Melbourne University Football Club
Encyclopedia
Melbourne University Football Club, often known simply as University is an Australian rules football
club.
The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, the Victorian Football League
(the forerunner of the Australian Football League) between 1908 and 1914.
Although there are no records of its exact formation, University's first recorded match took place in the same month that the Castlemaine Football Club
was formed making it likely that University is the second oldest club
in Australia after Melbourne
.
. The first report of the university participating in a match was against St Kilda in June 1859. According to ‘Gymnastic’, writing in the sporting newspaper Bell's Life in Victoria, the ‘long pending match’ finally came off between two teams of 15. University was captained by a player called Phillips and St Kilda emerged the winners, under the method where the first team to score two out of three goals was victorious.
That same year it played against teams from Albert Park
, Carlton
, Melbourne
, Royal Park and South Yarra. In 1861, University defeated Melbourne to win the first ever trophy for Australian football, instituted as part of the Calendonian Society's Games.
During the 1870s, the club played in the Second Twenties competition, one level lower than the main competition, the South Yarra Challenge Cup. From 1885 to 1888, University played in the VFA which at the time was the sport's major governing body. Following these years, the club was variously dormant or played in other competitions including the Metropolitan Junior Football Association, the Colleges Football Association and from 1905 to 1907 was a dominant member of the Metropolitan Football Association.
On 4 October 1907 the eight founding clubs of the VFL
voted unanimously to include University in the league as its ninth team. Richmond Football Club
became the 10th team two weeks later. The club's home ground was originally the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, where it was a tenant of the Essendon Football Club. Later the club relocated to the Melbourne Cricket Ground
which it also shared, this time with the Melbourne Football Club
.
The club was nicknamed The Students and The Professors and The Shop. The players wore a black guernsey with a blue chevron and blue collars and cuffs (the same design is still used to this day), black and blue socks and an optional black and blue cap. Players had to have matriculated
or hold a higher degree to be eligible to play in the team. It is unique among VFL/AFL clubs in never having any professional (paid) players.
The club was not particularly successful: it never finished higher than sixth in the 10 team competition, and never played in a finals series. It finished last in the competition from 1911 to 1914, losing its last 51 games in a row. In total, it lost 97 of its 126 games between the 1908 and 1914 seasons.
When World War I
broke out, many young men enlisted to fight, leaving the club with far too few players. It withdrew from the League before the beginning of the 1915 season, and disbanded, with the remaining players joining Melbourne. There was no hope of re-forming it after the War as it suffered the highest rate of casualties of the league.
between 1908 and 1914. Bert Hurrey played the most amount of games for the club (101), the only University player to play at least 100 games in the VFL. Roy Park
was the club's leading goalscorer, kicking 111 goals between 1912 and 1914, including winning the VFL's Leading Goalkicker Award
in 1913, kicking 53 goals for the home-and-away season, a remarkable effort considering the team itself managed only 123 for the whole season!
In the summer of 1919, after the War, Melbourne University began to rebuild its football involvement. Deciding not to reapply for a position in the VFL, they were instead requested by the VFL
to supply two teams to the newly-formed VFL Reserves competition, or the Victorian Junior Football League. These two teams were initially called University A and B, but soon became known as "University Blues" and "University Blacks", respectively (the teams were only officially called the Blues and Blacks in 1930). The Blues contested the 1919 and 1920 VJFL Grand Finals, losing to Collingwood
on both occasions; the Blacks moved to the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association in 1920, and the following season, were joined by the Blues. Both contested the 1921 MAFA Grand Final, with the Blacks winning what to date is the only grand final the two teams have contested in the MAFA or VAFA.
Melbourne University students and alumni continue to maintain their involvement in football through the Blues and Blacks. The Melbourne University Football Club is unique in that it only plays as "Melbourne University" in inter-university matches, and its regular weekly competition is provided through its component teams, University Blues and University Blacks. The Blues and Blacks play in the Victorian Amateur Football Association
, and have been a perennial power in the highest division of a high-standard amateur competition.
Up until the 1950s, the Blacks were the leading University side as well as one of the dominant sides in the Amateur competition, winning 11 A Section premierships by 1949. However, in the later part of the century the Blues established themselves as the premier University side, and are currently the second longest serving club to play in the top division of the VAFA. Whilst the Blacks have won a total of 13 A section flags (the most in the VAFA) and the Blues three (with their most recent being in 2004), in the years since the 1980s it has been the Blues that have maintained the club's presence in A Section. Throughout their history, the Blues and Blacks have often played together in A section of the MAFA/VAFA, and with the Blacks return to A section in 2008 after a prolonged absence, the teams met again for the first time in 25 years. In head to head matches, the Blues lead the win tally with 43 wins to the Black's 36 and one draw. Regrettably, the Blacks were relegated to B section again at the end of 2008 and further matches will have to wait.
