1888 VFA season. 10 of 'Town's goals (plus 40 behinds) came in a match at Heidelberg on May 24 when the local team failed to score in the most decisive score and victory ever posted by the Villagers to that point in time (see report above). TRAILBLAZERS: 1864 - 1900. There is anecdotal evidence that an earlier match took place at St Kilda between Melbourne Grammar and St Kilda Grammar on 5 June, 1858, but this cannot be verified. The May 17, 1859, 'Melbourne Rules', later renamed 'Victorian Rules' following the meeting in May, 1860. The first 'official' recorded game of Australian Rules football is thought to have been a meeting between Scotch College and the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School on 7 August, 1858, at the Richmond Paddock where 40 players on each team battled for three hours under agreed rules which were not written down. It was the third premiership in the club's history, and the first out of a sequence of three consecutive premierships won from 1888 to 1890. Power and B. James), Royal Park (J.E. Four Williamstown men have been President of the Victorian Football Association James Hall (1901-02), J.J. Liston (1929-44, he of the Liston Medal and Liston Stakes and the second-longest serving VFA president), John Grieve (1989-1992) and Tony Hannebery (1993-94, former player, 10-year President of WFC and former All-Australian Amateur footballer). D. Rogers was leading goalscorer for the Seconds with 6, while Bobby Weatherhead, A. Murray, Wilson, Singleton and J. Davidson each kicked one. They were also given the power to stop play and throw the ball in the air to clear a scrimmage and to start the second half. Arthur 'Porky' Sykes: Played 124 games and kicked 4 goals between 1926 and 1934. Whether from defections from its ranks or indifference, the elder club (Williamstown) has not shown the spirit .. that characterised its doings when the Junior Challenge Cup was carried off in 1876.'. SJ Fowler was one of the early secretaries and one of their first captains was Johnny Rees, a former Williamstown player. The team finished eighth on a ladder of 14 teams. PAST PLAYERS DAY TOMORROW Featuring the '93 Premiership Reunion - 25th Anniversary 12:00pm kick-off in Coccha's Marquee @ Crofts Reserve. Starting in 1884, the club competed in the Victorian Football Association. 1864 (merged with South Williamstown 1888) Colours Royal blue and yellow. The other game against a senior team was a one-nil loss at St Kilda on May 25 when the Saints started off with just nine players but picked up enough substitutes to eventually muster sixteen men. The 1888 Victorian Football Association season was the 12th season of the Australian rules football competition. By 1875, there were 96 Australian Rules football clubs in Melbourne and its suburbs and 42 clubs in regional areas. An extract from page 56 of the book entitled 'Australia's Game, The History of Australian Football' by Matthew Nicholson, Bob Stewart, Greg de Moore and Rob Hess. So, although there is documented proof that a Williamstown team existed in 1860, there appeared to be a period of inactivity which was not uncommon in those early days of our game, where clubs would form one year, go into recess the next and then reappear again at a later stage. The Challenge Cup and the Junior Challenge Cup were discontinued with the formation of the first controlling body, the VFA. Played as a follower for Williamstown and represented the VFA against the VFL at the MCG in 1931. A 'Third Twenty' was also formed in this season and took to the field for the first time against Battery United at Market Reserve on July 8, winning 4 goals to 2. The language of these unwelcome visitors was anything but select at times.'. Leading goalscorer was J. Goble with 5 followed by J. Minto with 3, C. Percy 2 while F. Raymer, Jack Litchfield, H. Cardwell, C. Hernan, T. Wauchope, B. Vaughan and Cooper got one each. These colours were retained until 1888, and also featured a black cap with a yellow Maltese cross. See what Nick Rutley is doing for the group. Our Major Partners. Trevor Monti wrote the first official summary of the Kelly trial which was published in 1981 and he has maintained an intense interest in the bushranger ever since. The Leader newspaper of 28 June 1873 very similarly described it as 'one of the worst grounds that could be selected for football purposes, as, independent of being a regular quagmire, it is covered in several places with very dangerous obstacles in the shape of large pieces of bluestone.'. In total, 5 games were played in the 1871 season, 2 of which were won and 3 lost. Groups. addy98c4d7b017a5593e90d954012576f9fc = addy98c4d7b017a5593e90d954012576f9fc + 'williamstownfc' + '.' + 'com' + '.' + 'au'; Testekill Brunswick and West Melbourne were also on the field by 1865, whereas Geelong almost disbanded in this year due to lack of interest and numbers. Page 1 of 7. Footscray Bulldogs, Williamstown 38 minutes ago #157 You can't blow the whistle and then call advantage when everyone stops. Six care groups have been formed that consist of . The Williamstown Football Club is looking to acknowledge the service of these past players. It was a tribute to Harrison that once again his rules were adopted unanimously and clubs were springing up all over Victoria. VFL & VFLW Squads Announced. In 1886, players wishing to play on the cricket ground ultimately established a rival senior club, the South Williamstown Football Club, which also contested the VFA for two seasons. Liam Conway. Ted Alley: Played 160 games and kicked 20 goals between 1905 and 1915. By 1876, The Argus considered 'the Club to be in a very flourishing condition, no less than 102 members being on the books, whereas in past seasons the number has scarcely passed the half century'. The Parade Hotel on Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, where the original Melbourne rules were drawn up in May 1859 when it was run by Jerry Bryant. 