July 13, 2024 • 30 mins
Welcome to Grand Final History. In this special supplementary episode, we review the fourth decade of the VFL, from 1927 to 1936. We explore the trends, issues, significant incidents, and quirks over the ten years.
New rules, night football, new finals system, new club mascots, goal kicking master classes and the dominant Magpie Machine, the Fourth Decade of the VFL provided a welcome relief for supporters struggling through the Great Depression. This special, supplementary episode provides an overview of the Fourth Decade of VFL football. The teams that did well, the teams that struggled, the players that made a name for themselves and how the League started to flex its economic and political muscle as the game continued to grow in popularity.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
Hello and welcome to Grand Final History. In this special supplementary episode,
we review the fourth decade of the VFL, from 1927 to 1936.
It's a way of looking at the trends, issues and significant incidents,
some quirks and oddities over the last 10 years, before we start on episode 41 for 1937.
(00:24):
If you haven't listened to the episodes covering the last decade,
you can listen now as a way of saving time if you want, or or it might provide
some context as each episode unfolds.
If you're a regular listener, you might enjoy this review and analysis of the overarching themes.
Or you can go on to the next episode. Your choice.
So let's get started. The fourth decade of the VFL was overshadowed by the crushing
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impact of the 1930s Great Depression, with dramatic increases in unemployment,
forcing families into poverty and homelessness.
Worldwide, the Depression resulted in political instability and the rise of
extremist political ideologies that would, in time, lead to another world war.
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In Australia, it was also a decade where people looking for distractions from
hard times cheered on heroes like Farlap on the racecourse or Don Bradman on
the cricket fields at home or in England.
VFL football provided a cheap, accessible entertainment and a focus for a community that was struggling.
For many players, it was their only source of income, the only way they could
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continue to provide food for their family and put a roof over their heads.
Unemployment would reach over 30% in the early 1930s and was even higher in
the inner Melbourne suburbs like Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond.
VFL games were often brutal, violent affairs, driven in part by the desperation
of players to hold their place in the side so they could continue to receive match payments.
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Through the decade, several clubs were forced to cut match payments.
Collingwood players were talking about going on strike in 1928,
until Captain Sid Coventry said that it would not happen, and players followed his lead.
In another example, North Melbourne wages were cut in 1935, a decision the players
apparently accepted philosophically.
(02:19):
Amongst this economic turmoil, it was a decade that saw the VFL establish a
framework, a structure that would be followed for decades until the expansion of the 1980s.
1927 to 1936 saw the first full decade of the 12 teams that would become the bedrock of the league,
Putscray, Hawthorne and North Melbourne having been admitted in 1925,
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and also the implementation of a new final system that is the foundation of
the current final fixture, As well as some of the structural battles that would
be fought for decades, and some examples of the League's emerging political power.
At League head office in 1929 saw the resignation of the BFL's first secretary,
Edwin Wilson, and the appointment of Likely McBrien as the first full-time secretary,
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effectively the general manager of the League.
We should pay tribute to Edwin Wilson, who was the inaugural VFL secretary from
1897 to 1929, who managed affairs with such diligence and professionalism that
he only missed one league delegates meeting,
the handover meeting to like McBrien.
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Ed Wilson had literally worked overnight the day before to prepare everything
for the transfer and was so unwell that doctors confined him to bed.
Although recognised by the VFL at the time with presentations and the naming of the E.L.
Wilson Shield that is awarded to each season's Premiership
team Edwin Wilson is yet to be
inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in the Administrators section
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one of the many missing names from the early years of the league across many
categories The league also took the significant step of purchasing a city office
building to be their head office Rather than renting rooms from the Victorian Cricket Association,
located on the corner of Spring Street and Flinders Lane, Harrison House was
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a significant financial investment and a statement on the emerging economic
power of the BFL to control its own destiny.
Harrison House was named in honour of the father of Australian football,
Colton Harrison, a man who actually did not invent the game,
but he was instrumental in popularising the code and formalising the laws of
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the game in its early years.
He was also the longest surviving member of that cohort of football pioneers,
so he was honoured with the name Father of Football.
He died in 1929 as the VFL was finalising the terms for the purchase of the building.
As strong as the league was becoming, there were calls in 1929, 1930,
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1932 and more over the decade for the clubs to hand over control to an independent board,
given the obvious conflict that each club delegate had between what was best
for the league overall versus their other commitment to their own clubs.
It would take until the 1980s for the clubs to finally surrender control.
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The fourth decade of the VFL saw battles over grounds that the game was played on intensify.
The grounds had originally been allocated to cricket clubs well before football
was a thing, so most clubs were effectively tenants of the cricket club.
The cricket clubs had formed a ground management association to address issues
of admission price, splits of gate revenue, catering and bar management, etc.
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As football clubs generated much bigger crowds and much more revenue than cricket
clubs, Anger about the Division of Gate Revenue and related issues became more intense.
In 1931, the VFL made arrangements to play games at the Motodrome,
a ground located where the Amy Park for Rugby and Soccer now stands,
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and the Exhibition Oval, a ground that used to exist in the Exhibition Gardens,
where the Melbourne Museum is now located.
Responding to the VFL scheduling games away from traditional grounds,
the Ground Management Association threatened to evict football clubs from the
grounds they controlled and declared they would start their own football competition.
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The Victorian Government Lands Minister arbitrated an agreement that saw the
VFL schedule games at the traditional home grounds.
But when the Ground Management Association reneged on part of the deal in the
week before the opening round of 1931, like McBride went to the Victorian government
and declared that the VFL would cancel round one.
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Recognising the outrage this would call the government arranged for the Ground
Management Association to back down.
An early example of the VFL flexing its own political power.
Ground control would continue to be a source of tension for decades.
Melbourne would eventually play three unhappy losing games on the motor drone
in 1933 but this was at least a sign of cooperation.
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Melbourne Football Club giving the MCG time to top dress the ground in preparation
for an important Ashes tour the following summer.
Richmond looked to move to the motor drive in 1936 when it could not come to
suitable terms with the cricket club at Punt Road but this move was averted
and Punt Road remains the home of the Tiger to this day.
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While games are now played in comfortable stadiums with seats for all and many
undercover, going to the football in the 1930s required a sterner supporter.
With the exception of the grandstand, which was often controlled by the cricket
club, supporters had to stand on an embanked, sloping mound and endure rain,
wind, or whatever the weather provided,
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with toilet facilities that were basic at best.
Journalists who had been to America called for better conditions and stands
with seats for all, as seen in the United States.
But the Ground Management Association and the cricket clubs were not willing
to make those investments.
The MCG struggled to fit the crowds that were coming to finals and, in 1936,
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construction of the Southern Stand commenced which would ensure that the ground
could fit around 100,000 people even if you had to watch your club in quite
ordinary conditions throughout the home and away season.
The VFL's other sparring party, besides the Ground Management Association,
had traditionally been the VFA.
However, while the VFL was largely able to weather the storms of the Depression.
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The VFA had a much harder time.
And there was some doubt if it was even going to survive. So there was a decade
focused more on cooperation than fighting, even if the much-discussed prospect
of amalgamation with two divisions allowing promotion and relegation never happened.
As much as it made sense to the VFA, no VFL club was going to support a scheme
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that saw it risk relegation.
But the VFL and VFA did renew arrangements managing clearances between their
competitions and played four representative games between 1931 and 1936 to raise
funds for charity, as well as an exhibition night game in 1936.
Relations will not remain so friendly in the years to come.
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This fourth decade of the VFL saw a number of innovations, like the night game
I just mentioned, with the VFA.
The first night game between two VFL clubs happened in 1935,
It was a practice match between Richmond and South Melbourne.
The grand final rematch attracted a large crowd at Olympic Park,
the rebranded Motor Drone, and there were plans for more practice games under lights.
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But they were blocked by the league delegates meeting, the resistance coming
from those clubs that objected to stronger clubs getting additional revenue.
And other clubs who opposed the idea of practice matches between VFL clubs. Clubs.
Practice matches in this era were usually intra-club affairs or against VFA or country teams.
If supporters could see how their teams were performing against league clubs,
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they might not turn up when the season started.
Night football would have to wait until the 1950s. Other innovations in this
decade were electronic time clocks at the MCG that showed exactly how much time
remained in each 25 minute quarter.
The clocks were connected to the timekeeper's clocks and would stop whenever time on was signalled.
But by 1936, the VFL decided it was not good for players to see how much time
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remained, and the MCG removed them, much to the disappointment of the crowd.
There were also a couple of attempts to use sirens rather than bells to signal time.
But sirens in this era took a few seconds to build up volume.
Bells could be rung straight away, even if umpires did not always hear the bell on time.
The tradition of tuning into the grand final, wherever you are in the world,
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started in 1934 with the first shortwave radio broadcast of a grand final,
which allowed a Richmond supporter to hear the Tigers win the premiership while he was in Scotland.
Rubber balls were also trialled in pre-season games for a few seasons and received mixed reviews.
They were a better option in the wet than the sodden leather ball,
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but too flighty for the league delegates to feel comfortable in making the change
from the traditional leather footy.
Another innovation that did not go anywhere was a merged game combining rugby
league and Australian rules football.
There had been efforts prior to World War I to develop a compromised national
code that all states could play. When the 1933 National Carnival was held in
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Sydney, there was one final push to see if such a game made sense.
A secret trial game was held between
some rugby league players and representatives of various state teams.
But despite the novel event being seen as fast and attractive,
there was little enthusiasm from the southern states and firm opposition from
many in the rugby league camp.
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So the split between rugby league-dominated New South Wales and Queensland and
the rest of Australia continues. today.
Some changes to the rules of the game had a huge impact during the fourth decade
of the league and some continue to today.
A key difference in this era was that the VFL could not make up the rules for themselves.
They had helped set up the National Football Council to have common rules across the country.
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It was a decision that would cause some frustration but at that time the VFL
saw giving power for the rules to the National Football Council was in the overall
best interest of the code, even if it meant the VFL could not do as it liked.
The 19th man as a substitute, no interchange allowed, was implemented in 1930.
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Much of the opposition to this sensible proposal focused on the potential for
captains and coaches to use the 19th man to replace a player that was playing
poorly, not just a substitute for injuries.
Of course, no league club would ever manipulate collect the system for play substitutes.
A rule that had been introduced in 1925 saw a fundamental shift in the style of play this decade.
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From 1925, if the ball went out of bounds, a free kick was awarded against the
team that last touched the ball.
Clubs began focusing play on what we would now call the centre corridor,
rather than the flanks. This meant the ball got to forwards much faster.
Scoring increased significantly, and there were several full forwards that kicked
more than 100 goals in a season.
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The forward of the era was Collingwood's Gordon Coventry, who was the first
to top the tonne in 1929, and again in 1930, 1933 and 1934.
Or there was the extraordinary feats from Bob Pratt, who kicked 150 goals in
1934, a record that was only matched by Peter Hudson in 1971 with two extra games.
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Off the field, the Koolta Law capping player payments was introduced.
But how faithfully it was adhered to was another question. In 1934,
North Melbourne's president said it was only the poor clubs obeying the Koolta
Law because they could not afford to pay any more.
The other major innovation was the shift from the modified Argus system of finals
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to the McIntyre Final Four.
The change was driven by Collingwood's four premierships in a row from 1927 to 1930.
Other clubs felt the right of challenge for finishing on top of the ladder was too big an advantage.
Also, with two semi-finals and a final, unless the top of the ladder team was
beaten, resulting in a grand final, meant you never knew how long the final series would last.
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The McIntyre Final Four, with two semi-finals, the preliminary final and a grand
final, was seen as a good balance between rewarding the teams atop the ladder
at the end of the season without giving them too much of an advantage.
Although we now have a Final Eight, we can trace its roots back to 1931,
the first year of the new Final Four system.
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Radio itself was an emerging medium at this time.
Some country leagues wanted broadcasts banned because they feared supporters
would stay home to listen to VFL games rather than attending their local games.
