Melbourne Melbourne
The Melbourne Football Club was the first football club established, by Thomas Smith and Tom Wills. They started the club in the Parade Hotel, Wellington Pde, in 1859. Melbourne had been mentioned as having played against South Yarra in 1858, but it was the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) that played the scratch matches between other teams, organised on the day of the games, by the captain and Melbourne Cricket Club Secretary in 1857-58, Tom Wills.
Despite close connection the football club operated separately from the MCC. It played it’s games on the paddock outside the cricket ground and holding its meetings in a hotel. In the clubs early years, it was not allowed to play matches on the Melbourne Cricket Ground because the MCC thought that football would cause to much damage to the ground. The first game Melbourne played on the MCG was a trial match against the Police in 1869, but it was 10 years later that the first official game was played on the MCG.
By this time Melbourne had joined the Victorian Football Association (VFA) for two years. Melbourne and Carlton were the dominant clubs in the early seasons of the game, and they drew the biggest crowds. Melbourne won their first Victorian Championship in 1870, and they won the title again in 1872 and 1876. But in the first two seasons of the VFA, Melbourne came second to arch-rival Carlton. After early dominance, Melbourne was gradually overtaken by younger clubs and in 1889 it finished last on the ladder.
In desperation , Melbourne approached the MCC to seek help. The cricket club agreed to take over the football club and for a few years the team was known as the MCC. On the field, performances turned around and in 1892 the club finished fourth.
In 1895 Melbourne started the season with eight straight wins, but it could not keep up the momentum for the entire season. The take over by the cricket club appeared to benefit the football club as Melbourne restored some respectability to its reputation in the clubs last four seasons in the VFA (1892-1896). The Club finished second to the powerful club of Essendon in both the 1893 and 1894 seasons. Melbourne was the only team to be a challenge to Essendon in 1893. A clash between the two teams late in the season drew a crowd of 28,000 people, where Melbourne lost narrowly.
Melbourne’s form slipped in 1895 when the media claimed they were over trained and that their performances picked up " when the majority of them (players) had practically ceased to train". In their last season in the VFA, Melbourne finished a respectable fourth. But the season was considered disappointing because they were considered to have more talented players, man for man, then any other club.
Melbourne joined the VFL in 1897, but most of the players played for fun. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that Melbourne became a real power in the competition. Melbourne won 3 premierships in a row from 1939 to 1941, it was the clubs first golden era. During the 1950’s, Melbourne played in seven consecutive Grand Finals from 1954-1960, Melbourne won 5 of these premierships.
Melbourne players wore long white trousers, shirts and caps and were originally known as the ‘Invincible Whites’. A maroon stripe was added in 1862 and the cap changed to royal blue. The cap changed again four years later, to red but some players still wore the blue cap. It was decided to combine the red and blue colours as worn today.
Until 1933 Melbourne was referred to as the ‘Redlegs’ or the ‘Fuchsias’. During a break in play when the team was playing poorly, coach Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes said, "You are playing like a bunch of flowers! Lift up your heads and play like Demons!" From then on the teams has been known as the Melbourne Demons.
Brief History.
Joined VFL: 1897
Premierships: 12
Premiership Years: 1900, 1926, 1939-40-41, 1948, 1955-56-57, 1959, 1960, 1964.
Brownlow Medallists: Ivor Warne-Smith (1926, 1928), Don Cordner (1946), Brian Wilson (1982), Peter Moore (1984), Jim Stynes (1991)
