In 1857 a man called Tom Wills returned to Australia after going to school in England. He was one of the founders of Australian Rules. In England he was the captain of his rugby team. And he was also an excellent cricketer.
The Melbourne Football Club was formed on the 7th of August 1858 by Tom Wills, H.C.A Harrison, W.J. Hammersley and J.B. Thompson. This was also the year of the earliest recorded match against Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School. After this, the game quickly grew with the Geelong Football Club being established in 1859 and then in 1866 a new set of rules were formed and an actual competition started. In 1896, what they called the Victorian Football League (VFL) was formed and this involved 8 teams. The teams were Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne. Eight years later, 2 more teams joined the league, Richmond and University, but after the season in 1914, University dropped out. Footscray (Now the Western Bulldogs), Hawthorn and North Melbourne joined the VFL in 1925. These were the 12 teams of the VFL for another 62 years. In 1987, two more teams, called the West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears joined. And then in 1997 the competition involved 16 teams and was changed into the Australian Football league. In 1992, the Adelaide Crows joined the competition, in 1995 Fremantle joined and then in 1997 Port Adelaide joined the competition. After the 1996 season though, Fitzroy and Brisbane Bears joined together to form the Brisbane Lions. In 2011 the Gold Coast Suns joined the AFL, followed by Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2012. |
AFL Timeline:1897-1909:
Eight teams made up what is called the VFL; the teams are Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and south Melbourne. 1910-1919: Players can legally get paid to play after some Carlton players were found guilty of playing bad in the finals to get payed. These players received life bans from the VFL/AFL. 1920-1929: The oldest AFL player in the history of VFL retires in 1920 at the age of 43. It was Vic Cumberland of St Kilda. Richmond won its first ever premiership in 1920 as well as defeating Collingwood, they also went on to win back to back premiers in 1921. 1930-1939: In the 1930 season, the VFL brings in the rule that you can have a substitute player during every match, they call this rule the 19th man. Also at the end of the 1930 season Collingwood became the first team to ever win 4 premierships in the history of the VFL. In 1939, the Second World War broke out which affected the VFL dramatically. 1940-1949: Throughout these years the VFL was affected by the Second World War but it wouldn’t be affected as much as the First World War. 1950-1959: John Coleman from Essendon kicked 100 goals in the 1940 season. He was the first ever player to kick 100 goals in his first 2 years of VFL football. 1960-1969: Some of the games were postponed in round two 1960, so to make up for them they were played on ANZAC day. 1970-1979: In the 1970 season, the playing times of games changed dramatically. The first game that was played on a Sunday was Richmond vs. Fitzroy round 1, 1970 at the MCG. The Queen attended the game. 1980-1989: In the 1980 season, Richmond absolutely destroyed Collingwood in the Grand Final once again. For the first time ever, the VFL handed out runner up medals for the losing team. 1990-1999: During this decade the VFL changed their name to the AFL (Australian Football League). Some of the clubs in the game now are from Sydney, Queensland, Adelaide and Perth. 2000- The Present Day: The first AFL season of the Millennium started off 3 weeks earlier due to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. |