Inglewood Football Club is an 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...

 club based in Inglewood, Victoria

Inglewood, Victoria

Inglewood is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Calder Highway, in the Shire of Loddon. At the 2006 census, Inglewood had a population of 834...

. The club is currently affiliated with the Loddon Valley Football League

Loddon Valley Football League

The Loddon Valley Football League is based in Central Victoria.-History:The Loddon Valley Football League was formed in 1903 and is one of the oldest country leagues to have survived without a name change or amalgamation.-Current:...

.

History

The first mention of football being played in Inglewood is in 1873, when 'the first football match of the season' was played by the Inglewood Cricket and Football Club. The first games were scratch matches between club members. Real interest began to be shown around 1876, when Inglewood played against Korong in a 'grand' football match as part of an Inglewood Hospital fund raiser. Inglewood also played against Serpentine that year, as well as a team of Inglewood 'amateurs' labelling themselves 'the Bothumpians'.

In 1877 the club became a foundation member of the Victorian Football Association (VFA). The Melbourne Football Club

Melbourne Football Club

The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....

 visited Inglewood in 1877, playing a match against an Inglewood District team. A similar match was played against the Carlton Football Club

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...

 in 1878.

In the 1880s and '90's, Inglewood continued playing against local teams, firstly in a competition called the North West Division, and then the Loddon Association, before becoming a foundation member of the Loddon Valley Football League in 1903, taking out the inaugural premiership.

The club then joined the newly formed Korong League in 1908. The club was dominant in the 1920s, playing in 8 grand finals for 5 premierships, under the leadership of Jack Brennan, a former premiership player with South Melbourne in the VFL. Following Brennan's departure the club sought another high profile coach, signing Edward 'Carji' Greeves in 1931. Greeves was a premiership player for Geelong and the first winner of the Brownlow Medal

Brownlow Medal

The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...

for the VFL's Fairest and Best Player.

During the depression in the 1930s Inglewood formed two teams, the 'Stars' and the 'Rovers', competing against Serpentine and Rheola in the Inglewood Football Association. By 1937, the club was back to one team in the Korong League, returning to the Loddon Valley Football League in 1938. The club was very strong between 1946 and 1958, taking out 6 premierships in that period.

The club's most recent premierships came in 1971 and 1986.

The club celebrated it's 125th anniversary in 2001 with premiership reunions and the naming of a Team of the Century.

After reaching the preliminary final in 2003, the club fell upon hard times, enduring a 51 game losing streak. The drought was finally broken in Round 3, 2007. The fact the club survives today is testament to the hard working committee and loyal playing group that backed the club during that difficult period.

Affiliated Competitions

1877 - Victorian Football Association

1877 to c.1890 - North West Division

c1890 to 1902 - Loddon Association

1903 to 1907 - Loddon Valley Football League

1908 to c.1930 - Korong League

c.1932 to c.1936 - Inglewood Football Association

1937 - Korong League

1938 to Present - Loddon Valley Football League

Club Colours

1877 - Blue Jersey, Red Cap, Blue Knicks, Blue and Red Striped Hose

1908 - Blue and White

1930's - 'Stars' - Blue, 'Rovers' - Yellow and Black

1950's to 1980's - Royal Blue with White 'V'

1980's to Present - Navy Blue with White 'IFC' monogram

Home Grounds

1876 to 1882 - Inglewood Public Park (current Golf Course)

1883 to 1947 - Inglewood Recreation Reserve ('Old Rec', bounded by Heales St, Morrow St, Verdon St and Storm Ln)

1948 to Present - Inglewood Community Sports Centre (Grant St)

Premierships

1893 - Loddon Association

1903 - Loddon Valley Football League

1908 - Korong League

1923 - Korong League

1924 - Korong League

1926 - Korong League

1928 - Korong League

1930 - Korong League

1946 - Loddon Valley Football League

1951 - Loddon Valley Football League

1953 - Loddon Valley Football League

1954 - Loddon Valley Football League

1956 - Loddon Valley Football League

1958 - Loddon Valley Football League

1971 - Loddon Valley Football League

1986 - Loddon Valley Football League

Team of the Century

Ralph Medcalf

Windsor Rochester

Charlie Catto

Eddie Harrison

Malcolm Johns

Kelvin Dows

'Carji' Greeves

Norm Hancock

Alec Medcalf

George Vanston

David Cossar

Graham Roberts

Jim Summers

Lindsay Kelly

Ralph Conboy

Ian Drill

Harry Lamprell

Percy Martyn

Ted Bradley

Brian Dowling

Peter Larson

Orm Renshaw

Jim 'Noey' Watts

Darrell Billett

Tim Birthisel

Jack Brennan

Bill Lamprell

Ian Triplett