Both teams have consistently been a spawning ground for young players who go on to the AFL
. To date 240 MUFC players have played in the VFL/AFL competition. Latest is Daniel Nicholson (Melbourne 2011)
From 1955 until 1996, an additional team was fielded by the club called "University Reds" which competed in the VAFA, with a firsts and reserves team and predominately in the lower sections (the Reds achieved the lofty heights of D Section in 1982, but otherwise played mainly in E or F Section). When the team was discontinued by the club, players and supporters of the team decided to keep the team operating and it continues to this day as Fitzroy Reds. The Fitzroy Reds merged with the Fitzroy Football Club
in 2008.
In 1996, a women's team was formed, but established under its own club structure rather than being part of the MUFC. Named the Melbourne University Mugars
(Melbourne University Girls Aussie Rules Squad), the women's football club wears the same uniform and currently fields 3 senior teams and 2 under-age teams in the Victorian Women's Football League
and AFL Victoria's Youth Girls competitions. The MUWFC has won 5 premierships since making its first of ten VWFL grand finals in 2001. The club is Australia's largest women's football club, with 145 players participating in 2007 across the five teams.
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.
The club achieved prominence by being a member of the game's most elite competition in the early 20th century, 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...
(the forerunner of the Australian Football League) between 1908 and 1914.
Although there are no records of its exact formation, University's first recorded match took place in the same month that the Castlemaine Football Club
Castlemaine Football Club
Castlemaine Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia and is currently a member of the Bendigo Football League.The club is notable for several reasons...
was formed making it likely that University is the second oldest club
Oldest football club
The history of the formation of the oldest football clubs is of interest to sport historians in tracing the origins of the modern codes of football from casual pastime to early organised competition and mainstream sport. Many early clubs did not use the word "football" in their name...
in Australia after Melbourne
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....
.
Early history
University was founded in 1859 by students and graduates of the University of MelbourneUniversity of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. The first report of the university participating in a match was against St Kilda in June 1859. According to ‘Gymnastic’, writing in the sporting newspaper Bell's Life in Victoria, the ‘long pending match’ finally came off between two teams of 15. University was captained by a player called Phillips and St Kilda emerged the winners, under the method where the first team to score two out of three goals was victorious.
That same year it played against teams from Albert Park
Albert Park Football Club
Albert Park Football Club is an Australian rules football club located 3 km south of Melbourne in the suburb of Albert Park.Originally affiliated with the VFA during the 19th century.The club colours are red and white....
, 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...
, Melbourne
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....
, Royal Park and South Yarra. In 1861, University defeated Melbourne to win the first ever trophy for Australian football, instituted as part of the Calendonian Society's Games.
During the 1870s, the club played in the Second Twenties competition, one level lower than the main competition, the South Yarra Challenge Cup. From 1885 to 1888, University played in the VFA which at the time was the sport's major governing body. Following these years, the club was variously dormant or played in other competitions including the Metropolitan Junior Football Association, the Colleges Football Association and from 1905 to 1907 was a dominant member of the Metropolitan Football Association.
VFL history
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
voted unanimously to include University in the league as its ninth team. Richmond Football Club
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
became the 10th team two weeks later. The club's home ground was originally the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, where it was a tenant of the Essendon Football Club. Later the club relocated to 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...
which it also shared, this time with 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....
.
The club was nicknamed The Students and The Professors and The Shop. The players wore a black guernsey with a blue chevron and blue collars and cuffs (the same design is still used to this day), black and blue socks and an optional black and blue cap. Players had to have matriculated
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
or hold a higher degree to be eligible to play in the team. It is unique among VFL/AFL clubs in never having any professional (paid) players.
The club was not particularly successful: it never finished higher than sixth in the 10 team competition, and never played in a finals series. It finished last in the competition from 1911 to 1914, losing its last 51 games in a row. In total, it lost 97 of its 126 games between the 1908 and 1914 seasons.
When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, many young men enlisted to fight, leaving the club with far too few players. It withdrew from the League before the beginning of the 1915 season, and disbanded, with the remaining players joining Melbourne. There was no hope of re-forming it after the War as it suffered the highest rate of casualties of the league.
