North
MelbourneNorth
Melbourne
Over the early years of the club, they built a huge work ethic and reputation for resourcefulness. North Melbourne produced its first football from the money that came from the sale of roof iron belonging to one of the founders of the club.
A popular belief is that North Melbourne had origins with the Hotham, this is wrong. In 1869 it’s believed that North Melbourne was started from members from the St Mary’s Church of England cricket team. Father Gerard Dowling started the Hotham club a year latter.
North Melbourne played its early games at Royal Park. The club started in the junior, and wasn’t recorded as a senior team until 1874. North Melbourne joined the VFA in 1886. When North Melbourne joined the VFA it change it’s jumper to vertical stripes to distinguish itself from Geelong. In 1882 North Melbourne moved to Arden St Ground to play all it’s home games. This is still the clubs home today.
When the big split came in 1896, North Melbourne could have easily have joined , but there were several factors against the change. North Melbourne weren’t financially strong, they had a reputation for hooliganism and they were drawing players from the same area as Essendon.
North Melbourne won its first flag in 1903. It was a stirring and emotional win. North Melbourne again won the next year because of the Richmond forfeit. In 1907 North Melbourne tried to merge with fellow VFA team and co-tenant West Melbourne to try and get into the VFL.
In 1908 Richmond and University played their first VFL season, and North Melbourne was expelled along with West Melbourne. North Melbourne reformed as a new club and played in the 1908 VFA season.
In 1910 North Melbourne won the flag again thanks to big recruit of several players at Carlton. North Melbourne won the flag again in 1914. This was the beginning of a great era of success. North Melbourne didn’t lose a game from August 1914 to September 1919 (the 1916-17 seasons were cancelled because of the war). North Melbourne won three flags through the era.
All North Melbourne wanted to do was to play in the VFL. In 1921 the club announced that it would merge with Essendon, who didn’t have a home ground after the closure of the East Melbourne Cricket Ground. The merger didn’t go through because the Arden St ground belonged to the people of North Melbourne.
North Melbourne didn’t play the second half of the 1921 season as it had merged with the Essendon Association team, but North Melbourne still remained in the VFA. Early in 1925 the admission to the League of Footscray and Hawthorn left one spot empty. North Melbourne was selected for the position ahead of Prahran.
Originally North Melbourne was known as the ‘Shinboners’, giving the club a tough image. The name could have originated from North Melbourne players swinging their boots near the lower legs of opposition players. To add to the name, butchers in the area would decorate their front windows with beef leg-bones in blue and white colours. In 1954 a kangaroo was put on the logo when the club committee decided that the team needed a suitable identity.
In Brief
Joined League: 1925
Premierships: 3
Premiership years: 1975, 1977, 1996
Brownlow Medallists: Noel Teasdale (1965), Keith Greg (1973-74), Malcolm Blight (1978), Ross Glendinning (1983).
