The 1955 VFL season was the 59th 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 twelve clubs, ran from 16 April until 17 September, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs. The premiership was won by the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

for the seventh time, after it defeated by 28 points in the 1955 VFL Grand Final.

Premiership season

In 1955, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances. Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-away reverse" of matches 1 to 7. Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1955 VFL ''Premiers'' were determined by the specific format and conventions of the

Page–McIntyre system The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...

Round 1

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.14 (104) , , 9.12 (66) ,

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of ...

, 20,976 , 16 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.15 (93) , , 7.16 (58) ,

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 ...

, 16,000 , 16 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.12 (48) , , 15.14 (104) ,

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 ...

, 33,398 , 16 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 19.20 (134) , , 10.5 (65) , Princes Park , 25,041 , 16 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.11 (59) , , 17.16 (118) ,

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 ...

, 20,000 , 16 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.23 (77) , , 13.16 (94) ,

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 ...

, 30,000 , 16 April 1955

Round 2

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.16 (112) , , 12.9 (81) ,

Western Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Victoria University Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administra ...

, 33,753 , 23 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.24 (120) , , 8.7 (55) , Windy Hill , 18,000 , 23 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.15 (111) , , 8.14 (62) ,

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 ...

, 32,363 , 23 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.11 (107) , , 9.15 (69) ,

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 ...

, 18,000 , 23 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.16 (70) , , 21.11 (137) ,

Arden Street Oval Arden Street Oval (also known as North Melbourne Cricket Ground) is a sports oval in North Melbourne, Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is currently the training base of the North Melbourne Football Club, an Australia ...

, 21,000 , 23 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.15 (87) , , 9.6 (60) ,

Glenferrie Oval Glenferrie Oval is an Australian rules football stadium located in Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the historic home of, and is synonymous with, the Hawthorn Football Club, who played there from 1903 and as a VFL/AFL ...

, 19,000 , 23 April 1955

Round 3

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.13 (103) , , 9.11 (65) ,

, 19,565 , 30 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.14 (80) , , 9.15 (69) , Windy Hill , 21,000 , 30 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.20 (116) , , 8.11 (59) ,

, 18,095 , 30 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 17.4 (106) , , 6.13 (49) , Princes Park , 23,435 , 30 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.14 (56) , , 15.8 (98) ,

, 18,000 , 30 April 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.22 (58) , , 6.10 (46) ,

, 49,280 , 30 April 1955

Round 4

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.20 (110) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 20,000 , 7 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.13 (73) , , 11.17 (83) ,

, 16,000 , 7 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.7 (61) , , 10.14 (74) ,

, 13,500 , 7 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.12 (36) , , 2.11 (23) ,

, 36,615 , 7 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.12 (84) , , 12.3 (75) ,

, 26,000 , 7 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.22 (64) , , 15.9 (99) ,

, 23,000 , 7 May 1955

Round 5

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.7 (91) , , 13.15 (93) ,

, 15,000 , 14 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.11 (59) , , 10.13 (73) , Windy Hill , 25,299 , 14 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.17 (89) , , 17.12 (114) , Princes Park , 37,065 , 14 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 25.16 (166) , , 4.8 (32) ,

, 15,000 , 14 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.12 (84) , , 10.12 (72) ,

, 28,288 , 14 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.11 (77) , , 15.9 (99) ,

, 15,000 , 14 May 1955

Round 6

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.14 (74) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 13,000 , 21 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.11 (101) , , 6.11 (47) ,

, 35,000 , 21 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.9 (75) , , 12.11 (83) , Princes Park , 23,000 , 21 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.5 (71) , , 6.8 (44) ,

, 28,338 , 21 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.5 (29) , , 6.12 (48) ,

, 11,000 , 21 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.10 (58) , , 10.6 (66) ,

, 24,517 , 21 May 1955

Round 7

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 17.20 (122) , , 7.14 (56) ,

, 12,500 , 28 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.9 (69) , , 8.14 (62) ,

, 26,086 , 28 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.11 (65) , , 10.10 (70) , Windy Hill , 20,000 , 28 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.11 (71) , , 11.6 (72) ,

, 24,000 , 28 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.9 (45) , , 16.13 (109) ,

, 30,000 , 28 May 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.12 (84) , , 10.9 (69) ,

, 21,088 , 28 May 1955

Round 8

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.8 (62) , , 8.12 (60) ,

, 19,600 , 4 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.14 (92) , , 7.12 (54) , Windy Hill , 23,500 , 4 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.11 (77) , , 10.7 (67) ,

, 34,000 , 4 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.10 (34) , , 13.7 (85) ,

