The Albury Football Club, nicknamed the ''Tigers'', is an

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 ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

club based in

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

, a major regional city in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Albury football and netball squads compete in the

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray are ...

Club history

On Saturday night, 3 June 1876, upwards of twenty gentlemen of the town of Albury assembled at Day's Commercial Chambers for the purpose of establishing a football club. The chair was occupied by Mr. M P Ryan. It was resolved on the proposal of Mr. John Day 'That a football club be established to be designated the Albury Football Club.' The following gentlemen were office bearers for the ensuing year – President – Mr. John Day, Treasurer and Secretary – Mr. Phillips. The committee agreed to adopt the Victorian rules of football. It appears from newspaper reports that the first match that Albury played was against the

Beechworth Football Club Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

on the Beechworth Cricket Ground, on Saturday, 8 July 1876, with Dr. Duncan captaining the Albury side. There appears to be no newspaper records of the Albury Football Club in 1877. On Saturday, 11 May 1878, a meeting was held at the Albury Hotel "to resuscitate the defunct football club....and that records of the original club were not extant". Dr. J C Duncan was elected president, John Wilkinson, Secretary and A Dawson, Treasurer. In April 1895 at an Ovens and Murray Football Association meeting, it was decided to let both Albury and

Border United Football Club Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

(Corowa based) join the O&MFA. In 1897 Albury had their team photo taken and can be viewed via this link. In 1910, the O&MFA had only three teams – Albury, Excelsior and Rutherglen with Rutherglen winning the premiership. Then in 1911, both Excelsior and Rutherglen applied to enter the Rutherglen and District Football Association. As a result, the O&MFA folded, with local teams attempting to apply to play in the Rutherglen & DFA. A ballot took place at a Rutherglen & DFA meeting on 29 April at Mackay's Hotel, Rutherglen which resulted in Balldale, North Albury, Rutherglen, South Albury and Wodonga being refused admission to join the association. Corowa, Excelsior and Lake Rovers were clubs that were admitted. In 1911, the Albury Football Club was planning to divide the club into South Albury and North Albury teams, but as they were not admitted into the Rutherglen & DFA, the club went into recess in 1911. Albury FC and Rutherglen FC were admitted into the Rutherglen & DFA in 1912. After a three-year break due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the O&MFA reformed for the 1919 season with only four clubs,

(Corowa based), Howlong, Lake Rovers and Rutherglen. Albury Football Club was reformed in early 1919 and played in the Albury Senior Football Association with two teams – South Albury and North Albury, with St. Patrick's FC defeating South Albury Football Club in the grand final on the Albury Sportsground. In 1920 the O&MFA did not reform; "It seems strange that the O&MFA has apparently been allowed to die a natural death" with only two club's present at the O&MFA – AGM, with some clubs moving to play in the Chiltern & DFA and Coreen & DFA. In 1920, Albury lost the Albury Senior Football Association semi final to Diggers. In March, 1924, Albury FC and the Diggers FC decided to amalgamate and apply for admission into the

Ovens and Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Austral ...

as Albury Football Club. In 1927, Albury appointed former

West Adelaide Football Club West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Commonly known as The Bloods and Westies, the club's home base is Richmond Oval (South Australia), Richmond Oval (current ...

captain/coach and 1922

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

list, Robert "Bobby" Barnes as coach. On 5 March 1929 at an O&MFL meeting, most club's were very much opposed to the professionalism and paying of players payments to Albury, Hume Weir and St. Patrick's FC footballers, in which the financial resources required were out of reach for the existing clubs - Beechworth, Corowa, Rutherglen and Wangaratta. These clubs were also opposed to the pooling of gate takings too. These clubs demanded that the Albury clubs must have certain restrictions imposed on them so the other clubs could be competitive, basically to restrict the number of imported and paid players and coaches by imposing strict residential qualifications. On 17 March 1929 at an O&M meeting it was proposed that three Albury club's be formed on a territorial / residential basis, which meant that both the Albury and St. Patrick's football decided to disband and form a local Albury competition, but both clubs later decided to form both East and West Albury football club's based on strict residential boundaries and apply for admission to the O&MFL. Both Albury and St. Patrick's did not disband due to religious tension or because of sectarian lines as reported at

, but due to pressure and new rules placed on them by other O&MFL club's to weaken their strength and to halt player payments by these two Albury teams. These are actual documented facts as per the references/citations in the above two paragraphs. East Albury Football Club and Weir United Football Club merged in 1933 to become the Border United Football Club (Albury based) and wore green and white jumpers. In 1933 West Albury Football Club changed its name to the Albury Football Club and remained in the West Albury colours of maroon and blue. At the 1934 O&MFL Annual General Meeting, the Albury FC requested to change it football jumpers to black and yellow, which was granted. Triple

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 ...

list and triple

Sandover Medal The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League. The award was donated by Alfred Sandover M.B.E., a prominent Perth hardware merchant and be ...

list, Haydn Bunton senior played with the

Albury Rovers Football Club Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

in 1926 and 1927, then Albury Football Club in 1928 and 1929 and then with

West Albury Football Club West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

in 1930 and 1931. The 1936

list, Denis Ryan actually played with the

, in the

Albury & District Football League The Albury & District Football League was established at a delegates meeting in Culcairn in 1930 from the following Australian Rules Football clubs - Albury Rovers, Culcairn, Henty and Holbrook and folded after the 1957 football season. History Th ...

prior to joining

Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...

in 1935. In 1936,

(Albury based) would merge with the Albury FC when both clubs were short of players and both in debt and took on the name of Albury Football Club! Between 1927 and 1935, Albury Football Club and its affiliated club's participated in nine consecutive O&MFL grand finals: 1927 and 1928 – Albury; 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932 – West Albury; 1933, 1934 and 1935 – Border United. Albury FC then played in the 1937, 1939 and 1940 grand finals. Then immediately after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

recess, Albury played in the 1946, 1947 and 1948 grand finals, thus playing in 15 out of 17 grand finals, missing out in 1936 and 1938; a remarkable achievement! This club history is a continual work in progress.

Football leagues

Albury have played in the following football competitions - *

** 1895 to 1902 * Albury FC in recess **1903 to 1906 *

** 1907 to 1910 * Albury FC in recess (In 1911, both Albury & Rutherglen were not admitted into the Rutherglen & DFA due to their previous strength) **1911 *

Rutherglen & District Football Association Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

**1912 & 1913 *

** 1914 & 1915 *

(O&MFL and Albury FC in recess) ** 1916 to 1918 *

Albury Senior Football Association Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the Local government in Australia, seat of local government for the council area which also ...

**1919 *

Albury & Border Football Association Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the C ...

**1920 to 1923 *

** 1924 to 1928 (In 1924 Albury FC & Diggers FC decide to merge, both from the Albury & Border FA & enter the O&MFA as Albury FC) *

** 1929 to 1932 (In 1929, both Albury & St. Patrick's FC's disband and two teams entered as East Albury & West Albury FC's) *

** 1933 to 1935 (In 1933 East Albury merged with Weir United & became Border United FC. West Albury changed its name to Albury FC in 1933) *

** 1936 to 1940 (In 1936 Border United merged with Albury and took on the name Albury FC) *

** 1941 to 1945 (Albury and the O&MFL in recess) *

** 1946 to 2020 (Albury FC)

Football premierships

;Seniors Albury Football Club *

(22): *1902 *1908 *1913 *1928 *1937, 1939 *1940, 1947 *1956 *1966 *1982, 1985 *1995, 1996, 1997 *2009 *2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018

*1929

(Albury based) *1934

Football – runners up

;Seniors Albury Football Club *

(17) **1899, 1901, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1927, 1946, 1948, 1953, 1957, 1981, 1983, 1999, 2012, 2013, 2017

East Albury Football Club East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

*1929

*1930, 1931, 1932

(Albury based) *1933, 1935

*1919 (South Albury)

* 1921, 1922

Morris Medal winners

*1935.

Noel Barnett Noel Leon Barnett (22 November 1908 – 21 July 2000) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Barnett made 11 appearances for Melbourne in the 1933 VFL season, after arriving from ...

*1956.

Lance Mann Lance Gibson Mann (12 July 1930 – 13 March 2015) was a professional footrunner and a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Footballer A talented wingman, Mann started his football career in Walwa, bef ...

*1963. Ken Bennett *1965. Joe Ambrose *1981.

Rod Coelli Rod Coelli (born 23 April 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Coelli was recruited from the Narrandera Imperials, in New South Wales. He made three appearances ...

*1982. Peter Gorski *1993.

Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Go ...

*1994. Tim Scott *1995. Ken Howe *1996.

Leigh Newton Leigh Newton (born 25 March 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A ruckman, Newton played 13 matches for Melbourne in his first season at the club, ...

*2011. Shaun Daly *2012. Joel Mackie *2015. Joel Mackie *2017.

Chris Hyde Chris Hyde (born 9 August 1982) is a former Australian rules football player for the Richmond Football Club. He retired as an AFL player in 2008 after playing 93 games, and now works for the NSW Game Council as the Game Manager for the Snowy ...

Albury Football Club players who played in the VFL / AFL

The following 53 footballers played with Albury and / or (East Albury, West Albury & Border United in the 1930s) prior to playing senior football in the VFL/AFL, with the year indicating their VFL/AFL debut. * 1898 – Conrad ten Brink – Essendon * 1904 -

Peter McCann Peter James McCann (March 6, 1948 – January 26, 2023) was an American songwriter, musician, lecturer, and songwriters' activist. He was known for writing successful pop-rock and country songs, including his 1977 solo hit " Do You Wanna Make Lov ...

- South Melbourne * 1904 - Arthur Percy - South Melbourne * 1904 – Bill Strang – South Melbourne * 1904 – Syd Wright – South Melbourne * 1905 -

Frank Dunne Lawrence Francis Dunne (1898 – 23 December 1937), generally known as "Frank" but also as "Beau" was an Australian cartoonist, born in Boorowa, near Harden, New South Wales. While apprenticed as a process-engraver in 1914, at the outbreak ...

- St. Kilda * 1910 - Les Frauenfelder - Richmond * 1913 – Dick Fitzgerald – South Melbourne * 1914 – Paddy Abbott – South Melbourne, Fitzroy, Richmond * 1925 - Hope Evans - Carlton * 1928 -

Ray Usher Ray Usher (16 October 1904 – 15 April 1964) was a former Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Usher played with the Ebden Rovers Football Club in their losing grand final agai ...

- Melbourne * 1930 - Frank Beggs - Fitzroy * 1930 - Alex Clarke: North Melbourne * 1931 – Haydn Bunton – Fitzroy * 1931 –

Doug Strang Francis Douglas Strang (12 July 1912 – 28 March 1954) was an Australian rules footballer who played as a full forward in the VFL between 1931 and 1935 for the Richmond Football Club. Family He married Ina Lillian McCullough, at Geelong on 1 ...

– Richmond * 1931 –

Gordon Strang Gordon "Cocker" Strang (10 February 1908 – 8 October 1951) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League for the Richmond Football Club between 1931 and 1936. Strang first came under notice when he kick ...

– Richmond * 1932 -

Charlie Kolb Charlie Kolb (14 May 1907 – 27 February 1994) was a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL). In 1933, Kolb was appointed as captain / coach of the Albury Rovers Football Club Albu ...

- Richmond * 1932 - Laurie Plunkett - Fitzroy * 1933 – Bert Clarke – North Melbourne * 1933 -

- Melbourne * 1933 – Colin Strang – St. Kilda * 1936 - Peter Chitty - St. Kilda * 1939 - Frederick William Terrence "Tom" Davey - Hawthorn * 1939 -

Don Seymour Donald J. Seymour (1961 – 26 June 2020) was a Canadian jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing who is the only jockey in history to win two Canadian Triple Crowns. Born in Hamilton, Ontario and raised in Etobicoke, Ontario, Don Seymour began his ...

