1881 VFA season

5th season of the Victorian Football Association December 2017 December 2017 1881 30 April – 1 October 1881Pennings Mark A Golden Era Begins: Football in 'Marvellous Melbourne', 1877 to 1885 https://eprints.qut.edu.au/74662/16/46666_MARK%27S_ORIGINS_OF_AUSTRALIAN_RULES_FOOTY_-_LOW_RES.pdf QUT Origins of Australian Football (Volume II) 3 June 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250521235327/https://eprints.qut.edu.au/74662/16/46666_MARK%27S_ORIGINS_OF_AUSTRALIAN_RULES_FOOTY_-_LOW_RES.pdf 21 May 2025 28 May 2014 7 1 Eddy Brookes( − 20 goals) white 1880 VFA season 1880 white 1882 VFA season 1882 The 1881 VFA season was the fifth season of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in the colony of Victoria.Victorian Football Association Season 1881 https://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1881.htm Elite to Grassroots 2 June 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250407203358/https://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1881.htm 7 April 2025Game by Game for 1881 https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1881.php The VFA Project 2 June 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250430032320/https://thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1881.php 30 April 2025 won the premiership for the first time, after finishing the season with seven wins from its eleven senior matches.Blucher Peter Our history: South Melbourne foundations https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/10080/our-history-south-melbourne-foundations Sydney Swans 13 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250413021216/https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/10080/our-history-south-melbourne-foundations 13 April 2025 11 May 2017 Association membership Prior to the start of the 1881 season, the West Melbourne Football Club resigned from the senior ranks of the Association, leaving seven clubs. Premiership season The 1881 premiership was won by the South Melbourne Football Club, with placing second. The two clubs had almost equal records in senior matches played, with South Melbourne winning seven and drawing three of eleven matches, and Geelong winning seven and drawing two of ten matches. South Melbourne's sole loss was against Carlton, while Geelong's loss came against South Melbourne. It was thought that both could lay some claim to the premiership,Weekly Times Melbourne, VIC Free kicks Paul Pey. 20 1 October 1881 but the consensus among the major newspapers was that South Melbourne was the premier club as the other match they played against Geelong had been drawn. finished third. Club records The below table details the playing records of the eight clubs in all matches during the 1880 season. Two sets of results are given: Senior results: based only upon games played against other VFA senior clubs Total results: including senior games, and games against intercolonial, up-country and junior clubs. 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 It is noted that although East Melbourne was a senior club in 1881, it was very uncompetitive, so, in its review of the season the Australasian did not consider matches against East Melbourne amongst its senior results. As such, in the below table, the 'Senior Results' does not include matches against East Melbourne, but East Melbourne's results against the other senior clubs are given. Some data is missing from the below table based on the availability of information. + Pos Position on ladder Team Senior results Total results Pld Games played W Won L Lost D Drawn Pld Games played W Won L Lost D Drawn GF Goals for GA Goals against 1 (P) 11 7 1 3 19 15 3 1 63 15 2 10 7 1 2 18 15 1 2 94 20 3 11 5 3 3 24 18 3 3 107 33 14 4 6 4 24 14 6 4 79 44 12 1 9 2 19 5 10 4 35 41 10 2 6 2 18 5 8 5 26 42 12 0 9 3 21 6 10 5 29 55 Source:Mark Little A review of the past season https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/241326232 The Herald 2 June 2025 2 8 October 1881Pindar Peter The football season of 1881 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/138071912 The Australasian 2 June 2025 12 15 October 18811881 https://blueseum.org/1881 Blueseum 2 June 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20241107160025/https://blueseum.org/1881 7 November 2024 (P) Premiers Awards The leading goalkicker for the season was Eddy Brookes (), who kicked 20 goals. Intercolonial matches Association representative teams played four intercolonial matches during 1881: two against New South Wales, and two against South Australia. All were played under Victorian rules. 1881 Intercolonial Matches Friday, 1 July Victoria 9.24 H New South Wales 0.1 Melbourne Cricket Ground 3,000 The Argus Melbourne, VIC 8 2 July 1881 Intercolonial Football Match Saturday, 6 August New South Wales 1.8 A Victoria 9.16 Association Cricket Ground 5,000 The Sydney Morning Herald Melbourne, VIC 6 8 August 1881 The Intercolonial Match Saturday, 20 August Victoria 8.24 H South Australia 1.8 East Melbourne Cricket Ground South Australian Register Adelaide, SA 6 25 August 1881 Intercolonial Football Match Wednesday, 24 August Victoria 4.14 H South Australia 1.5 East Melbourne Cricket Ground 1,000 South Australian Register (Supplement) Adelaide, SA 1 29 August 1881 Intercolonial Football Match See also 1881 Victorian football season References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFA