Until the formation of the VFL in 1897, the Victorian Football Association was the leading football competition in the state. Formed in 1877 the Association replaced the looswaely affiliated leagues and gatherings of clubs that had been the norm since the early days of the game. The founding clubs Albert Park, East Melbourne, Essendon, Geelong, Hotham (later North Melbourne), Melbourne and St. Kilda met at Oliver's Cafe in Collins Street on May 7 to create the organisation fwhich would survive almost 125 years before disbanding.
Despite the emergence of the VFL, the Association continued to remain strong throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, with Sunday football as their drawcard. During the 1940's there was serious talk about a merger of the two competitions, with the VFA forming a second division, but the talks broke down when the two sides split over automatic promotion and relegation against 'playoff' matches to determine league status.
However as the VFL/AFL started to encroach on this, and the money on offer in the big leagues too much for players to turn back, clubs started to falter and attendances dropped. By the late 1980's several famous clubs had gone under and the league had scaled back from a two division operation to one competition.
In 1995 the competition adopted the name "VFL", which had been dropped by the national competition at the start of 1990. Melbourne enjoyed a successful alignment with the Sandringham Zebras from 2000 to 2008, during which Sandringham won four premierships. Since 2009 Melbourne have been aligned with Casey.
Seasons
Records (1877-1896)
| Opponent | Wins | Draws | Losses
|
| Albert Park | 2 | 2 | 2
|
| Ballarat | 4 | 0 | 2
|
| Ballarat Imperial | 0 | 0 | 3
|
| Barwon | 0 | 1 | 0
|
| Carlton | 18 | 9 | 25
|
| Collingwood | 5 | 1 | 1
|
| East Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 0
|
| Essendon | 9 | 9 | 24
|
| Fitzroy | 5 | 5 | 13
|
| Footscray | 13 | 1 | 1
|
| Geelong | 8 | 4 | 26
|
| Hotham | 14 | 5 | 10
|
| North Melbourne | 9 | 1 | 5
|
| Port Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 7
|
| Prahran | 1 | 0 | 0
|
| Richmond | 12 | 5 | 6
|
| South Ballarat | 1 | 0 | 0
|
| South Melbourne | 12 | 6 | 20
|
| South Williamstown | 2 | 0 | 0
|
| St Kilda | 10 | 1 | 6
|
| University | 6 | 0 | 0
|
| West Melbourne | 2 | 1 | 2
|
| Williamstown | 10 | 3 | 6 |
Players
Players that played for VFA/VFL clubs before or after (but not during) their MFC career. Does not include VFL affiliated clubs while on an AFL list.
Bendigo Diggers/Bombers
Box Hill
Brighton/Caulfield
Brisbane Lions
Brunswick
Camberwell
Carlton
Coburg
Collingwood
Dandenong
Essendon
Essendon Association
Frankston
Geelong Association
Geelong
Geelong West
Hawthorn
Hotham/North Melbourne
Melbourne City
Moorabbin
Mordialloc
North Ballarat
Northcote
Oakleigh
Port Melbourne
Prahran
Preston/Northern Bullants
Richmond
Sandringham
Denis Clark
Kelvin Clarke
Alf Copsey
Jamie Duursma
Frank Giampaolo
Peter Giles
David Grant
Jack Hiscock
Barry Hodges
Cameron Hunter | 2009-2010 |
Brent Jones
Carlyle Jones
David Kelly
Alan Krause
Chris Lamb
Norm Leverton
Bill London
Andy Lovell (Coach)
Brett Lovett (Coach)
Marty Lyons
James Magner
Ron McKenzie
Glenn McLean
Tom McLean
Graham Osborne
Mal Owens
Billy Quinn
Phil Rhoden
Kelvin Richards
Guy Rigoni
Haydn Robins
Frank Rugolo
Joe Rugolo
Ray Sampson
Frank Scanlan
Jamie Shanahan
John Sparks
Len Toyne
Bill Tymms
Shane Valenti
Glenn Walley
Stephen Wearne
Fred Webster
Terry Wilkins
Charles Young Player|Years|Notes
Jay Lockhart |2022- |
Player|Years|Notes
Shane Burgmann
Ted Carroll | 1982-1985|
Gary Cooke
Troy Davis
Russell Dickson
Greg Doyle
Laurie Fowler (Captain/Coach)
Glenn Giles
Peter Keays
John Kerr
Doug Koop
Jay Lockhart
Brett Lovett (Coach)
Phil Pinnell (Captain/Coach)
Scott Simister
Tim Smith
Corey Wagner
Mitch White Player|
Years|
Notes
Ben Beams Player|
Years|
Notes
Peter Brenchley
Ross Brewer
Bob Carroll
Russell Dickson
Alec Ingwersen
Laurie Fowler
John Gallus
Bob Langford
Bernie Massey
Kevin Mithen
David Murray
Ken Osborne
Neville Stone
Tony Sullivan (Coach)
Tony Thiessen
Ian Thorogood (Captain/Coach)
Player|
Years|
Notes
David Allday
Bill Baxter
John Comben
Neil Crompton (Captain/Coach)
Ted Fidge
Jack Henderson
Aidan Johnson
Barry Ough
Greg Sizer
Shaun Smith Player|
Years|
Notes
Albert Gourlay
George McCart
Alec McDonald
Les Minto
Harry Rigby Player|
Years|
Notes
Dale Anderson
George Archibald
Shane Braddy
Billy Bremner
Arthur Britt
Jack Cannan
John Dorgan
Adrian Dullard (Captain/Coach)
Tony Dullard
Dave Elliman
Frank Ellis
Joel Fitzgerald | 2024 - 2026
Tom Fullarton | 2026 -
Eric Glass
Marty Hore
Frank Hughes
Jim Jenkinson
Ben Kennedy
Gordon Landy
John Lord 1921-1923 (Captain/Coach)
Oscar McDonald
Todd McHardy
George McNeilage
Hughie McPherson
Bobby Monk
Aubrey Neal
Bernie Neenan
Gordon Ogden
Laurie Ogilvie
((2026
Vern Rowe
Tom Sadlier
Craig Smoker
Bob Spargo
Percy Streeter
George Woods Player|Years|Notes
Peter Hannan
Ron Irwin
David Kelly
Brian Leahy
Tom Magee
Gordon Ogden (coach)
Percy Streeter
Kevin Webb ||
Media
The Argus - 09/05/1877