10K followers. A great football club is a place to belong. Andrew Rider, a photographer, stationer and newsagent located at 55 (now 177) Nelson Place, Williamstown, from 1863-96 took this portrait which is described on the State Library of Victoria website as being of 'twoWilliamstownfootballers, whole-length, almost full face, man on right chin curtain beard and moustache, both in blue and white uniforms of long sleeved pullovers, pants with striped socks and caps, both standing, man on right with hands on hips, image dated 1879'. . In 1865, the Athletics Sports Committee began a competition for football clubs that was known as the Challenge Cup, with the principal competitors being Melbourne, Carlton, Geelong, Royal Park, South Yarra and University, but games were often played against 'junior' clubs such as Williamstown, which were allowed 23 or 25 players against the senior club's 20 players. One of the draws was with a strong junior team from Hotham, while they defeated East Melbourne Seconds (twice), South Yarra Seconds and Southern. Clarke was the first president, with Henry Harrison (Melbourne) and R. Robertson (Carlton) the vice-presidents and Harry Hale Budd (Melbourne) the first secretary and Thomas P. Power (Carlton) the first treasurer. John Ramsay Games: 125 Goals: 6 Team of the . Our aim is to build a strong foundation that is both professional and sustainable and sets Port Melbourne Football Club up as a destination club for female and male footballers, coaches, staff and volunteers. Jack Litchfield then became secretary in 1874 and 1875. The opposition kicked 15. Williamstown FC - Team of the Century Full Back Line: Eric Beitzel Games: 113 Goals: 0 Team of the Century Position: Back pocket Honours: Premiership player - 1955, 56, 58, 59. 03-03-23. 396 talking about this. The trophy, which had been presented to the then-president of the Club, Cr John Jobson, by members of the victorious team at a dinner in the Oddfellows Hall, had been purchased by the museum in late 1993. The identities of the two players is unknown but it is the oldest photo in the Club's collection. Williamstown Chronicle, May 31, 1879 - Williamstown's highest score and greatest winning margin to date was achieved in a game at Heidelberg on May 24, 1879. Click to see who will be lining up this weekend for Williamstown, Ben Andrews will be at DSV Stadium in 2023, Click here to find out who has came back to the nest, Powered by ChronoForms - ChronoEngine.com, Admin Office Address: Seagulls Nest, Level 1, 1 Mason Street, Newport 3015, Ground Address:Williamstown Football Ground, Morris Street, Williamstown 3016. Ajax is the Netherlands' most successful club and is best known for producing a series of entertaining attacking teams. In the return match at Williamstown on July 2 1866, after Carlton's Jim Williams kicked the opening goal, William Rigall, a Melbourne and Carlton player who had agreed to play for Williamstown as an emergency, broke his leg after being thrown into the picket fence by Carlton's Frank Hillsden and the game was abandoned. There was also a 1 goal (kicked by Will Outen) to NIL victory over senior team, Richmond, at Royal Park on September 4. #ProudlyWilliamstown. The same scoreline was registered in a game against Hawthorn, also at the. The first page of the 1859 rules, showing the names of the Melbourne FC committee,William J. Hammersley (a sports journalist), James B. Thompson (an Argus journalist and secretary of the Melbourne FC), Thomas H.Smith (headmaster of Scotch College) and Tom W. Wills, as well as J. Sewell (Melbourne FC treasurer), Alex Bruce and T. Butterworth. It was decided at a meeting of junior clubs held at Hansen's Hotel on Bourke Street in April of 1876, that the winner of the Junior Challenge Cup, to be contested by Fawkner, Sandridge Alma, St Kilda Alma, South Park, South Melbourne, Windsor and Williamstown, would be decided by the awarding of points for wins (2 points) and draws (1 point), a system that would beeventually adopted by the VFA in the late 1880's. The annual report of the football club for 1914 refers to it being a 'jubilee' year, meaning the 50th year of existence, which puts its formation as 1864. Essendon, Hawthorn and St Kilda (in its second reincarnation) emerged as junior clubs in 1873, but it was only the 'Dons that would go on to become on of the great clubs in football. By 1875, there were 96 Australian Rules football clubs in Melbourne and its suburbs and 42 clubs in regional areas. Reels. It was also reported that, at the annual meeting for the 1872 season, held at the Mechanics Institute on April 1 1873, that 'the committee hopes to be able to start a second twenty, owing to the great increase of members'. Back pocket player in the 1907 premiership. VFL Premierships 2003, 2015 (2 . The only other win for the season was over Hotham United. We are reaching out to the families or next of kin to contact the club as soon as possible. Payne (1870), Horace Norman (1871-73) and D. McCallum (1874-75). There was also a 1 goal (kicked by Will Outen) to NIL victory over senior team, Richmond, at Royal Park on September 4. 