The 1915 VFL season was the 19th season of the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL), the highest level senior

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

competition in Victoria. The season featured nine clubs, following the departure of after a seven-year stint in the league. The season ran from 24 April until 18 September, and comprised a 16-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs. The premiership was won by the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

for the fifth time and second time consecutively, after it defeated by 33 points in the

1915 VFL Grand Final The 1915 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 18 September 1915. It was the 18th annual Grand Fi ...

Withdrawal of University

On 16 October 1914, three weeks after the end of the 1914 season, the

University Football Club Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University, is an Australian rules football club based at the University of Melbourne. The club fields two teams, known as the "Blacks" and "Blues", who both compete in the Victorian Ama ...

dropped out of the VFL and folded. The reasons given for this decision were: * Firstly, after three promising seasons in 1908–1910, University had become very uncompetitive, finishing last in 1911–1914, and losing its last 51 consecutive matches. * Secondly, the club had found it difficult to maintain a constant lineup since the players' primary focus was on their studies rather than football, particularly during mid-year examinations. * Thirdly, since University's admission to the VFL in 1908, player payments in the VFL had become commonplace, and were officially permitted from 1911, whereas University chose to remain a fully amateur club drawing solely from university students, which had caused a number of players to defect to other clubs. As such, both the club and the VFL had conceded it would be virtually impossible for University to become viable and/or competitive in an increasingly professional competition. Despite the outbreak of World War I eleven weeks earlier, the war was not given as a contributing factor in University's decision, especially as the conflict was not, at the time, expected to escalate to the extent it did. Following University's dissolution, players who wished to continue playing in the VFL were all cleared to through an informal arrangement beneficial to both clubs:University (1908-1914), ''Demonwiki''.
/ref> University wished to see its best players playing together in the same VFL club to retain the strength of its own team for intervarsity competition, and Melbourne, which had mostly struggled since its 1900 premiership due to the lack of a natural recruiting district (formal

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

was not introduced until the following year), gained exclusive access to a valuable source of recruits. Among those who transferred from University to Melbourne were

Jack Brake John Brake (11 November 1890 – 16 May 1970) was a former leading Australian rules footballer who played with University and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of James Hugh Brake (1853-1915), and Barbara Stevens ...

Claude Bryan Dr. Claude Vivian Joseph Bryan (23 December 1892 – 10 March 1960) was an Australian rules footballer who played with University and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played with Cananore in the TFL both before and after ...

Jack Doubleday Jack Lindsay Doubleday (28 May 1890 – 30 October 1918) was an Australian rules footballer who played with University and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. Family The son of John Doubleday (1837-1907), and Elizabeth Josephine Double ...

, Dick Gibbs, Roy Park, and

Percy Rodriguez Percy Rodriguez (born Percy Rodrigues; June 13, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was a Canadian actor who appeared in many television shows and films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was of Afro-Portuguese heritage and was born in the Saint-Henri neigh ...

. With the VFL being reduced to nine clubs, a bye was required in the fixture for the first time in the league's history. The University club reformed in 1919, and continues to play amateur football in the

Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 4. In addition there ...

to this day.

Premiership season

In 1915, the VFL competition consisted of nine 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 team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds (i.e., 16 matches and 2 byes). Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1915 VFL ''Premiers'' were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "''Argus'' system".

Round 1

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.16 (64) , , 4.13 (37) ,

Junction Oval Junction Oval (also known as the St Kilda Cricket Ground, or the CitiPower Centre due to sponsorship reasons) is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The oval's location near the St Kilda Junc ...

, 24 April 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 12.10 (82) , , 11.7 (73) ,

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

, 24 April 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.10 (52) , , 3.8 (26) ,

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

, 24 April 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.11 (41) , , 6.5 (41) , Princes Park , 24 April 1915

Round 2

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.14 (56) , , 6.18 (54) ,

Corio Oval Corio Oval was an Australian rules football ground, located in Geelong, Victoria, and used by the Geelong Football Club in the VFA and the VFL from 1878 to 1915, and 1917 to 1940. Sited in Eastern Park, the oval was served by trams from 1930 wh ...

, 1 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 14.17 (101) , , 9.2 (56) ,

Brunswick Street Oval The WT Peterson Community Oval, best known as the Brunswick Street Oval and also as the Fitzroy Cricket Ground, is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, Victoria. History Australian Rule ...