VFL Honour roll
| Year | Position | Coach | Captain | Leading goalkicker (goals) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 | 6 | Tom Fogarty Tom Fogarty Fr. Tom Fogarty is a retired Irish hurling manager, former player and Roman Catholic priest. He played hurling with his local club Moyne-Templetuohy and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team in the 1960s and 1970s... |
Martin Ratz Martin Ratz Martin Ratz was former Australian rules footballer who played with University.-Sources:*Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim . The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.... (25) |
|
| 1909 | 7 | Harry Cordner Harry Cordner Harry Cordner was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne and University in the Victorian Football League .-References:... |
Albert Hartkopf Albert Hartkopf Albert Ernst Victor Hartkopf was an Australian sportsman who played Test cricket for Australia and Australian rules football for Melbourne University Football Club.... (19) |
|
| 1910 | 6 | Mick Grace Mick Grace Michael John Grace was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League and Victorian Football Association .... |
Edgar Kneen Edgar Kneen Edgar Albert Kneen was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy and University. He captained University in 1910 and was a member of the 1904 Fitzroy premiership side.... |
Albert Hartkopf Albert Hartkopf Albert Ernst Victor Hartkopf was an Australian sportsman who played Test cricket for Australia and Australian rules football for Melbourne University Football Club.... (30) |
| 1911 | 10 | Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL. He played as a key position forward and had an accurate left foot kick.... |
George Elliot George Elliott (Australian rules footballer) George Elliott was an Australian rules footballer who played with University in the Victorian Football League .... |
Albert Hartkopf Albert Hartkopf Albert Ernst Victor Hartkopf was an Australian sportsman who played Test cricket for Australia and Australian rules football for Melbourne University Football Club.... (19) |
| 1912 | 10 | Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL. He played as a key position forward and had an accurate left foot kick.... |
George Elliot George Elliott (Australian rules footballer) George Elliott was an Australian rules footballer who played with University in the Victorian Football League .... |
Roy Park Roy Park (sportsman) Dr Roy Lindsay Park was an all-round athlete and doctor. He played cricket for Australia and also Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League . He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne... (22) |
| 1913 | 10 | Victor Upton-Brown Victor Upton-Brown Victor Upton-Brown was an Australian rules football coach who coached University for a season while they were in the Victorian Football League .... |
Bert Hurrey | Roy Park Roy Park (sportsman) Dr Roy Lindsay Park was an all-round athlete and doctor. He played cricket for Australia and also Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League . He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne... (53) |
| 1914 | 10 | Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL. He played as a key position forward and had an accurate left foot kick.... |
Jack West Jack West Jack M. West was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne and University in the Victorian Football League .-References:... |
Roy Park Roy Park (sportsman) Dr Roy Lindsay Park was an all-round athlete and doctor. He played cricket for Australia and also Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League . He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne... (36) |
University VFL Players
Overall, 112 players played at least one game for University in the Victorian Football LeagueAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
between 1908 and 1914. Bert Hurrey played the most amount of games for the club (101), the only University player to play at least 100 games in the VFL. Roy Park
Roy Park (sportsman)
Dr Roy Lindsay Park was an all-round athlete and doctor. He played cricket for Australia and also Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League . He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne...
was the club's leading goalscorer, kicking 111 goals between 1912 and 1914, including winning the VFL's Leading Goalkicker Award
Coleman Medal
The Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
in 1913, kicking 53 goals for the home-and-away season, a remarkable effort considering the team itself managed only 123 for the whole season!
VFL Coaches
The following is a list of coaches to have coached the club in the VFL.- P = Played
- W = Won
- L = Lost
- D = Drew
- W% = Win percentage
| No. | Coach | P | W | L | D | W% | Years |
| 1 | Mick Grace Mick Grace Michael John Grace was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League and Victorian Football Association .... |
18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 55.55 | 1910 |
| 2 | Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan Gerald Brosnan was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL. He played as a key position forward and had an accurate left foot kick.... |
54 | 2 | 52 | 0 | 3.70 | 1911-14 |
| 3 | Victor Upton-Brown Victor Upton-Brown Victor Upton-Brown was an Australian rules football coach who coached University for a season while they were in the Victorian Football League .... |
18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0.00 | 1913 |
Return to 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...
to supply two teams to the newly-formed VFL Reserves competition, or the Victorian Junior Football League. These two teams were initially called University A and B, but soon became known as "University Blues" and "University Blacks", respectively (the teams were only officially called the Blues and Blacks in 1930). The Blues contested the 1919 and 1920 VJFL Grand Finals, losing to Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
on both occasions; the Blacks moved to the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association in 1920, and the following season, were joined by the Blues. Both contested the 1921 MAFA Grand Final, with the Blacks winning what to date is the only grand final the two teams have contested in the MAFA or VAFA.
