Coach: Norm Smith
Captain: Denis Cordner
Finishing Position: 11th
Best and Fairest: Ken Melville
Leading Goalkicker: Bob McKenzie (38)
Best First Year Player: Ken Melville
Members: 3600
| Matches | Ladder | Playing List | Best and Fairest | Seconds | Thirds | Fourths |
After an encouraging start under Norm Smith, climbing from last to sixth, the Demons crashed again, plummeting back to 11th - just half a game above last place.
With the last remaining stars of the 1948 premiership team either gone or on the way out, Smith used the season to blood 19 new players, many of whom went on to be part of the 1955 Premiership.
Losing 10 of their first 11 games put the Demons in danger of finishing last, but two wins and a draw in the second half of the season helped them to climb above Hawthorn avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.
Richard Taylor replaced Wally Scott as Melbourne's VFL delegate, sitting alongside Bert Chadwick.
Bob McKenzie and Lance Arnold were Melbourne's players in July's interstate carnival winning side.
The Thirds won their premiership, showing that there was talent coming through the ranks to contribute to Smith's 'rebuild'. For the first time teams were able to sign players to their Third 18 but allow them to play with their original club when not required.
Before the season Melbourne and Richmond had joined to veto a move to allow Carlton to play at the MCG while Princes Park was being prepared for the Olympics. Melbourne objected that it was impractical for two clubs to use the ground for training, but left the door open to the club playing matches there. The proposal did not come to fruition.
The disappointing season led to a deficit, with 8990p of income and 10,484p in expenses.
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result | ||||
| 1 | Richmond | LOSS | ||||
| 2 | Carlton | LOSS | ||||
| 3 | North Melbourne | LOSS | ||||
| 4 | Footscray | LOSS | ||||
| 5 | Essendon | WIN | ||||
| 6 | Fitzroy | LOSS | ||||
| 7 | Geelong | LOSS | ||||
| 8 | South Melbourne | LOSS | ||||
| 9 | Collingwood | LOSS | ||||
| 10 | Hawthorn | LOSS | ||||
| 11 | St. Kilda | LOSS | ||||
| 12 | Richmond | DRAW | ||||
| 13 | Carlton | LOSS | ||||
| 14 | North Melbourne | WIN | ||||
| 15 | Footscray | LOSS | ||||
| 16 | Essendon | LOSS | ||||
| 17 | Fitzroy | WIN | ||||
| 18 | Geelong | LOSS | ||||
Lightning Premiership
| Round | Opponent | Result | ||||
| 1 | South Melbourne | LOSS | ||||
Exhibition match
| Opponent | Result | Score | ||||
| Army | ? | ? | ||||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | ||
| Geelong | 15 | 0 | 3 | 143.3 | 60 | |
| Collingwood | 14 | 0 | 4 | 123.5 | 56 | |
| Footscray | 13 | 0 | 5 | 136.5 | 52 | |
| Essendon | 13 | 0 | 5 | 129.9 | 52 | |
| Carlton | 10 | 0 | 8 | 107.6 | 40 | |
| Fitzroy | 10 | 0 | 8 | 85.0 | 40 | |
| North Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 107.8 | 36 | |
| South Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 104.7 | 36 | |
| St. Kilda | 5 | 0 | 13 | 68.2 | 20 | |
| Richmond | 3 | 1 | 14 | 81.3 | 14 | |
| Melbourne | 3 | 1 | 14 | 80.1 | 14 | |
| Hawthorn | 3 | 0 | 15 | 68.5 | 12 | |
Playing List
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | |||