, 1 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 4.6 (30) , , 12.11 (83) ,

Punt Road Oval Punt Road Oval, also known by naming rights sponsorship as the Swinburne Centre, is an Australian rules football ground and former cricket oval located within the Yarra Park precinct of East Melbourne, Victoria, situated a few hundred metres to ...

, 1 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 6.11 (47) , , 8.12 (60) ,

Lake Oval Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association football club South M ...

, 1 May 1915

Round 3

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 9.15 (69) , , 8.19 (67) ,

, 8 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 4.10 (34) , , 16.6 (102) , EMCG , 8 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 15.12 (102) , , 12.11 (83) ,

, 8 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.14 (56) , , 10.16 (76) ,

, 8 May 1915

Round 4

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 4.10 (34) , , 10.11 (71) ,

, 15 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.19 (49) , , 2.6 (18) ,

, 15 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 9.13 (67) , , 5.9 (39) ,

, 15 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 3.13 (31) , , 8.8 (56) , Princes Park , 15 May 1915

Round 5

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.10 (52) , , 6.4 (40) , EMCG , 22 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.14 (62) , , 3.12 (30) ,

, 22 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.8 (56) , , 6.4 (40) ,

, 22 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.3 (51) , , 10.12 (72) ,

, 22 May 1915

Round 6

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.7 (55) , , 8.16 (64) , EMCG , 29 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 9.11 (65) , , 13.11 (89) ,

, 29 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.12 (54) , , 8.12 (60) ,

, 29 May 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.10 (40) , , 9.13 (67) ,

, 29 May 1915

Round 7

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 12.6 (78) , , 12.8 (80) , EMCG , 5 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 11.9 (75) , , 10.13 (73) , Princes Park , 5 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.6 (48) , , 5.20 (50) ,

, 7 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.5 (47) , , 10.8 (68) ,

, 7 June 1915

Round 8

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 15.17 (107) , , 8.5 (53) , Princes Park , 12 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 14.17 (101) , , 13.5 (83) ,

, 12 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 10.12 (72) , , 6.17 (53) ,

, 12 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 6.14 (50) , , 11.8 (74) ,

, 12 June 1915

Round 9

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.6 (36) , , 5.8 (38) , EMCG , 19 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.13 (43) , , 3.10 (28) ,

, 19 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 4.12 (36) , , 10.12 (72) ,

, 19 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 1.1 (7) , , 5.15 (45) ,

, 19 June 1915

Round 10

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 9.11 (65) , , 7.5 (47) ,

, 26 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.12 (60) , , 10.11 (71) ,

, 26 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.12 (42) , , 11.12 (78) , EMCG , 26 June 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.8 (50) , , 5.8 (38) ,

, 26 June 1915

Round 11

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 10.20 (80) , , 6.7 (43) ,

, 3 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.15 (57) , , 7.5 (47) , Princes Park , 3 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 12.17 (89) , , 8.7 (55) ,

, 3 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 12.13 (85) , , 10.13 (73) ,

, 3 July 1915

Round 12

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.9 (39) , , 11.13 (79) ,

, 10 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 17.20 (122) , , 3.6 (24) ,

, 10 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 10.12 (72) , , 7.11 (53) ,

, 10 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 6.12 (48) , , 5.5 (35) ,

, 10 July 1915

Round 13

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 12.15 (87) , , 12.7 (79) ,

, 17 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.7 (49) , , 14.14 (98) ,

, 17 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.6 (54) , , 12.21 (93) ,

, 17 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 5.15 (45) , , 12.15 (87) , EMCG , 17 July 1915

Round 14

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.6 (54) , , 7.6 (48) ,

, 24 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 11.8 (74) , , 5.15 (45) , Princes Park , 24 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 10.10 (70) , , 3.13 (31) ,

, 24 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.9 (51) , , 13.13 (91) ,

, 24 July 1915

Round 15

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 9.19 (73) , , 7.6 (48) ,

, 31 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 18.17 (125) , , 7.7 (49) ,

, 31 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 9.20 (74) , , 8.12 (60) , Princes Park , 31 July 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 13.19 (97) , , 6.4 (40) ,

, 31 July 1915

Round 16

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 4.12 (36) , , 5.13 (43) ,

, 7 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 6.18 (54) , , 4.6 (30) ,

, 7 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.11 (53) , , 6.9 (45) ,

, 7 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 9.8 (62) , , 9.9 (63) ,

, 7 August 1915

Round 17

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.10 (52) , , 10.14 (74) ,

, 14 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 10.15 (75) , , 7.14 (56) , EMCG , 14 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 8.13 (61) , , 8.11 (59) ,

, 14 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 7.7 (49) , , 17.15 (117) ,

, 14 August 1915

Round 18

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 18.13 (121) , , 4.7 (31) ,

, 21 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 14.16 (100) , , 6.8 (44) , Princes Park , 21 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 14.15 (99) , , 6.11 (47) ,

, 21 August 1915 , - style="background:#fff;" , , 4.9 (33) , , 7.9 (51) ,

, 21 August 1915

Ladder

Finals

All of the 1915 finals were played at the

so the home team in the semi-finals and Preliminary Final is purely the higher ranked team from the ladder but in the Grand Final the home team was the team that won the Preliminary Final.

