1901 VFL season

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1901 VFL premiership season
Essendon 1901 VFL premiership team
Date4 May—7 September 1901
Teams8
PremiersEssendon
2nd premiership
Minor premiersGeelong
2nd minor premiership
Leading goalkicker medallistFred Hiskins (Essendon)
34 goals
Matches played71
← 1900
1902 →

The 1901 VFL season was the fifth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs and ran from 4 May to 7 September, comprising a 17-round home-and-away season followed by a two-week finals series featuring the top four clubs.

Essendon won the premiership, defeating Collingwood by 27 points in the 1901 VFL grand final; it was Essendon's second VFL premiership. Geelong won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with a 14–3 win–loss record, but was eliminated by Collingwood in the semi-finals. Essendon's Fred Hiskins won the leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkicker.

Background

In 1901, 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. Then, based on ladder positions after those 14 rounds, three further 'sectional rounds' were played, with the teams ranked 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th playing in one section and the teams ranked 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th playing in the other.

Once the 17 rounds of the home-and-away season had finished, the 1901 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the original Argus system.

Home-and-away season

Round 1

Round 1
Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 8.13 (61) def. Carlton 2.7 (19) Brunswick Street Oval
Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) Essendon 1.15 (21) def. by Collingwood 9.10 (64) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) Geelong 2.11 (23) def. Melbourne 3.3 (21) Corio Oval
Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) St Kilda 6.5 (41) def. by South Melbourne 6.13 (49) Junction Oval

Round 2

Round 2
Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) Collingwood 13.16 (94) def. Carlton 0.7 (7) Victoria Park
Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) St Kilda 3.1 (19) def. by Essendon 9.14 (68) Junction Oval
Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 5.8 (38) def. by Geelong 6.12 (48) Brunswick Street Oval
Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) Melbourne 5.6 (36) def. by South Melbourne 5.10 (40) Melbourne Cricket Ground

Round 3

Round 3
Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) Carlton 3.8 (26) def. by Geelong 7.13 (55) Princes Park
Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 9.4 (58) def. Collingwood 6.11 (47) Lake Oval
Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) Essendon 6.8 (44) def. by Fitzroy 7.5 (47) East Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) Melbourne 7.16 (58) def. St Kilda 3.3 (21) Melbourne Cricket Ground

Round 4

Round 4
Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) Carlton 4.3 (27) def. South Melbourne 3.7 (25) Princes Park
Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) Collingwood 6.8 (44) def. Melbourne 3.4 (22) Victoria Park
Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) Geelong 4.10 (34) def. Essendon 4.6 (30) Corio Oval
Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 15.16 (106) def. St Kilda 3.5 (23) Brunswick Street Oval

Round 5

Round 5
Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) Essendon 7.8 (50) def. Melbourne 3.6 (24) EMCG
Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) Carlton 5.10 (40) def. St Kilda 2.8 (20) Princes Park
Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 3.7 (25) def. by Fitzroy 6.5 (41) Lake Oval
Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) Geelong 3.6 (24) def. by Collingwood 4.8 (32) Corio Oval

Round 6

Round 6
Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) Collingwood 7.13 (55) def. Fitzroy 6.9 (45) Victoria Park
Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) St Kilda 2.5 (17) def. by Geelong 11.12 (78) Junction Oval
Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 5.5 (35) def. by Essendon 3.23 (41) Lake Oval
Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) Melbourne 7.7 (49) def. Carlton 5.4 (34) MCG

Round 7

Round 7
Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) Geelong 9.11 (65) def. South Melbourne 3.4 (22) Corio Oval
Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 5.6 (36) drew with Melbourne 5.6 (36) Brunswick Street Oval
Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) St Kilda 3.1 (19) def. by Collingwood 7.11 (53) Junction Oval
Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) Essendon 15.15 (105) def. Carlton 3.7 (25) EMCG

