Victorian cricket. The Victorian Football Association comprised one delegate from each senior metropolitan club (and from senior country clubs by proxy) and a vote of those club delegates could make a decision which was binding on any associated club. Junior clubs were also managed by the Association, but did not have representation on the board. The Association was established with the power to:The Australasian Melbourne, VIC 12 May 1877 Peter Pindar Football Gossip 588 XXII 580 Decide upon the Laws of the Game Provide management of local and intercolonial football matches Provide a ruling on disputes between clubs Act as a tribunal to suspend players for misconduct Association membership The Association comprised a range of senior and junior clubs from Melbourne and around the colony of Victoria. There were five inaugural metropolitan senior clubs: , , , and StK. Hotham was a revival of the former North Melbourne Football Club, which had disbanded and seen many of its players and members join Albert-park in 1876;North Melbourne Advertiser North Melbourne, VIC Football Tonball 3 26 May 1876 the revived club was mostly made up of players from the former North Melbourne Football Club as well as some from the Carlton Imperial Football Club, which had folded at the end of 1876.Leader Melbourne, VIC Football Notes Nomad 9 July 1877 12 Provincial senior teams included , Ballarat Albion, Barw , Kyneton and Sandhurst. There was also a wide range of affiliated junior clubs, including , Clifton, Coburg, , Excelsior, Hotham United, Sandridge, Toorak, Sandridge, , Victorian Railways, Warwick, , and . Metropolitan The 1877 premiership was won by the Carlton Football Club, which played twenty-one matches during the year, winning fourteen and drawing four. finished second, having played twenty-three matches, winning sixteen and drawing four. At the time, Melbourne and Carlton were considered to be by far the strongest senior clubs, so Carlton's position as the top club was based almost entirely on head-to-head matches between the two clubsThe Argus (Supplement) 3 October 1878 Outdoor Sports Melbourne, VIC 2 – of which Carlton won two, Melbourne won one, and one was drawn.The Argus 30 September 1878 Football – Melbourne v. Carlton Melbourne, VIC 6 Club records The below table is set of results for the 1877 season, showing the records of the five senior metropolitan clubs. The list shows the record across all matches, including senior, junior and intercolonial matches. The clubs are listed in the order in which they were ranked in The Australasian. The VFA had no formal process by which the clubs were ranked, so the below order should be considered indicative only, particularly since the fixturing of matches was not standardised; however, the top three placings were later acknowledged in publications including the Football Record and are considered official.Wilson Caroline History of the AFL could be turned on its head https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/history-of-the-afl-could-be-turned-on-its-head-20140620-zsglu.html The Age 12 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20230929215206/https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/history-of-the-afl-could-be-turned-on-its-head-20140620-zsglu.html 29 September 2023 20 June 2014 main WDL Q y Premiers no none CAR MEL HOT ALB STK StK 14 3 4 56 11 P 16 3 4 47 21 7 5 2 27 16 5   4 3 17 10 5   7 5 25 35 #CCFFCC A complete The Australasian 14 April 2025 13 October 1877 The Football Season of 1877 – Part 1 Pindar Peter 13 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143270959Victorian Football Association Season 1877 https://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1877.htm Elite to Grassroots 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20240809211103/http://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1877.htm 9 August 2024Game by Game for 1877 https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1877.php The VFA Project 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250406172942/https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1877.php 6 April 2025 Provincial In the provincial competition, Barwon was the strongest team, while was second. Club records The below shows the record of provincial clubs against senior metropolitan clubs.Victorian Football Association Season 1877 https://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1877.htm Elite to Grassroots 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20240809211103/http://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1877.htm 9 August 2024Game by Game for 1877 https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1877.php The VFA Project 14 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250406172942/https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1877.php 6 April 2025 + Pos Position on ladder Team Pld Games played W Won L Lost D Drawn GF Goals for GA Goals against 1 Barwon (P) 5 2 0 3 5 3 2 4 2 2 0 4 5 3 4 0 2 2 0 4 Source: (P) Premiers Juniors In the junior competition, was the strongest club, going undefeated against junior clubs with its sole loss coming against senior club .Pindar Peter The Football Season of 1877 – Part 2 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143271132 The Australasian 14 April 2025 12 20 October 1877 was second, with five wins and six draws from its 17 games. Both clubs were admitted into the VFA's senior ranks for the following season.Pindar Peter The Football Season of 1878 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143001713 The Australasian 14 April 2025 13 12 October 1878Nomad The past season https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/197281214 Leader 14 April 2025 20 9 November 1878 Toorak was undefeated in all its matches. Club records + Pos Position on ladder Team Pld Games played W Won L Lost D Drawn GF Goals for GA Goals against 1 (P) 17 12 1 4 17 6 2 17 5 6 6 14 13 3 HotUtd 18 7 7 4 20 13 4 5 6 VicRail 7 Excelsior 8 Toorak 16 14 0 2 39 3 9 Warwick 18 9 3 6 19 11 10 Adelphian 11 Clifton 12 12 5 3 4 8 5 13 14 CobOG 15 Sandridge – HawOG 15 4 4 7 6 22 Source:Hawthorn Football Club statistics 1877 http://members.optushome.com.au/wardead/hawks/1877.htm Early History of the Hawthorn Football Club 1873–1935 16 August 2004 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20040816061904/http://members.optushome.com.au/wardead/hawks/1877.htm 16 August 2004 (P) Premiers Notable events Sir William Clarke, MLC became the inaugural president of the Association.Marc Fiddian 2004 The VFA: a history of the Victorian Football Association, 1877–1995 20 , and StK each went on intercolonial trips during the season: Carlton was hosted by the Waratah club in New South Wales. On 23 June, Waratah defeated Carlton 2–0 under the rugby rules which were prevalent in New South Wales at the time, and on 25 June, Carlton defeated Waratah 6–0 under Victorian rules. Melbourne was hosted by the Victorian SAFA club in South Australia, where Victorian rules were played. Melbourne defeated Victorian (SAFA) 1–0 on 11 August,FOOTBALL. VICTORIANS v. MELBOURNE. - The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922) - 13 Aug 1877 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207575426 https://web.archive.org/web/20250819213743/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207575426 2025-08-19 2026-07-09 Trove en then defeated a composite South Australian SAFA team 5–0. St Kilda was hosted by the Adelaide (SAFA) club in South Australia. St Kilda defeated Adelaide 5–2 on 18 August, then defeated a composite South Australian SAFA team 7–2 on 20 August. The leading goalkicker for the season was Charles Baker (), who kicked 14 goals. References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFA