Loading...
 

1878

President - Dr Ford
Vice-Presidents - Byrne, Forrester, Harrison, Dr. Gray
Secretary - Jenvey
Captain - Bob Sillett
Vice-Captain - Fred Baker
Leading goalkicker - Charles Baker - 10
Treasurer - Moffat (until May) - EW Longden
Committee - EW Longden (until May), J. Anthony (from May)

West Melbourne and Essendon were promoted to the VFA senior ranks, and the Association formalised the start of the season in early May instead of on the Queen's Birthday (24 May) as in previous years. Melbourne proposed a game against University in Sydney but the match was not played.

Geelong were premiers, beating Melbourne in an extra 'playoff' game at the end of the season. Melbourne had won less games than Carlton, but by virtue of their four-nil head to head record during the year the Reds were considered to be the best 'city' team. They had an up-and-down season, losing several games to junior or country teams when players didn't consider the fixture important enough to show up for.

In The Australasian's team of the year Longden (followers), McKie (backs), Sandilands and Downes (forwards) were named.

The club ended the season with a credit balance of 78p, 3s, 4d.

VFA matches

DateOpponentResult
24 May Ballarat LOSS
25 May South Melbourne WIN
1 June Hotham LOSS
8 June Carlton WIN
15 June Albert Park DRAW
22 June West Melbourne DRAW
6 July St Kilda LOSS
13 July Carlton WIN
27 July Essendon LOSS
3 August Albert Park WIN
10 August Hotham DRAW
24 August Carlton WIN
31 August Essendon DRAW
7 September Albert Park DRAW
14 September West Melbourne LOSS
21 September Hotham WIN
28 September Carlton WIN
5 October Geelong LOSS

Other matches

DateOpponentResult
11 May Hawthorn LOSS
18 May Clifton WIN
25 May South Melbourne WIN
20 July Williamstown WIN
17 August Victorian WIN
19 August Victorian WIN
UNKNOWN Horsham WIN

Players

Thomas Anthony, Charles Baker, Fred Baker, Henry Batterbury, J. Bell, James Bennie, Joseph Birtwistle, John Booth, William Boys, Joseph Cook, Ted Cooke, W. Cook, J. Cooper, Frank Crohan, Crooke, Donaldson, Harry Downes, Charles Forrester, P. Goldsmith, A. Henderson, George Houston, Charles Jenvey, Frederick Kitz, Sam Lamrock, Thomas Lempriere, Edward Longden, Arthur Longden, John Macdonald, Alfred McKie, Jim McKie, Utar Nicholas, Norman, Fred Page, G. Page, P. Page, Hugh Ross, Will Sandilands, Percy Serjeant, C. Sherrard, Bob Sillett, Slight, Bob Simson, Fred Stephen, C. Swanson, J. Tennent, Frank Waldron, Horatio Webb, Egbert Wills

Goalkickers

Charles Baker 10, Fred Baker 4, J. Cook 3, James Bennie 2, Ted Cooke 2, F. Crohan 2, E. Longden 2, Utar Nicholas 2, Frank Waldron 2, W. Boys 1, J. Cooper 1, John Macdonald 1, A. McKie 1, Will Sandilands 1

Second 20

DateOpponentResultScore
11 May Toorak LOSS 0-3
18 May NorthcoteDRAW2-2
24 May Seymour WIN 11-0
25 May Hawthorn LOSS 1-3
1 June Hotham DRAW 2-2
15 June Albert Park WIN 2-1
29 June WarwickWIN1-0
6 JulySt KildaWIN4-0
20 July CarltonDRAW0-0
27 JulyEssendonWIN1-0
3 August WarwickWIN2-0
10 AugustHothamWIN2-0
17 AugustToorak WIN1-0
31 August Carlton 2-0
7 September Albert Park LOSS 0-2
14 SeptemberSt KildaWIN2-0
21 September Geelong LOSS 2-4

Media
Age - 09/04/1878
Australian Town and Country Journal - 20/04/1878
Australasian - 12/10/1878
Age - 18/06/1878
Sydney Morning Herald 20/08/1878
Australasian - 12/04/1879
"Origins of Australian Football: Volume 2" by Mark Pennings

Links
Blueseum 1878 page
VFA Results and Tables

Created by supermercado. Last Modification: Sunday 20 August 2023 12:29:10 AEST by Supermercado. (Version 32)

Donate to Demonwiki

Search

Google Search