1916 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1916.
The 1916 season of the VFL saw just four teams competing, due to World War I
. This led to the anomaly of Fitzroy
having the distinction of winning both the wooden spoon
and the premiership in the same year, finishing 4th out of 4 but progressing through to the Grand Final in the final four
finals system and winning that match.
Each of the four teams played each other four times in a 12 match home-and-away season (each team hosting each of the others twice).
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1916 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".
defeated Carlton
12.13 (85) to 8.8 (56), in front of a crowd of 21,130 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football
).
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
season of 1916.
The 1916 season of the VFL saw just four teams competing, due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. This led to the anomaly of Fitzroy
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
having the distinction of winning both the wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
and the premiership in the same year, finishing 4th out of 4 but progressing through to the Grand Final in the final four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
finals system and winning that match.
Premiership season
In 1916, the VFL competition consisted of four teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.Each of the four teams played each other four times in a 12 match home-and-away season (each team hosting each of the others twice).
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1916 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".
Grand final
FitzroyFitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
defeated Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
12.13 (85) to 8.8 (56), in front of a crowd of 21,130 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
).
Awards
- The 1916 VFL Premiership team was FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
. - The VFL's leading goalkickerColeman MedalThe Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
was Dick LeeDick Lee (footballer)Walter Henry "Dick" Lee was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League ....
of CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
with 48 goals. - FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
finished last at the end of the home-and-away season, and Richmond finished last overall. Exactly which of the two teams claimed the "wooden spoonWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
" is a matter for debate.
Notable events
The situation of the VFL in 1916 was rather complex.- By 1916, Australian society in general, and the VFL clubs (and their respective supporters) in particular, were collectively appalled that conflict (originally thought to be one of a few months' duration) had turned into a gigantic, worldwide war of never-before-seen dimensions, and were deeply shocked by the ever increasing magnitude of the Australian casualty lists.
- At the same time, the apparent egalitarian tranquillity of Melbourne and its football world, was being increasingly polarized by an ever widening series of divisive issues that arose as a consequence of the war, including:
- Secular issues, between the predominantly pro-British Australian Protestants and the predominantly pro-Irish Australian Roman Catholics (encouraged by the intensely anti-British, pro-Irish and Roman Catholic Archbishop of MelbourneRoman Catholic Archdiocese of MelbourneThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Erected initially in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan diocese of Archdiocese of Sydney, the diocese was elevated in 1874 as an archdiocese of the...
, the Charleville, County CorkCharleville, County CorkCharleville or Ráth Luirc is a town in north County Cork, Ireland, situated in Ireland's Golden Vale, near the border with County Limerick. It is located on the "Glen" tributary river, which flows into the Maigue River in Co. Limerick...
-born Daniel MannixDaniel MannixDaniel Mannix was an Irish-born Australian Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th century Australia....
.- This significant division within the 1916 Melbourne population in general was further amplified by the fact that the memberships of certain clubs such as Essendon and Melbourne were almost exclusively affluent and Protestant, whilst those of Collingwood and Richmond were almost exclusively poor and Roman Catholic (Pascoe, 1996, p. 102).
- Class issues, between a middle-class who predominantly saw preference for sporting activities over military service as a dereliction of "national duty", and a working-class that felt it had already sacrificed far too much.
- Financial issues, between those who relied upon match fees to support themselves and their families, and those who did not.
- In Sydney, for example, the amateur, middle-class Rugby UnionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
competition was suspended for the duration of the war, the professional, working-class Rugby LeagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
competition was not.
- In Sydney, for example, the amateur, middle-class Rugby Union
- Manhood issues, between those who saw war service as a logical extension of the physical and moral training embodied in football, and a manifestation of the unselfish chivalry and team-spirit displayed by champion athletes, and those who did not.
- In a series of 1917 editorials, The Age of Melbourne constantly observed that, in its view, at least 10 of every 15 VFL senior players were fit for overseas service, and that in the absence of their enlistment, The Age could only conclude that they were either unpatriotic or cowards.
- This sort of sentiment was still strongly held by its advocates for many years. In 1919, with all nine clubs back in its competition, the VFL rejected a suggestion that the Football Record place a star next to the name of each returned serviceman on its players lists. It also rejected a suggestion that returned servicemen wear a special badge on the guernsey to indicate that they had also "played the greater game".
