1904 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1904.
Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 14 rounds.
Once the 14 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1904 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".
defeated Carlton
9.7 (61) to 5.7 (37). (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football
).
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
season of 1904.
Premiership season
In 1904, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 14 rounds.
Once the 14 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1904 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".
Grand final
FitzroyFitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
defeated Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
9.7 (61) to 5.7 (37). (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
).
| Team | 1 Qtr | 2 Qtr | 3 Qtr | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitzroy Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897... |
3.1 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 9.7 (61) |
| Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
1.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 5.7 (37) |
Awards
- The 1904 VFL Premiership team was FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
. - The VFL's leading goalkickerColeman MedalThe Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
was Vince Coutie of MelbourneMelbourne Football ClubThe Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
with 39 goals. - St Kilda took the "wooden spoonWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
" in 1904.
Notable events
- The final home-and-away match between South MelbourneSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
and FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
at the Lake OvalLake OvalThe Lake Oval was an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Albert Park, Victoria. It was the home of the South Melbourne Football Club from 1878 until their relocation to Sydney in 1982 , and also of the South Melbourne Cricket Club...
was a torrid affair; Billy McGeeBilly McGeeBilly McGee is the sheriff of Forrest County, Mississippi, . He gained nationwide popularity for working against the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He is considered to be a Robin Hood figure by the majority of the citizens of Forrest County...
of South Melbourne and Harry ClarkeHarry J. ClarkeHarry J. Clarke was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL.A centreman, Clarke played in three Fitzroy premierships, 1898, 1899 and 1904. He also finished on losing Grand Final teams on two occasions....
of Fitzroy were each suspended for three matches, whilst South Melbourne's Billy GentBilly GentWilliam 'Billy' Gent was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League .A rover from Essendon Association, Gent was noted for his bad behaviour on the field...
who had run amok during the match, charging at players and punching them in the face, was suspended for the remainder of the 1904 season and the whole of the 1905 season. - After the drawn match between Geelong and Carlton at Corio OvalCorio OvalCorio Oval was an Australian rules football ground, located in Geelong, Victoria and used by the Geelong Football Club in the VFL from 1897 to 1941. Located in the Eastern Gardens, the oval was served by trams from 1930 when the line was extended....
on 9 July 1904, a spectator is arrested for attacking the field umpire, Henry "Ivo" CrappHenry 'Ivo' CrappHenry 'Ivor' Crapp , was a leading Australian rules football field umpire in the Victorian Football League at its formation in the 1890s, and with the West Australian Football League in the early 1900s...
. - The VFL introduces boundary umpires.
- In round four, Essendon plays Melbourne in Sydney in front of only 6,000 spectators at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
, loses to Melbourne, takes five days to return to Melbourne by sea, then loses again to Fitzroy in their Saturday's round five match. - In the Final Premiership match Carlton was surging ahead of Fitzroy, and one of the Carlton forwards (Ross, 1996, does not name him, but it was most likely Mick GraceMick GraceMichael John Grace was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League and Victorian Football Association ....
) took a powerful high overhead mark with his knees in his opponent's back. The field umpire, Henry "Ivo" CrappHenry 'Ivo' CrappHenry 'Ivor' Crapp , was a leading Australian rules football field umpire in the Victorian Football League at its formation in the 1890s, and with the West Australian Football League in the early 1900s...
, obeying the VFL rules of the day, paid a free kick to the Fitzroy player for "interference". Fitzroy steadied and went on to win the game. There was such an outcry after the match that the VFL immediately amended its rules to allow for what it now termed "unintentional interference".