1898 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 VFA Premiership season 1898 Footscray team 1898.jpg 250px , premiers 6 1 1897 1899 The 1898 Victorian Football Association season was the 22nd season of the Australian rules football competition. The premiership was won by the Footscray Football Club; it was the first premiership in the club's history, and the first in a sequence of three premierships won consecutively from 1898 to 1900. Ladder The 1898 VFA season was played in two parts. In the initial rounds, each team played fifteen matches. After the first round, the bottom two teams were eliminated, and each of the top four played an additional two matches. The premiership was then to be decided by the best overall record for the season; in the event of a tie, a playoff match would have been held. The result of this was that while Richmond had qualified for the "finals" stage, it had no chance of winning the premiership as it began this stage too far behind Footscray to win.The Argus 3 September 1897 Football - To-day's matches 10 Melbourne, VIC main WDL Q 1898 VFA ladder true points 4 2 no Premiers FOO NOR PMB Port Melbourne RIC WIL Williamstown BRU Brunswick 13 4 0 670 502 P 12 5 0 823 686 11 6 0 931 492 8 9 0 727 639 5 10 0 458 523 0 15 0 318 1085 #CCFFCC A A A A 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Argus 12 September 1898 The Association Matches 7 Melbourne, VIC Observer Port Melbourne protest Following the initial round of fifteen matches, Port Melbourne lodged a protest, seeking to overturn the results of two of its losses against during the season, on the grounds that North Melbourne had fielded former player Kelly without the proper clearance; and that Dick Houston, North Melbourne's captain and caretaker of the North Melbourne ground, had played without a caretaker's permit – a special requirement which ground caretakers were required to obtain in order to play.North Melbourne Gazette Protest 3 2 September 1898 North Melbourne, VIC The Argus reported that during its initial discussion, the Association appeared likely to uphold Port Melbourne's protests, which would have ultimately drawn Port Melbourne level with Footscray for first place and therefore forced a playoff match for the premiership. Then, however, North Melbourne was able to successfully argue that Port Melbourne's protests were informal due to a procedural irregularity: namely that Port Melbourne had not deposited three guineas to the Association for each point of protest. As such, Port Melbourne's protests were dismissed on 23 September by a majority of 6–4 and Footscray was confirmed to be premiers.The Argus 24 September 1898 The Association Premiership 10 Melbourne, VIC Notable events In a match in Port Melbourne on 3 September, the visiting team was subjected to such rough treatment and threats from Port Melbourne players in the first half that only seven Richmond players opted to return to the field after half-time; Richmond ultimately abandoned the game altogether at three-quarter time.The Argus 5 September 1898 Observer A serious matter - rough treatment and threats - a team leave the ground Melbourne, VIC 7 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/9850092?searchTerm=%22A%20serious%20matter%20-%20rough%20treatment%20and%20threats%20-%20a%20team%20leave%20the%20ground National Library of Australia See also Victorian Football Association/Victorian Football League History (1877-2008) List of VFA/VFL Premiers (1877-2007) History of Australian rules football in Victoria (1853-1900) References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL