1905 VFL Grand Final
Encyclopedia
The 1905 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football
game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club
and Collingwood Football Club
, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
in Melbourne
on 30 September 1905. It was the 8th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League
, staged to determine the premiers for the 1905 VFL season
. The match, attended by 28,000 spectators, was won by Fitzroy by a margin of 13 points, marking that club's fourth premiership victory and second in succession.
in the fourteenth round. Fitzroy had been on top until the return match between the two sides in the eighth round, but slumped a little during the latter half of the season with losses to Geelong
and Carlton
, plus a draw with South Melbourne
. In the finals, however, Fitzroy had bounced back against Essendon, whilst Collingwood had failed badly against the Blues - losing by 46 points, which was a big margin at the time.
September 1905 was by far the coldest September ever known in Melbourne since records began in 1855. The average maximum temperature was 13.53 °C (56.4 °F) and the average minimum 5.6 °C (42.1 °F) as against averages up to 1996 of 17.08 °C (62.7 °F) and 7.7 °C (45.9 °F). The result was that, although no rain actually fell during the game, the frequent showers earlier in the month were never able to evaporate before the match was played, leaving the MCG very heavy and soft all through. Combined with a biting cold wind and temperatures of around 11 °C (51.8 °F), this made conditions very difficult.
No goals were scored in the first quarter, and only one behind in the last. In the third quarter, however, Fitzroy's superior pace and power allowed it to kick three goals with the wind, which gave it a comfortable winning margin.
As in 1927
and 1960
, the 1905 Grand Final saw the losing team kick the lowest score for the entire season. In fact, with the exception of the 1927 Grand Final and two games in 1906 and 1908, no V/AFL match has had a lower aggregate score than the 1905 Grand Final's 6.11 (47). More notably, only one match since (Footscray versus Fitzroy in 1953) has had as few as seventeen aggregate scoring shots. Apart from the 1960 Grand Final, Collingwood has not kicked a lower score since 1901.
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...
game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club
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...
and Collingwood Football Club
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 30 September 1905. It was the 8th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, staged to determine the premiers for the 1905 VFL season
1905 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1905.-Premiership season:In 1905, 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...
. The match, attended by 28,000 spectators, was won by Fitzroy by a margin of 13 points, marking that club's fourth premiership victory and second in succession.
Background
During the home-and-away season of 1905, Collingwood had dominated, losing only two games, one of them in the opening round to Fitzroy and the other to EssendonEssendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in the fourteenth round. Fitzroy had been on top until the return match between the two sides in the eighth round, but slumped a little during the latter half of the season with losses to Geelong
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
and 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...
, plus a draw with South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The 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...
. In the finals, however, Fitzroy had bounced back against Essendon, whilst Collingwood had failed badly against the Blues - losing by 46 points, which was a big margin at the time.
September 1905 was by far the coldest September ever known in Melbourne since records began in 1855. The average maximum temperature was 13.53 °C (56.4 °F) and the average minimum 5.6 °C (42.1 °F) as against averages up to 1996 of 17.08 °C (62.7 °F) and 7.7 °C (45.9 °F). The result was that, although no rain actually fell during the game, the frequent showers earlier in the month were never able to evaporate before the match was played, leaving the MCG very heavy and soft all through. Combined with a biting cold wind and temperatures of around 11 °C (51.8 °F), this made conditions very difficult.
No goals were scored in the first quarter, and only one behind in the last. In the third quarter, however, Fitzroy's superior pace and power allowed it to kick three goals with the wind, which gave it a comfortable winning margin.
As in 1927
1927 VFL Grand Final
The 1927 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 1 October 1927...
and 1960
1960 VFL Grand Final
The 1960 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September of 1960 in extremely wet conditions due to persistent rain during the previous week...
, the 1905 Grand Final saw the losing team kick the lowest score for the entire season. In fact, with the exception of the 1927 Grand Final and two games in 1906 and 1908, no V/AFL match has had a lower aggregate score than the 1905 Grand Final's 6.11 (47). More notably, only one match since (Footscray versus Fitzroy in 1953) has had as few as seventeen aggregate scoring shots. Apart from the 1960 Grand Final, Collingwood has not kicked a lower score since 1901.
Result
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood | 0.1 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 (17) |
| Fitzroy | 0.3 | 1.3 | 4.6 | 4.6 (30) |
| Best | Fitzroy | Bailes (best on ground), Jenkins, Beauchamp, Millis, Fontaine, Johnson, L. Barker, Walker |
| Collingwood | Drohan, Pears, Dummett, Rush, Green, Strachan | |
| Goals | Fitzroy | Millis, Trotter, Brosnan, L. Barker |
| Collingwood | Nash, Pears |
Teams
- Field umpire - Ivor 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...
- Boundary umpire - Jack DavidsonJack DavidsonJack Davidson was an Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne and South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League ....