Carlton Football Club premierships
Encyclopedia
The Carlton Football Club
has been involved in 29 VFL/AFL
Grand Finals from 1897-2006, winning 16 premiership titles.
1945: The Bloodbath
An infamous battle between Carlton and South Melbourne (now Sydney Swans
), in which the game became footbrawl rather than football. It is the most bloodiest and toughest grand final of all time with the reporting and suspension of ten footballers from both teams. Fights went on all day with several players being knocked out, involving umpires, police, trainers, and spectators, all fighting on the field. Princes Park in Melbourne had 63,000 spectators screaming for blood. Carlton won by 28 points with the following ten players being reported:
1970: The Great Comeback
The most famous Grand Final of all time took place in 1970 before a record crowd of 121,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG
) who watched Carlton take on Collingwood. At half-time, the Blues were 44 points behind (nearly 8 goals) and the game seemed all but over, with a victory seeming a certainty for mighty Collingwood. At the half-time break, legendary Carlton coach Ron Barassi
blasted his players with a frightening tirade of verbal abuse, pushing and motivating his team to concentrate on handpassing and short kicks - a strategy that worked wonders. In the second half of the game...the tide had turned...and the Blues came storming home. At the time-on stage in the last quarter with the final siren about to go off at any second, the Blues were still two points behind, then suddenly two quick goals - one from Crosswell and another from Alex Jesaulenko
- saw Carlton in front by ten points. The clock was ticking...suddenly...the siren sounded...the game was over...Carlton...had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. There was nothing...absolutely nothing...but euphoria for the Carltonians...the MCG was shaking...the whole world and the skies were painted Navy Blue.
During the game, the football world was inspired by one of the most famous marks in VFL/AFL history. Towards the end of the second quarter David McKay kicked it to the wing and Jesaulenko soared high into the sky on the shoulders of Collingwood's ruckman Graeme "Jerker" Jenkins, a giant of a man at 6'6", and took the heaven-high-grab with his hands out in front of his face. The commentator, Mike Williamson, spoke the infamous words "McKay, to the wing position on the member's stand side, OH JESAULENKO! YOU BEAUTY!". The mark symbolises Carlton famous victory over Collingwood in this Grand Final.
For 37 years this Grand Final victory stood as the greatest comeback in Carlton's history, until the 2007 season when the record was broken by an impressive win from 48 points down in the Round 3 clash against Essendon. It is fitting that Carlton's two greatest comeback wins are against its two fiercest rivals.
(C) = Captain, (NSM) = Norm Smith Medallist.
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...
has been involved in 29 VFL/AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
Grand Finals from 1897-2006, winning 16 premiership titles.
1945: The Bloodbath1945 VFL Grand FinalThe 1945 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at Princes Park in Melbourne on 29 September 1945. It was the 49th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers...
An infamous battle between Carlton and South Melbourne (now Sydney SwansSydney Swans
The 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...
), in which the game became footbrawl rather than football. It is the most bloodiest and toughest grand final of all time with the reporting and suspension of ten footballers from both teams. Fights went on all day with several players being knocked out, involving umpires, police, trainers, and spectators, all fighting on the field. Princes Park in Melbourne had 63,000 spectators screaming for blood. Carlton won by 28 points with the following ten players being reported:
- Ted WhitfieldTed WhitfieldEdward Carlyle "Ted" Whitfield was a former Australian rules footballer, playing with South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League ....
(South), found guilty and suspended for the entire 1946 season.
- Jack Williams (South), found guilty and suspended for twelve weeks.
- Captain Herbie MatthewsHerbie MatthewsHerbie Matthews was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. He was recruited from suburban Fairfield under the League's "father and son" rule. His father, 'Butcher' Matthews, partnered the great Roy Cazaly in South Melbourne's ruck...
(South), found guilty and severely reprimanded.
- Keith SmithKeith Smith (Australian footballer)Keith Smith was a leading Australian rules footballer of the 1930s and 40s, playing for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
(South), found not guilty.