4 PLAYERS. Its home ground was where the current Williamstown High School now is. This list may not reflect recent changes. The first inter-colonial matches between Victoria and South Australia took place on July 1 and 5, both won easily by the Vics, and the first games were played under electric lights in this season in June and August. The first secretary-treasurer was John Christison, the first captain J. Doull and D. Dorgan vice-president. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP3ZLxQ_ObA&feature=related. Military Wiki. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. After Carlton's Jim Williams kicked the opening goal, Rigall, who had agreed to play for Williamstown as an emergency, broke his leg after being thrown into the picket fence by Carlton's Frank Hillsden and the game was abandoned. Pennings wrote that 'representatives from Melbourne, St. Kilda, South Yarra, Richmond, Scotch College, University, Williamstown, Collingwood and Booroondara were in attendance'. Watch this highlight video of the Williamstown (WV) football team in its game Recap: Williamstown vs. Clay-Battelle 2022 on Nov 12, 2022. However, secretaries of football clubs often had to rely on information that was not always accurate. There was allegedly another game between Melbourne Grammar and a St Kilda team at St Kilda on July 31 that was abandoned due to a dispute over the rules. 3,008 were here. 1959 Premiership player, represented VFA in 1960, played in 1961 and 64. We think Waycott, the Williamstown captain, should have stopped the match at a very early stage.' This club is a great organisation like many football clubs it has a great reservoir of committed people who are here only to see the club succeed. A listing of players to have played with Williamstown in the Victorian Football League, previously known as the VFA. June 19, with Trott the only multiple goalkicker. This was before the girls school was built alongside South Williamstown State School. Public Events. At the annual meeting held in respect of the 1879 season at the Mechanics Institute on April 7, 1880, E.G. Best players for the Villagers were John Buchanan, John Alexander Springhall jnr, W. Tickell, C. Payne and Horace Norman. Stanbridge also won the VFA Medal the same year, as did Neville Huggins in 1937, Arthur Cutting in 1938 and Des Fothergill in 1941. Wally Carter and Terry Wheeler both coached VFL/AFL teams after success at Williamstown. West Melbourne visited Williamstown on September 1, 1877, and The Argus reported two days later that 'West Melbourne complained of the partiality of the crowd, and stated that the team was hooted all the way to the railway station because it beat the local players.' North Melbourne Kangaroos Past Players Lidge's Lounge. Statue of Alfred Thomas Clark in Williamstown Botanical Gardens, the Football Club's first recorded president in 1870 and who would serve 11 years in that role over three terms (1870-71, 1873-1875 and 1882-1887). An improved total of 19 goals were scored while 22 were kicked against the Villagers. The South Yarra and St Kilda clubs (not connected to the current AFL entity) were soon formed, and occasional teams representing East Melbourne, Albert Park, Emerald Hill (South Melbourne), Prahran and University also appeared. Real Madrid Football School, The Yards, Joo Chiat, 406 Joo Chiat Place Level 1, Singapore and The Rainforest Sports Hub, Turf City, 2 Turf Club Road, Singapore, +65 91761870, info@frmsingapore.com, www.frmsingapore.com. An important change was made in the rules just before the 1869 season began. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; Since 1886 our Club has enjoyed senior success winning 15 premierships. St Kilda claimed 'that the surface was covered with lumps of rock' and, following a nil-all draw against 'senior' team Albert Park on June 21, 1873, the South Melbourne Record of the same day described the ground as 'bounded on all sides by dangerous fences, and firmly embedded all over the ground were huge boulders of stone; then the rain that had fallen during the past week has converted it into a perfect swamp, in fact, there were not 10 yards of dry ground in the whole enclosure.' Williamstown's last encounter for the season was on September 23 at Fawkner Park against a combined Southern and Wesley team 'which resulted in a decided victory for the united clubs', according to The Age of September 25. Thomas Geiser: Played 101 games and kicked 31 goals between 1921 and 1926. Captain and back pocket player in the 1907 premiership win over West Melbourne. One solution was the establishment of a Junior Challenge Cup in 1872 by the Athletic Sports Committee to cater for the second tier clubs such as Williamstown, East Melbourne, Richmond, South Melbourne, West Melbourne and Brunswick, as by 1875 clubs had been divided into three