- Sporting issues between those who played football for the love of sport — often driven by the ideals of muscular ChristianityMuscular ChristianityMuscular Christianity is a term for a movement originating during the Victorian era which stressed the need for energetic Christian activism in combination with an ideal of vigorous masculinity...
— and those who played football only because they were paid to do so.- In 1915, Lawrence AdamsonLawrence AdamsonLawrence Arthur Adamson, CMG, was a schoolmaster of Wesley College, Melbourne, Australia.-Early life:Lawrence Adamson was born at Douglas, Isle of Man the second son of Lawrence William Adamson. LL.D., Grand Seneschal of the IoM and his wife Annie Jane née Flint...
, the headmaster of Melbourne's Wesley CollegeWesley College, MelbourneWesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
and the President of the Victorian Amateur Football AssociationVictorian Amateur Football AssociationThe Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. Unlike the Victorian Football League and the VFL/AFL, the VAFA has always been strictly a purely amateur league and has affiliations with both AFL Victoria...
(VAFA), drawing attention to the large number of VAFA players that had enlisted in the A.I.FFirst Australian Imperial ForceThe First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
, compared with the small number of VFL players had provocatively remarked that if the VFL was to continue to distract young men from "their duty" that the VFL premiership team of 1915 should be given Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
es instead of the traditional medallion. - It is a matter of record that the VFA, a competition where most of players were amateurs (except for having their uniform and travel expenses reimbursed), played no matches at all in 1916 and 1917. It is also a matter of record that the VAFA, a competition where all of players were amateurs, and paid the VAFA each week to play (the money went to pay for umpires fees, etc.), played no matches in 1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919. The South Australian Football League (SAFL) played no matches in 1916, 1917, and 1918.
- In 1915, Lawrence Adamson
- Secular issues, between the predominantly pro-British Australian Protestants and the predominantly pro-Irish Australian Roman Catholics (encouraged by the intensely anti-British, pro-Irish and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne
- All of these matters were further complicated by the even more intense community polarization, involving all of the above dimensions plus the additional moral, ethical, gender, and social issues (and the various individual political allegiances) involved in the vociferous debate over the merits and demerits of the two unsuccessful attempts made by the Australian Government (on 28 October 1916 and 20 December 1917) to impose compulsory military service on young Australian men (see Conscription in AustraliaConscription in AustraliaConscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood...
). - On 17 February 1916, a meeting of Essendon players made the following resolution, stating that these were the only conditions under which they would play in 1916: "That all players play as amateurs. That all gate receipts and membership subscriptions be pooled and held in trust by the League and at the end of the season, be handed over to the Patriotic Funds." The Essendon committee said it would support the players, and would find the money to cover whatever expenses were necessary to keep the team on the field. The VFL refused to meet the players' demand. Consequently, Essendon did not compete in 1916. Essendon did not compete in 1917 either (because the VFL, once again, refused to accept the players' demands).
- EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
, MelbourneMelbourne Football ClubThe Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
, South MelbourneSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
and St Kilda all refused to play in the VFL competition in 1916 on "patriotic grounds", leaving only the four inner-suburban teams of CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
, and RichmondRichmond Football ClubThe Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
(the grounds of which were all within walking distance of each other). - Carlton, Collingwood, Fitzroy, and Richmond had each volunteered to devote a significant proportion of their 1916 gate receipts to what were known as Patriotic Funds and also conduct a number of special fund raising activities; however, in June 1917, an audit by the VFL of the money that each club's "patriotic fund raising" had delivered over to the State War Council disclosed that the four clubs — which had appeared to all and sundry to be suffering considerable financial distress during the 1916 season (due to the reduction in gate receipts, etc.) — had, apparently, discovered that their fund raising had involved an extraordinarily large amount of "expenses". From its recorded "patriotic fund raising" receipts of ₤918, Fitzroy could only deliver ₤152 after "expenses", Collingwood only ₤40 from ₤664, Richmond only ₤90 from ₤614, and Carlton nothing at all from ₤884. The State War Council censured the clubs, and appointed its own supervisors to oversee the clubs' fund raising in 1917.
- With only four teams in the competition, regardless of their position on the end-of-season ladder all teams were to play in the Premiership Finals. Fitzroy with only 2 wins in the 14 home-and-away series beats Carlton (10 wins) in the Premiership Final: the only case of a team winning both the "Wooden Spoon" and the premiership in the same season.