, 19,250 , 4 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.5 (71) , , 12.16 (88) ,

, 13,000 , 4 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 20.15 (135) , , 9.16 (70) ,

, 34,670 , 4 June 1955

Round 9

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 17.12 (114) , , 8.11 (59) ,

, 28,807 , 11 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 4.4 (28) , , 11.20 (86) , Princes Park , 29,555 , 11 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.15 (63) , , 9.18 (72) ,

, 35,000 , 11 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.16 (94) , , 11.12 (78) ,

, 39,949 , 13 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 19.14 (128) , , 7.12 (54) ,

, 14,000 , 13 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.9 (81) , , 13.17 (95) ,

, 24,000 , 13 June 1955

Round 10

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.9 (81) , , 6.7 (43) ,

, 10,500 , 25 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.9 (39) , , 10.11 (71) ,

, 21,000 , 25 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.7 (43) , , 11.15 (81) , Princes Park , 20,576 , 25 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.10 (70) , , 8.10 (58) ,

, 16,000 , 25 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.5 (65) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 23,654 , 25 June 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.12 (48) , , 14.14 (98) ,

, 29,000 , 25 June 1955

Round 11

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.13 (109) , , 7.8 (50) ,

, 17,238 , 2 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.16 (82) , , 6.13 (49) ,

, 26,697 , 2 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.20 (68) , , 5.12 (42) , Windy Hill , 19,000 , 2 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.6 (48) , , 5.15 (45) ,

, 40,000 , 2 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.8 (68) , , 8.13 (61) ,

, 10,500 , 2 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.12 (96) , , 7.7 (49) ,

, 16,000 , 2 July 1955

Round 12

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 17.16 (118) , , 3.3 (21) ,

, 15,624 , 9 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.7 (91) , , 5.20 (50) , Windy Hill , 19,500 , 9 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.10 (88) , , 15.9 (99) ,

, 17,000 , 9 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 18.12 (120) , , 9.5 (59) ,

, 10,500 , 9 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.13 (43) , , 5.7 (37) ,

, 42,354 , 9 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 13.10 (88) , , 16.9 (105) ,

, 12,000 , 9 July 1955

Round 13

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.11 (71) , , 6.16 (52) ,

, 26,755 , 16 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.16 (100) , , 6.10 (46) ,

, 12,500 , 16 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 15.9 (99) , , 13.14 (92) ,

, 16,813 , 16 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.19 (79) , , 9.9 (63) , Princes Park , 15,763 , 16 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.9 (57) , , 6.12 (48) ,

, 17,500 , 16 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.7 (37) , , 10.22 (82) ,

, 12,250 , 16 July 1955

Round 14

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.11 (71) , , 6.15 (51) ,

, 12,100 , 23 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.8 (74) , , 9.19 (73) ,

, 32,735 , 23 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.16 (100) , , 14.13 (97) ,

, 25,000 , 23 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.7 (61) , , 17.23 (125) ,

, 18,000 , 23 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.11 (71) , , 16.20 (116) ,

, 18,500 , 23 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.14 (80) , , 13.16 (94) ,

, 19,500 , 23 July 1955

Round 15

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.18 (90) , , 8.15 (63) ,

, 15,486 , 30 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.18 (72) , , 5.22 (52) , Windy Hill , 32,000 , 30 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.11 (71) , , 5.6 (36) ,

, 16,000 , 30 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 11.21 (87) , , 3.13 (31) , Princes Park , 9,742 , 30 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 14.9 (93) , , 13.16 (94) ,

, 16,000 , 30 July 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.14 (86) , , 9.11 (65) ,

, 14,033 , 30 July 1955

Round 16

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.5 (53) , , 11.16 (82) ,

, 10,150 , 6 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.13 (73) , , 10.16 (76) ,

, 33,902 , 6 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.17 (53) , , 11.9 (75) ,

, 14,000 , 6 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 8.12 (60) , , 8.5 (53) ,

, 9,000 , 6 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 16.23 (119) , , 7.12 (54) ,

, 49,352 , 6 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.17 (89) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 28,000 , 6 August 1955

Round 17

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.13 (85) , , 13.13 (91) ,

, 16,000 , 13 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 19.17 (131) , , 7.10 (52) ,

, 13,444 , 13 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 9.7 (61) , , 11.13 (79) ,

, 20,000 , 13 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.20 (92) , , 10.9 (69) ,

, 14,500 , 13 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 19.19 (133) , , 8.12 (60) , Windy Hill , 34,000 , 13 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.12 (48) , , 12.7 (79) ,

