The Victorian Football Club, "The Victorians", renamed the North Adelaide Football Club for the 1883 season, was 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 ...
club based in
North Adelaide, South Australia
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.
History
Surveyor-General William Ligh ...
.
History
Formed in 1874, the club finished second in the interclub competition in 1875 and won in 1876, becoming a founding member of the South Australian Football Association (SAFA) in 1877, sharing the competition's inaugural premiership with .
The Victorian Football Club first recorded game was against a team called Young Clubs on Saturday 13 June 1874. The game resulted in a victory with the only goal kicked by H. Barry who played excellently all afternoon.
The club's home ground was established in May 1875 west of and at the foot of
Montefiore Hill
Montefiore Hill is a small hill in North Adelaide, South Australia, which affords a view over the Adelaide city centre. Location and description
The hill lies within the northern Adelaide Parklands, within the area known as Park 26: Adelaide O ...
, North Adelaide and was used until the end of the 1881 season.
At the 1875 annual dinner held at the Crown and Sceptre Hotel on Wednesday evening, 15 September the secretary, G. E. Downs reported that the club had only lost the opening match out of nine matches played, and that they had obtained 23 goals in these matches to four goals scored against them.
The Victorian Football Club captained by G. Downs was the first to play a game against the newly formed
South Adelaide Football Club
The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium1877.
One notable game that the Victorian Football Club played was the first intercolonial match involving a South Australian club. The game was held on 11 August 1877 on the Adelaide Exhibition Grounds against 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, ...
, with the visitors winning 1 goal to nil.
At the Annual General Meeting held on Friday 16 March 1883 at Scotch Thistle Hotel, North Adelaide, with 40 members present, the club resolved to change its name to North Adelaide Football Club.
Having struggled to compete in its later years following an exodus of players, the club disbanded at the end of the 1884 SAFA season, having finished last in each of the preceding two seasons. The club's last game was at Kensington Oval vs Norwood on 27 Sep 1884, which was a loss. Two weeks earlier, the "Tigers" had their only win of the season, an upset victory over Norwood who had been SAFA premiers for the last five seasons (by 4 goals 4 behinds to 2 goals 10 behinds).
Several of their players joined the Hotham Club for the 1885 season.
SAFA 1877-1884 Ladder Positions
Notable players
George Edward Downs was Captain of the Club and South Australia's First Captain. He also became a First Class Cricket Umpire and a Test Umpire for one test in 1892.
Frank Marlow
Frank Marlow (10 January 1869 – 13 August 1935) was a long-serving administrator of Australian rules football in South Australia; as secretary of South Adelaide Football Club and of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Histo ...
was a player who became a long-serving administrator as secretary of South Adelaide Football Club and of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL); most likely his brother Alf Marlow as well; both transferred to
South Adelaide
The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University StadiumGilles Street, Adelaide
Gilles Street is a street in the south-eastern sector of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia.Map of ...
List of SANFL premiers
This page is a chronological listing of the premiership winners in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) – the premier Australian rules football competition in the state of South Australia.
Chronological list
Number of ...
(1): 1877, Inaugural SAFA Club Champion shared with South Adelaide