Radio stations had to negotiate broadcast deals with each ground.
Broadcast revenue go to the cricket clubs rather than to the league or football
teams, much to the anger of the BFL.
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Radio station 3KZ decided they would just put up scaffolding outside the Lakeside
Able to broadcast South Melbourne games and avoid having to pay the cricket club.
But after a few weeks, the club erected a large tarpaulin, blocking their view.
The growth of radio was significant. At the end of the 1920s,
only about 20% of homes had a radio, but by the late 1930s, over two-thirds
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of houses were listening, and football was always a popular topic.
Newspapers were allocating more space to football and using current and former
players to provide special comments.
And there was more space allocated to photos of games, with much better quality
images than previous years.
I know from the searches I do on Trove, looking at newspapers from each season,
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that there was a 32% increase in articles about footy between 1927 and 1936.
The public was that hungry for news about their footy. In the modern era,
the AFL is fiercely protective of their market share, battling with both rugby
league and soccer for the hearts and minds and dollars of the public.
But back in this fourth decade, it had a much more live-and-let-live attitude.
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In 1927, the opening round of the MCG saw an exhibition soccer match between
a Victorian representative team and members of the visiting British Navy.
In 1935, the League hosted a reception for the visiting New Zealand Rugby Union team.
Mike McBride even declared that
the League was always ready to help Rugby Union, but not so much today.
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The Brownlow Medal generated more interest each year through this decade,
while live broadcasts of the vote count were some time off.
At the end of each home and away season, there was plenty of articles previewing
who would win the coveted award.
Fitzroy had little success on the field and did not make the finals,
but they did win five brownlays.
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Three to Hayden Button, two in his first two seasons, and one each to Wilfred
Chicken Smallhorn and Dennis Dinny Ryan.
And just as now, there was the annual discussion of whether umpires should be
casting votes and why it was always the centermen or the rovers,
what we would now call midfielders, winning this award.
Seems this is never going to change. The voting system did change after a three-way
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tie in 1930 between Richmond's Stan Judkins, Footscray's Alan Hopkins and Collingwood's Harry Collier.
Until 1930 umpires only awarded one vote per game but from 1931 the 3-2-1 system
that we have today was introduced.
Judkins was awarded the 1930 Brownlow on the logic that he had played the fewest games for his votes.
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Harry Collier was the catalyst for awarding retrospective Brownlows to the players
that had missed out when they tied, and he and others finally got their medals in 1989.
Also, worth noting that almost all the press reports refer to the Brownlow as
the award to the best and fairest player.
We'll see when the shift to fairest and best happens in future episodes.
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So how did each of the clubs do over the league's fourth decade?
Decade. It was clearly Collingwood's decade.
Six grand finals for six premierships. The Magpie machine only missed the finals once.
They also had three Brownlow medalists, Sid Coventry in 1927,
Albert Collier in 1929, and his brother Harry Collier, retrospectively, in 1928.
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Then there was Gordon Coventry topping the goal kicking five times.
In an 18-round home-and-away season, the Magpies won an average of more than
14 games per season and in 1929 they went through the home and away season undefeated
only losing a semi-final against Richmond before going on to win the grand final.
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Richmond were the next most successful team, unlucky to have one of their best
eras at the same time as the Collingwood Machine.
The Tigers would play in seven grand finals, one more than the Magpies,
but for only two premierships.
Across 1932, 33 and 34, they played three grand finals in a row with three different
coaches, winning against Carlton in 1932 and South Melbourne in 1934.
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The Tigers won an average of 13.2 games per season for the 10 years and missed
the finals only once in 1936.
They had one Brownlow medalist in Stan Judkins in 1930.
And while skinny Jack Titus did not leave the goal kicking in this decade,
he was one of the outstanding full forwards of the era.
It was also the decade that saw the debut of Richmond's immortal Jack Dyer.
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An extraordinary performance by the club, but in the shadow of one of the league's
most dominant teams of any era.
South Melbourne were also a powerful team. They were coming from a long way
back when the club made the decision to appoint grocery store entrepreneur Archie
Crofts to the committee, and he soon became president.