Semi finals

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Score , Away team , Score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 11.12 (78) , , 10.7 (67) ,

, 28 August , - style="background:#fff;" ,

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

, 9.16 (70) , Collingwood , 4.12 (36) ,

, 4 September

Preliminary Final

, - style="background:#ccf;" , Home team , Score , Away team , Score , Venue , Date , - style="background:#fff;" , , 6.18 (54) ,

, 5.8 (38) ,

, 11 September

Grand final

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

defeated Collingwood 11.12 (78) to 6.9 (45), in front of a crowd of 39,343 people. (For an explanation of scoring see

Awards

* The 1915 VFL Premiership team was

. * The VFL's leading goalkicker were

Dick Lee Richard Lee Peng Boon (born 24 August 1956) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, playwright and film director. Early life Lee was born to a Peranakan father, Lee Kip Lee, (who wrote for ''The Straits Times'') and his wife , Elizabeth Tan. He was th ...

of Collingwood and

Jimmy Freake James Henry Freake (27 January 1889 – 19 May 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serv ...

with 66 goals each. *

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

took the "

wooden spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to: * Wooden spoon, implement * Wooden spoon (award) A wooden spoon is an award that is given to an individual or team that has come last in a competition. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous e ...

" in 1915.

Notable events

* Prior to the season, VFL delegates voted in favour of rule changes to bring the game closer to a hybridisation of Australian rules football and rugby league: specifically the addition of a crossbar to the goal posts over which goals were to be kicked, disallowing forward handpasses, and rules to allow stronger rugby-style tackling between the shoulders and the hips. The rules could not come into immediate effect as they required approval at a vote of Australasian Football Council delegates, and this vote never took place due to the war, so none of these changes were ever implemented. * The first round of the 1915 was played on Saturday 24 April 1915, one day before the forces of the

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

landed at ANZAC Cove in their first hostile action in World War I. * St Kilda changed its traditional colours of red, white, and black, the colours of the enemy (the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

) to red, yellow, and black, the colours of a trusted ally ( The Kingdom of Belgium). * On 12 March 1915, responding to intense public pressure, a motion was put to a VFL meeting (proposed by the Geelong delegate, seconded by the Melbourne delegate) to suspend the VFL competition for the entire season (in March 1915, nobody expected the war to last for as long as it did). The votes were Geelong, Melbourne, Essendon, St Kilda, and South Melbourne "for", and the inner-Melbourne clubs of Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood, and Richmond "against". In the absence of the required three-quarters majority, the motion was lost. * At the instigation of the SAFL, interstate matches were suspended. * At 2:00PM on Saturday 29 May 1915,

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

centreman and 1914 Victorian State wingman, Cyril Gove, rode the racehorse ''Menthe'' into third place in the Springbank Corinthian Handicap. a race for amateur riders, at

Moonee Valley Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse, currently marketed as The Valley, is a horse-racing track in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. History Moonee Valley Racecourse was established in 1883 by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox, who purchased a farm ...

. Immediately the race was over, he caught a fast cab down

Mount Alexander Road, Melbourne Mount Alexander Road (and its northern section as Bulla Road) is a major road in Melbourne's inner northern suburbs, connecting the northern edges of the city district to just south of Essendon Airport. It was named after its original destina ...

to the

East Melbourne Cricket Ground The East Melbourne Cricket Ground was a grass oval sports venue located at the corner of Wellington Parade and Jolimont Parade, in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Santo Caruso, Marc Fiddian and Jim Main, ''Football Grounds of Melbourne'' (Mel ...

, where he played a full game for Essendon in its round 6 match against

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

.Champion Tobacco "Sportettes", ''The Canberra Times'', (Friday, 23 July 1954), p.8, col.A.
/ref>

Footnotes

References

* Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. * Rogers, S. & Brown, A., ''Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition)'', Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

{{Australian Football League Australian Football League seasons

VFL season The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...