- Don GrossmanDon GrossmanDonald Clarence "Don" Grossman was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....
(South), found guilty and suspended for eight weeks.
- Jim ClearyJim Cleary (Australian rules footballer)Jim Cleary was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League .Cleary played as a fullback and won two best and fairest awards for South Melbourne, in 1942 and 1944. His reputation was marred somewhat by his involvement in what is referred to as the...
(South), found guilty and suspended for eight weeks.
- Ken HandsKen HandsKen Hands is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .-References:* at *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim . The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing....
(Carlton), found not guilty.
- Captain Bob ChittyBob ChittyBob Chitty was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .Chitty made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in Round 7 of the 1937 season...
(Carlton), found guilty and suspended for eight weeks.
- Ron SavageRon SavageRon Savage was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League .Savage made his debut for the Carlton Football Club in round 14 of the 1938 season...
(Carlton), found guilty and suspended for eight weeks.
- Fred FitzgibbonFred FitzgibbonFred Fitzgibbon was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the VFL during the 1940s.Fitzgibbon spent his early career at Victorian Football Association club Brunswick but when the VFA suspended the competition in 1942 due to the war, he decided to switch leagues and joined...
(Carlton), an already suspended player, found guilty and suspended for a further four weeks for running onto the field and joining in numerous brawls.
1970: The Great Comeback1970 VFL Grand FinalThe 1970 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1970. It was the 74th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...
The most famous Grand Final of all time took place in 1970 before a record crowd of 121,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCGMcG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
) who watched Carlton take on Collingwood. At half-time, the Blues were 44 points behind (nearly 8 goals) and the game seemed all but over, with a victory seeming a certainty for mighty Collingwood. At the half-time break, legendary Carlton coach Ron Barassi
Ron Barassi
Ronald Dale Barassi, Jr AM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. During a long and decorated career, Barassi has been one of the most important figures in the history of Australian football. His father, Ron Barassi, Sr., was the first Australian footballer killed at Tobruk during...
blasted his players with a frightening tirade of verbal abuse, pushing and motivating his team to concentrate on handpassing and short kicks - a strategy that worked wonders. In the second half of the game...the tide had turned...and the Blues came storming home. At the time-on stage in the last quarter with the final siren about to go off at any second, the Blues were still two points behind, then suddenly two quick goals - one from Crosswell and another from Alex Jesaulenko
Alex Jesaulenko
Alex 'Jezza' Jesaulenko MBE is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players and is an official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame...
- saw Carlton in front by ten points. The clock was ticking...suddenly...the siren sounded...the game was over...Carlton...had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. There was nothing...absolutely nothing...but euphoria for the Carltonians...the MCG was shaking...the whole world and the skies were painted Navy Blue.
During the game, the football world was inspired by one of the most famous marks in VFL/AFL history. Towards the end of the second quarter David McKay kicked it to the wing and Jesaulenko soared high into the sky on the shoulders of Collingwood's ruckman Graeme "Jerker" Jenkins, a giant of a man at 6'6", and took the heaven-high-grab with his hands out in front of his face. The commentator, Mike Williamson, spoke the infamous words "McKay, to the wing position on the member's stand side, OH JESAULENKO! YOU BEAUTY!". The mark symbolises Carlton famous victory over Collingwood in this Grand Final.
For 37 years this Grand Final victory stood as the greatest comeback in Carlton's history, until the 2007 season when the record was broken by an impressive win from 48 points down in the Round 3 clash against Essendon. It is fitting that Carlton's two greatest comeback wins are against its two fiercest rivals.
Premiership teams
Source: Graeme Atkinson, "The COURAGE book of VFL Finals 1897 - 1973", Wren Publishing Pty Ltd & Courage Breweries Ltd, 1973. ISBN 0858851520.(C) = Captain, (NSM) = Norm Smith Medallist.