- Footscray * 1940 –

Norm Betson Norman Edward Betson (8 July 1914 – 5 May 1988) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the early 1940s. Before arriving at Essendon, Betson played with Albury and was captain ...

– Essendon * 1941 – Les Main – Collingwood * 1942 – Jim Matthews – St. Kilda * 1944 – Leslie Gregory – Carlton * 1944 – Bill Wood – Footscray * 1947 – Allan Strang – South Melbourne * 1951 –

– Essendon * 1951 – Loy Stewart – Geelong * 1954 – Keith Thomas – South Melbourne * 1955 - Colin Barton - Geelong * 1955 –

Barry Takle Barry Takle (born 12 January 1935) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia ...

– Hawthorn * 1959 –

Dick Grimmond Dick Grimmond (born 6 July 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond Football Club, Richmond in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL). From his debut in the fifth round of the 1959 VFL sea ...

– Richmond * 1961 –

Ray Thomas Raymond Thomas (29 December 1941 – 4 January 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist, flautist, singer, founding member and composer in the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single "Night ...

– Collingwood * 1962 -

Neville Forge Neville Forge (born 10 April 1940, died 23 December 2023) was a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Forge was recruited to South Melbourne from Albury in the Ovens and Mu ...

- South Melbourne * 1962 – Bill Lieschke – Essendon * 1965 –

Geoff Strang Geoff Strang (9 May 1944 – 20 December 2003) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) in between 1965 and 1971 for the Richmond Football Club. Family He was the grandson of South Melbourne football ...

– Richmond * 1965 – Bruce Waite – Essendon * 1968 -

Bernie Brady Bernie Brady (born 31 August 1947) is a former Australian rules footballer who played one game for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in ...

- Collingwood * 1969 – John Duthie – North Melbourne * 1971 – Phil Baker – North Melbourne * 1974 –

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

– North Melbourne * 1976 – Gary Gray – North Melbourne * 1976 - Don Mattson - Richmond & Essendon * 1981 –

Dennis Carroll Dennis Carroll (born 7 November 1960) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Sydney Swans in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was the last South Melbourne player to retire for Sydney. From Ganmain, a small town o ...

– South Melbourne * 1984 – Tony Hughes – Sydney Swans * 1985 –

Paul Spargo Paul Spargo (born 9 October 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne and the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League (AFL). A half forward, he is the son of Footscray's Grand Final player Bob Sparg ...

– North Melbourne & Brisbane Bears * 1991 –

Ben Doolan Ben Doolan (born 10 January 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Sydney and Essendon in the Australian Football League during the 1990s. Doolan has been the proprietor of bus operator Australian Transit Group since 2004 ...

– Sydney Swans * 1995 –

– Sydney Swans * 1997 –

– Melbourne * 2002 – Daniel Cross – Footscray & Melbourne * 2017 -

Will Setterfield Will Setterfield (born 5 February 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Greater Western Sydney with their second selection and fifth ...

- Greter Western Sydney & Carlton * 2018 –

Charlie Spargo Charlie Spargo (born 25 November 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A small forward, tall and weighing , Spargo plays primarily as a forward, ...

– Melbourne * 2019 –

Zach Sproule Zach Sproule (born 12 May 1998) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Greater Western Sydney in the Australian Football League (AFL). He joined the club as a Category B rookie selections coming from the Giant's Academy. He made h ...

– Greater Western Sydney

References

External links

Albury FNC official website

1929 - East Albury FC team photo

1939 O&MFL Premiers - Albury FC - team photo
{{Ovens & murray football league Ovens & Murray Football League clubs Sports clubs established in 1876 Australian rules football clubs established in 1876 Sport in Albury, New South Wales 1876 establishments in Australia Netball teams in New South Wales Australian rules football clubs in New South Wales