categories - senior, junior and minor. Second Twenty also did well in this season with 5 wins and 2 draws from its 10 matches. The Williamstown Chronicle also reported on 30 June, 1860, (see below) that the football club was to play a 'friendly' scratch match on Market Reserve that day at 10.30 am. From this point in time, the Williamstown Football Club would continue uninterrupted until today except for the recesses in 1916-18, inclusive, in respect of World War One and 1942-44, inclusive, in respect of World War Two and 2020/2021 as a result of the Coronavirus/COVID 19 epidemic. var addy_textbb0b214de571d490efda32391d5e6ef9 = 'admin' + '@' + 'williamstownfc' + '.' + 'com' + '.' + 'au';document.getElementById('cloakbb0b214de571d490efda32391d5e6ef9').innerHTML += ''+addy_textbb0b214de571d490efda32391d5e6ef9+'<\/a>'; 2015 Williamstown Footbal Club - Site design by AdTorque Edge. Bryant was licensee of the Parade Hotel on Wellington Parade where the original Melbourne Rules were drawn up in May 1859. A total of 7 goals were kicked for the year, of which P. Conroy scored 5 and R. Dalton jnr and J. Rees kicked one each, while 15 goals were scored by opponents. Williamstown's ground was shared with another club called Battery United, which was formed in 1877 and became the second strong team in the Williamstown area and similarly found games difficult to organise in its early seasons. Again no goals were scored and the match was declared a draw. James Mark 'Jerry' Bryant (left) and Tom Wills in 1859 when teammates in the Victorian cricket team. Click to see who will be lining up this weekend for Williamstown, Ben Andrews will be at DSV Stadium in 2023, Click here to find out who has came back to the nest, Powered by ChronoForms - ChronoEngine.com, Admin Office Address: Seagulls Nest, Level 1, 1 Mason Street, Newport 3015, Ground Address:Williamstown Football Ground, Morris Street, Williamstown 3016. He was the first vice-president of the VFA in 1877 and was president of Melbourne from 1897 to 1906. Weatherall.' Main Page . ETU Stadium, 541 Williamstown Road, Port . His son was one of the early players. Players Profile VFL. This attempt by a University professor to stage an intercolonial match between Victoria and South Australia at the MCG under lights were attended by large crowds but were deemed a fiasco due to the poor quality of the lights, which were described in the Williamstown Chronicle of August 16 as being 'fitful and irregular. Dec 19, 2022. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Williamstown Chronicle, September 2, 1876. One of the new 'junior' clubs that emerged was Cecil, which would soon become South Melbourne and would go on to win five VFA premierships, an effort only surpassed by Geelong during the pre-VFL era. Played on the wing in the Club's 1907 premiership win, with his brother Jim 'Ginger' Caldwell playing on the other wing. Williamstown Chronicle, May 13, 1876 - the 'Cup campaign' referred to in the article is the Junior Challenge Cup which is explained below. Tom Wills, one of the founding-fathers of Australian Rules football, was present at the meeting of May 17, 1859, when the ten original 'Melbourne' rules were drawn up. The Williamstown Football Club is looking to acknowledge the service of these past players. The new ground was a vast improvement and was looked on by the new administration of President Cr John Jobson and Duncan McLeod, returning as secretary, as a big step towards gaining senior status. This email address is being protected from spambots. Williamstown's comparative slow advancement in the football world was not in keeping with its importance to Melbourne as a port, but communication and transport were difficult and militated against regular visits by the clubs of the inner suburbs. Williamstown Football Club (WFC) has a history dating back to 1864 and is one of the oldest Australian Rules Clubs. The following 51 players, officials and volunteers were announced as the inaugural inductees tthe Williamstown Football Club Hall of Fame. ** The award was then known as The VFA Medal. Like. document.getElementById('cloakbb0b214de571d490efda32391d5e6ef9').innerHTML = ''; Played back pocket in the 1921 premiership win over Footscray at the Brunswick Street Oval in Fitzroy. Max Munday Games: 120 Goals: 6 Team of the Century Position: Full back Honours: Premiership player - 1954, 55, 56. Captained the Club in 1911 and 1915 also. 1887 . 24 goals were kicked, the most by any of the 'junior' clubs, while the opponents booted 12. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; The Second Twenty played 11 matches of which 4 were won, 3 were lost with 4 draws. B&F winner 1963, Member of the Seagulls' 1960's Team of the Decade. A notable change to the game occurred in 1879 when behinds were registered for the first time although they still weren't counted in the result and the winner was still the side that kicked the most goals. Reid was a founding player and also first secretary of the Alliance Cricket Club. 'Town finished 7th out of a competition of 15 teams. The Collingwood team was not connected to the current AFL team. Another son, Alby snr, played for Footscray in both the VFA and VFL, while his son (Charlie's grandson), Alby jnr, played in Williamstown's 1955 and 1956 premiership sides.