Melbourne University students and alumni continue to maintain their involvement in football through the Blues and Blacks. The Melbourne University Football Club is unique in that it only plays as "Melbourne University" in inter-university matches, and its regular weekly competition is provided through its component teams, University Blues and University Blacks. The Blues and Blacks play in the Victorian Amateur Football Association
Victorian Amateur Football Association
The Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. Unlike the Victorian Football League and the VFL/AFL, the VAFA has always been strictly a purely amateur league and has affiliations with both AFL Victoria...
, and have been a perennial power in the highest division of a high-standard amateur competition.
Up until the 1950s, the Blacks were the leading University side as well as one of the dominant sides in the Amateur competition, winning 11 A Section premierships by 1949. However, in the later part of the century the Blues established themselves as the premier University side, and are currently the second longest serving club to play in the top division of the VAFA. Whilst the Blacks have won a total of 13 A section flags (the most in the VAFA) and the Blues three (with their most recent being in 2004), in the years since the 1980s it has been the Blues that have maintained the club's presence in A Section. Throughout their history, the Blues and Blacks have often played together in A section of the MAFA/VAFA, and with the Blacks return to A section in 2008 after a prolonged absence, the teams met again for the first time in 25 years. In head to head matches, the Blues lead the win tally with 43 wins to the Black's 36 and one draw. Regrettably, the Blacks were relegated to B section again at the end of 2008 and further matches will have to wait.
Both teams have consistently been a spawning ground for young players who go on to the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
. To date 240 MUFC players have played in the VFL/AFL competition. Latest is Daniel Nicholson (Melbourne 2011)
From 1955 until 1996, an additional team was fielded by the club called "University Reds" which competed in the VAFA, with a firsts and reserves team and predominately in the lower sections (the Reds achieved the lofty heights of D Section in 1982, but otherwise played mainly in E or F Section). When the team was discontinued by the club, players and supporters of the team decided to keep the team operating and it continues to this day as Fitzroy Reds. The Fitzroy Reds merged with 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...
in 2008.
Women's Club
Melbourne University Mugars
The Melbourne University Mugars have two Australian rules football teams competing in the Victorian Women's Football League — Premier Division and Reserves teams, as well as an Under 18 team competing in AFL Victoria's Youth Girls competition....
(Melbourne University Girls Aussie Rules Squad), the women's football club wears the same uniform and currently fields 3 senior teams and 2 under-age teams in the Victorian Women's Football League
Victorian Women's Football League
The Victorian Women's Football League is the oldest and largest Australian rules football league for women in the world, consisting of 22 clubs and 30 teams from Victoria, Australia across four divisions and a total of over 1,000 players....
and AFL Victoria's Youth Girls competitions. The MUWFC has won 5 premierships since making its first of ten VWFL grand finals in 2001. The club is Australia's largest women's football club, with 145 players participating in 2007 across the five teams.
See also
- :Category:University Football Club players
- Adelaide University Football ClubAdelaide University Football ClubThe Adelaide University Football Club is a South Australian based Australian rules football club. It is an affiliate of the Adelaide University Sports Association and plays in the South Australian Amateur Football League . The club promotes itself as the largest amateur football club in Australia...
- Sydney University Students AFCSydney University Students AFCSydney University Australian National Football Club claims to have been founded in 1863 and to be the oldest Australian rules football club in New South Wales. However, this claim is based on the club being a spin-off from Sydney University Football Club, Australia's oldest rugby union club, which...
- University of Queensland Australian Football ClubUniversity of Queensland Australian Football ClubThe University of Queensland Australian Football Club is an amateur Australian rules football club playing in Divisions 1 and 2 of the AFLQ State Association competition overseen by AFL Queensland. UQAFC home games are played at the University of Queensland's No...
External links
- Black & Blue, The Story of Football at the University of Melbourne
- http://afl.allthestats.com/coaches/coachrecs.php?t1=16&t2=&yrfm=1897&yrto=2007&gnd=0
- Complete University Player Records
- Victorian Amateur Football Association
- University Blues Home Page
- University Blacks Home Page
- Melbourne University Football Home Page
- Full Points Footy History of the University Football Club
- University Jumpers on Footyjumpers.com
- Melbourne University Women's Football Club