Round 8

Round 8
Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) Collingwood 7.7 (49) def. Essendon 7.6 (48) Victoria Park
Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) Carlton 5.7 (37) def. by Fitzroy 6.8 (44) Princes Park
Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 7.14 (56) def. St Kilda 1.1 (7) Lake Oval
Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) Melbourne 7.4 (46) def. by Geelong 9.5 (59) MCG

Round 9

Round 9
Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) Essendon 19.22 (136) def. St Kilda 4.5 (29) EMCG
Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) Carlton 6.6 (42) def. by Collingwood 9.9 (63) Princes Park
Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 6.9 (45) def. by Melbourne 9.7 (61) Lake Oval
Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) Geelong 6.16 (52) def. Fitzroy 8.3 (51) Corio Oval

Round 10

Round 10
Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) Collingwood 5.1 (31) def. by South Melbourne 7.9 (51) Victoria Park
Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) St Kilda 4.4 (28) def. by Melbourne 4.14 (38) Junction Oval
Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 6.8 (44) def. by Essendon 14.8 (92) Brunswick Street Oval
Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) Geelong 8.15 (63) def. Carlton 4.7 (31) Corio Oval

Round 11

Round 11
Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) Essendon 6.13 (49) def. Geelong 2.12 (24) EMCG
Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) St Kilda 4.10 (34) def. by Fitzroy 11.7 (73) Junction Oval
Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) Melbourne 5.6 (36) def. Collingwood 4.11 (35) MCG
Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 10.10 (70) def. Carlton 3.2 (20) Lake Oval

Round 12

Round 12
Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 9.11 (65) def. by South Melbourne 12.7 (79) Brunswick Street Oval
Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) Collingwood 6.5 (41) def. by Geelong 12.11 (83) Victoria Park
Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) Melbourne 6.6 (42) def. Essendon 4.9 (33) MCG
Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) St Kilda 7.8 (50) def. Carlton 4.8 (32) Junction Oval

Round 13

Round 13
Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) Geelong 8.7 (55) def. St Kilda 4.5 (29) Corio Oval
Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) Essendon 6.16 (52) def. South Melbourne 8.3 (51) EMCG
Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) Carlton 5.6 (36) def. by Melbourne 6.6 (42) Princes Park
Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 2.7 (19) def. by Collingwood 3.6 (24) Brunswick Street Oval

Round 14

Round 14
Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) Collingwood 10.20 (80) def. St Kilda 1.7 (13) Victoria Park
Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) Carlton 3.2 (20) def. by Essendon 11.13 (79) Princes Park
Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 6.9 (45) def. by Geelong 6.13 (49) Lake Oval
Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) Melbourne 4.5 (29) def. Fitzroy 2.11 (23) MCG

Pre-sectional ladder

Section A
Section B
# Team P W L D PF PA % Pts
1 Geelong 14 12 2 0 712 478 149.0 48
2 Collingwood 14 10 4 0 712 488 145.9 40
3 Essendon 14 9 5 0 848 507 167.3 36
4 Melbourne 14 8 5 1 540 507 106.5 34
5 South Melbourne 14 7 7 0 651 583 111.7 28
6 Fitzroy 14 6 7 1 693 597 116.1 26
7 Carlton 14 2 12 0 396 820 48.3 8
8 St Kilda 14 1 13 0 350 922 38.0 4

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Source: AFL Tables

Round 15 (Sectional round 1)

Round 15 (Sectional round 1)
Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) Collingwood 6.8 (44) def. Melbourne 3.10 (28) Victoria Park
Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) Carlton 3.5 (25) def. by Geelong 6.18 (54) Princes Park
Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) South Melbourne 1.3 (9) def. by Essendon 10.9 (69) Lake Oval
Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) St Kilda 4.3 (27) def. by Fitzroy 14.15 (99) Junction Oval

Round 16 (Sectional round 2)