| 1 | Denis Cordner | 18 | 15 | |||
| 2 | Robert McKenzie | 17 | 38 | |||
| 3 | Peter Marquis | 17 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Ken Christie | 18 | 2 | |||
| 5 | Ian McLean | 9 | 0 | |||
| 6 | Ken Albiston | 17 | 11 | |||
| 7 | Geoff Case | 12 | 0 | |||
| 8 | Don Cameron | 2 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Max Orr | 2 | 0 | |||
| 10 | Lance Arnold | 17 | 0 | |||
| 11 | Jim Wilson | 2 | 2 | |||
| 11 | Peter Schofield | 6 | 14 | |||
| 12 | Stuart Spencer | 16 | 10 | |||
| 13 | Alan Krause | 3 | 1 | |||
| 17 | Geoff McGivern | 18 | 13 | |||
| 18 | Nevin Paynter | 7 | 0 | |||
| 19 | Keith Carroll | 6 | 0 | |||
| 21 | Noel Baker | 2 | 0 | |||
| 22 | John Ferguson | 3 | 0 | |||
| 23 | Leigh Gloury | 9 | 1 | |||
| 24 | Bill Morrow | 6 | 4 | |||
| 25 | Don Williams | 16 | 0 | |||
| 26 | Noel Clarke | 15 | 6 | |||
| 27 | Neil Whitaker | 1 | 0 | |||
| 28 | Terry Gleeson | 2 | 0 | |||
| 29 | Tony Bull | 4 | 1 | |||
| 30 | John Beckwith | 16 | 0 | |||
| 31 | Ron Barassi | 6 | 0 | |||
| 32 | Dale Anderson | 6 | 14 | |||
| 33 | Jack Thomson | 15 | 7 | |||
| 34 | Ralph Lane | 13 | 2 | |||
| 35 | Noel McMahen | 17 | 0 | |||
| 36 | Keith Robinson | 3 | 0 | |||
| 37 | Mike Woods | 7 | 4 | |||
| 38 | Ken Melville | 17 | 0 | |||
| 39 | Maurie Reeves | 10 | 4 | |||
| 40 | Bob Constable | 3 | 1 | |||
| 41 | Frank Adams | 4 | 5 | |||
| 43 | Ron McKenzie | 1 | 0 | |||
Best and Fairest
| Player | Votes | |||||
| 1st | Ken Melville | |||||
| 2nd | Denis Cordner | |||||
| 3rd | Stuart Spencer | |||||
Other Awards
Consistent Player - John Beckwith and Stuart Spencer (shared)
Tribunal
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | |||
| Round 6, 1953 Seconds | Jim Wilson Striking | 2 matches | ||||
| Round 8 | Lance Arnold | Kicking | Not Guilty | |||
Seconds
| W | D | L | % | P | ||
| Essendon | 16 | 0 | 2 | 161.4 | 64 | |
| Richmond | 14 | 0 | 4 | 127.8 | 56 | |
| North Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 6 | 101.3 | 48 | |
| Carlton | 11 | 0 | 7 | 121.7 | 44 | |
| Collingwood | 9 | 0 | 9 | 114.6 | 36 | |
| South Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 100.4 | 36 | |
| Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 9 | 95.8 | 36 | |
| Fitzroy | 8 | 0 | 10 | 98.0 | 32 | |
| Geelong | 7 | 0 | 11 | 86.3 | 28 | |
| Footscray | 6 | 0 | 12 | 92.6 | 24 | |
| Hawthorn | 4 | 0 | 14 | 72.5 | 16 | |
| St Kilda | 3 | 0 | 15 | 66.0 | 12 | |
Thirds
Captain - Robert B Johnson
1953 Thirds season
Leading Goalkicker - Jeff Crouch (42 goals)
| W | D | L | % | P | ||
| Melbourne | 14 | 0 | 2 | 175.3 | 56 | |
| Footscray | 12 | 1 | 3 | 148.6 | 50 | |
| Collingwood | 12 | 0 | 4 | 134.6 | 48 | |
| Essendon | 10 | 1 | 5 | 162.4 | 42 | |
| Fitzroy | 9 | 1 | 6 | 127.2 | 38 | |
| Geelong | 9 | 0 | 7 | 86.7 | 36 | |
| Carlton | 7 | 0 | 9 | 100.7 | 28 | |
| South Melbourne | 6 | 1 | 9 | 91.2 | 26 | |
| North Melbourne | 5 | 0 | 11 | 96.2 | 20 | |
| Richmond | 5 | 0 | 11 | 82.2 | 20 | |
| Hawthorn | 4 | 0 | 12 | 55.0 | 16 | |
| St Kilda | 1 | 0 | 15 | 38.6 | 4 | |
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | ||||
| SF | Footscray | WIN | ||||
| GF | Essendon | WIN | ||||