, 18,000 , 13 August 1955

Round 18

, - bgcolor="#CCCCFF" , Home team , Home team score , Away team , Away team score , Venue , Crowd , Date , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 12.22 (94) , , 4.7 (31) ,

, 19,484 , 20 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.17 (59) , , 7.7 (49) ,

, 19,270 , 20 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 10.6 (66) , , 8.12 (60) , Princes Park , 22,482 , 20 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 6.7 (43) , , 19.23 (137) ,

, 13,000 , 20 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 5.5 (35) , , 14.11 (95) ,

, 20,000 , 20 August 1955 , - bgcolor="#FFFFFF" , , 7.8 (50) , , 13.14 (92) ,

, 24,500 , 20 August 1955

Ladder

Finals

First Semi-Final

Second Semi-Final

Preliminary Final

Grand final

Awards

*The 1955 VFL Premiership team was

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. *The VFL's leading goalkicker was

Noel Rayson Noel Douglas Rayson (24 May 1933 – 11 February 2003) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong Football Club, Geelong and Sydney Swans, South Melbourne during his ten-year career in the Australian Football League, Victorian F ...

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, ...

with 80 goals (including 3 goals in the final series). *The winner of the 1955

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

was Fred Goldsmith of

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 ...

with 21 votes. * St. Kilda took the "wooden spoon" in 1955.

Notable events

*The 15-yard penalty (precursor to the modern

50-metre penalty In the sport of Australian Rules Football, Australian rules football, the 50-metre penalty is applied by umpires to a number of different infractions when a Free kick (Australian rules football), free kick or Mark (Australian football), mark has ...

) was introduced to the rules nationally by the

Australian National Football Council The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...

, allowing the umpire to advance the spot of a mark or free kick by 15 yards in the event of crude, late challenges on the player with the mark. *The highest aggregate score in a match for the year was only 207 points, which is the lowest for any VFL/AFL season since 1922. There was no match in which both teams scored more than 100 points. *St Kilda's average score of 47.8 per match was the lowest average by any team since 1919. *Towards the end of the Round 4 match between

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 ...

and

at the

Fitzroy full-forward

Tony Ongarello Tony Ongarello (22 December 1932 – 18 July 2022) was an Australian rules footballer of Italian heritage who played with Fitzroy Lions, Fitzroy in the Australian Football League, VFL from 1952 to 1960. He played most of his career at full-forw ...

was so upset with his own inaccurate kicking that, upon taking a mark, he indicated to the field umpire that he was going to kick a place-kick. He scored a goal. He was so impressed that he kicked one more goal in that match with a place kick. He kicked several goals later in the season from place kicks as well, but ultimately had little more success with place kicks than he had with punts. Although it has never been (and is still not) against the rules to do so, he is on record as the last player ever to score a goal with a place kick in a senior VFL match. Ongarello was not the first player to attempt to revive the place kick in 1955: full forward Colin Vance had unsuccessfully attempted a place kick for goal on debut three weeks earlier. *After North Melbourne's humiliating Round 11 loss to St Kilda – who had not won a match since Round 16 1954 and were now captain-coached by former North Melbourne star

Les Foote Leslie Roy Foote (20 August 1924 – 11 April 2006) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League. Football career A local lad, and recruited from the North Melbourne Colts, Foote played his first match with the North Mel ...

– the North Melbourne committee suspended two of its senior players ( Mick Grambeau and

Laurie Icke Laurie Icke (22 July 1929 – 26 September 2010) was an Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Icke, a half back, started his career at Ballarat East, in the Ballarat Football League ...

) indefinitely from both playing and training with the club for "not having tried hard enough" in the match. *Defending Premiers Footscray missed out on a place in the Final Four by just 0.6%. *In the dying minutes of the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

, Melbourne's 19th man Frank "Bluey" Adams rushed from the bench to take his place on the field and collided with the (unsighted by Adams) Collingwood winger

Des Healey Desmond Jules Healey (5 September 1927 – 18 March 2009) was an Australian rules footballer, who played in the VFL/AFL with the Collingwood Football Club, and was also a first-grade cricketer with the Collingwood Cricket Club. He married the ...

who, up to that stage, had been one of the best on the ground. Both participants in this horrific head clash were carried off unconscious. Healey had his nose broken in five places, a fractured skull, and never played for Collingwood again.. "Bluey" Adams 15-second playing time is the shortest in VFL history.(Ross, 1996, p. 202).

Sources

*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.

References

External links

1955 Season - AFL Tables
16 June 2005 {{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 ...