Round 16 (Sectional round 2)
Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) Geelong 7.12 (54) def. South Melbourne 4.6 (30) Corio Oval
Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) Essendon 14.18 (102) def. Carlton 5.3 (33) EMCG
Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) Melbourne 19.10 (124) def. St Kilda 3.4 (22) Lake Oval
Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 7.6 (48) def. Collingwood 2.6 (18) Brunswick Street Oval

Round 17 (Sectional round 3)

Round 17 (Sectional round 3)
Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) Collingwood 20.23 (143) def. St Kilda 2.3 (15) Victoria Park
Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) Carlton 3.6 (24) def. by South Melbourne 4.13 (37) Princes Park
Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) Geelong 5.3 (33) def. by Essendon 9.12 (66) Corio Oval
Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) Fitzroy 4.13 (37) def. Melbourne 3.6 (24) Brunswick Street Oval

Ladder

(P) Premiers
Qualified for finals
# Team P W L D PF PA % Pts
1 Geelong 17 14 3 0 853 597 142.9 56
2 Essendon (P) 17 12 5 0 1085 582 186.4 48
3 Collingwood 17 12 5 0 917 579 158.4 48
4 Fitzroy 17 9 7 1 877 666 131.7 38
5 Melbourne 17 9 7 1 716 610 117.4 38
6 South Melbourne 17 8 9 0 727 730 99.6 32
7 Carlton 17 2 15 0 476 1013 47.0 8
8 St Kilda 17 1 16 0 414 1288 32.1 4

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 44.6
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

Semi-finals

1st Semi Final
Saturday, 31 August 1901 Collingwood def. Geelong EMCG (crowd: 10,000) Report
2.3 (15)
3.5 (23)
5.8 (38)
6.9 (45) 		Q1
Q2
Q3
Final 		0.2 (2)
1.3 (9)
3.4 (22)
3.6 (24) 		Umpires: Gibson
Smith 2, Bryce, Morgan, Rowell, Tulloch Goals Bennion, Rankin, Woods


2nd Semi Final
Saturday, 31 August 1901 Essendon def. Fitzroy Victoria Park (crowd: 15,000) Report
0.1 (1)
3.2 (20)
5.7 (37)
6.10 (46) 		Q1
Q2
Q3
Final 		2.4 (16)
2.6 (18)
3.8 (26)
6.9 (45) 		Umpires: Henry "Ivo" Crapp
Thurgood 5, Larkin Goals Brosnan 2, Sharp 2, Sharpe 2

Grand final

Main article: 1901 VFL grand final
Grand final
Saturday, 7 September 1901 (2:50 pm) Essendon 6.7 (43) def. Collingwood 2.4 (16) Lake Oval (crowd: 30,031) Report

Win–loss table

The following table can be sorted from biggest winning margin to biggest losing margin for each round. If two or more matches in a round are decided by the same margin, these margins are sorted by percentage (i.e. the lowest-scoring winning team is ranked highest and the lowest-scoring losing team is ranked lowest). Opponents are listed above the margins and home matches are in bold.

+ Win Qualified for finals
- Loss X Bye
Draw Eliminated
Team Home-and-away season Ladder Finals series
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 SF GF
Carlton FIT
-42		 COL
-87		 GEE
-29		 SM
+2		 STK
+20		 MEL
-15		 ESS
-80		 FIT
-7		 COL
-21		 GEE
-32		 SM
-50		 STK
-18		 MEL
-6		 ESS
-59		 GEE
-31		 ESS
-69		 SM
-13		 7
(2–15–0)
Collingwood ESS
+43		 CAR
+87		 SM
-11		 MEL
+22		 GEE
+8		 FIT
+10		 STK
+34		 ESS
+1		 CAR
+21		 SM
-20		 MEL
-1		 GEE
-42		 FIT
+5		 STK
+67		 MEL
+16		 FIT
-30		 STK
+128		 3
(12–5–0)		 GEE
+21		 ESS
-27
Essendon COL
-43		 STK
+49		 FIT
-3		 GEE
-4		 MEL
+26		 SM
+6		 CAR
+80		 COL
-1		 STK
+107		 FIT
+48		 GEE
+25		 MEL
-9		 SM
+1		 CAR
+59		 SM
+60		 CAR
+69		 GEE
+33		 2
(12–5–0)		 FIT
+1		 COL
+27
Fitzroy CAR
+42		 GEE
-10		 ESS
+3		 STK
+83		 SM
+16		 COL
-10		 MEL
0		 CAR
+7		 GEE
-1		 ESS
-48		 STK
+39		 SM
-14		 COL
-5		 MEL
-6		 STK
+72		 COL
+30		 MEL
+13		 4
(9–7–1)		 ESS
-1
Geelong MEL
+2		 FIT
+10		 CAR
+29		 ESS
+4		 COL
-8		 STK
+61		 SM
+43		 MEL
+13		 FIT
+1		 CAR
+32		 ESS
-25		 COL
+42		 STK
+26		 SM
+4		 CAR
+31		 SM
+24		 ESS
-33		 1
(14–3–0)		 COL
-21
Melbourne GEE
-2		 SM
-4		 STK
+37		 COL
-22		 ESS
-26		 CAR
+15		 FIT
0		 GEE
-13		 SM
+16		 STK
+10		 COL
+1		 ESS
+9		 CAR
+6		 FIT
+6		 COL
-16		 STK
+102		 FIT
-13		 5
(9–7–1)
South Melbourne STK
+8		 MEL
+4		 COL
+11		 CAR
-2		 FIT
-16		 ESS
-6		 GEE
-43		 STK
+49		 MEL
-16		 COL
+20		 CAR
+50		 FIT
+14		 ESS
-1		 GEE
-4		 ESS
-60		 GEE
-24		 CAR
+13		 6
(8–9–0)
St Kilda SM
-8		 ESS
-49		 MEL
-37		 FIT
-83		 CAR
-20		 GEE
-61		 COL
-34		 SM
-49		 ESS
-107		 MEL
-10		 FIT
-39		 CAR
+18		 GEE
-26		 COL
-67		 FIT
-72		 MEL
-102		 COL
-128		 8
(1–16–0)

Source: AFL Tables

Season notes

  • Fitzroy lodged an official protest against the result of the second semi-final, which it lost against Essendon by one point, alleging that the goal umpire had erred in awarding Essendon's first goal because the ball had hit the post. Later in the week, Fitzroy withdrew its protest against the result, and the scheduling of the grand final was not affected;[1] an inquiry later in September found that the goal umpire had made a mistake, but no change was made to the score after the finding.[2]
  • Against South Melbourne in Round 6, Essendon kicked 17 behinds between its first and second goals. Only Geelong against St Kilda in 1919 and St Kilda against Fitzroy in 1921 have beaten this unwanted record. Fred Hiskins kicked ten behinds.
  • In the Round 13 match between Collingwood and Fitzroy, neither team scored in the final quarter. As of 2024, this remains the only quarter in VFL/AFL history in which no score was registered at all.[3]
  • In the last home-and-away match between South Melbourne and Geelong, field umpire Henry "Ivo" Crapp experimented with clearly calling out his decisions.
  • In Essendon's grand final victory against Collingwood, Albert Thurgood kicked three of Essendon's six goals. One of his goals was scored with an 86-yard (79 m.) drop-kick, and another (measured immediately after the match) was scored with a 93-yard (85 m.) place-kick into a strong head wind.
  • VFL instituted the original Argus system to determine the season's premiers.

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Football – The Goal Umpiring Question". The Argus. 12 September 1901. p. 7.
  2. ^ "The Essendon-Fitzroy Football Match". The Argus. 24 September 1901. p. 6.
  3. ^ "All teams – quarters and halves". AFL Tables. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  • Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
  • Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
  • Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0

Sources

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