He brought a new energy and a professional approach and was pivotal in recruiting
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the foreign legion of players from Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
With extraordinary talent such as Laurie Nash, Bob Pratt, Brighton Diggins and
more, under the powerful leadership of Captain Coach Jack Bissett,
the club made it to four Grand Finals in a row.
Was it the focus on individual brilliance rather than team performance?
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Or was it the Crofts' curse, where Archie Crofts declared after 1933 the Premiership
triumph, that more Premierships were on the way?
Or just the fact that they played their Grand Finals against Richmond and Collingwood,
two of the best teams of any era?
While they may have only managed one Premiership, 1933 did Sea South have their
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Swans mascot bestowed to them.
It was made official in 1934, but the Alex Gurney cartoon from the Herald was
the catalyst for the making of The Swans.
Geelong played in two grand finals, losing in 1930 to Collingwood,
but defeating Richmond in 1931.
Charlie Climo retired with the unique 100% success record as coach,
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one season, one premiership, and back to Ballarat.
The club made the finals for five out of the ten seasons, so a mixed time for Cat supporters.
They also had George Maloney kicking 109 goals in 1932.
The Cats appointed Collingwood Charlie Dibbs
as playing coach in 1936 hoping that some
of the magpie magic might find its way to the Corio Oval But Dibbs had been
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badly concussed in the 1935 Grand Final and retired from Geelong early in 1936
After some thoughts of reappointing Charlie Climo the committee realised that caretaker,
captain coach Reg Hickey was winning games The team won the last six games of the 1936 season,
perhaps a sign of things to come.
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Carlton were also a successful team in the fourth decade, only missing the finals
once, but only making it to the grand final once in 1932, losing the centenary
premiership to Richmond.
Carlton had some great players Sapi Valance was
their top forward and he led the goal kicking in 1931 and
matches against long time rivals Collingwood and Richmond were eagerly anticipated
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although they could get nasty at times The 1934 game at Victoria Park was particularly
spiteful with Gordon Coventry knocked out and Blues officials incensed that
no Collingwood players were reported,
Carlton were one of the leading clubs of the decade but they could not add to
their last premiership, won in 1915.
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Melbourne were the only other team to make the finals in the league's fourth
decade, finishing third in 1928 and fourth in 1936.
They did manage to pick up Richmond's premiership coach, Frank Checker-Hughes,
for the 1933 season onwards, and their second 18 had an amazing run,
making six grand finals in a row and winning five premierships between 1931 and 1935.
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It may not have been the decade the club wanted for their firsts,
but they did have the league's first dual brown low
medalist with Ivor Ward-Smith and in
1936 coach Checker Hughes revealed the
nickname the Red Demons which would soon become the Demons mascot much more
inspiring than the Fuchsias so with one win in the 1936 finals the success in
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the second 18 a premiership coach and a decent mascot perhaps things were also
looking good for the Red Demons As noted above,
it had been an unbalanced decade, with three clubs dominating and only three
others competitive enough to make it to finals.
But what of the six remaining clubs who had raised the issue of pool and gate
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receipts, or capping the number of players clubs could have on their list?
The more successful clubs were not very sympathetic.
They said it was up to each club to build itself up.
Easier said than done, when your zone was covered with factories rather than
homes, in the case of North Melbourne,
and the constant challenge of poor results, leading to fewer memberships being
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sold, which made it harder to recruit players, which led to poor results,
and so the vicious cycle continued.
Hawthorne even threatened to withdraw from the league after Round 1,
1935, if their local community did not buy more membership tickets.
Let's have a look at the clubs that had a harder time.
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Essendon had won back-to-back premierships in 1923 and 24 and played finals
in 1925 and 26, but the fourth decade of the VFL was a struggle for the team from Windy Hill.
They cycled through coaches and had some occasional bright spots,
but they were not consistent enough.
They did, however, uncover a star recruit by the name of Richard Reynolds,
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or Dick Reynolds as he was also known.
He won a Brownlow in his second season, aged just 19, Essendon and Dick Reynolds
would go on to have much more success in the subsequent seasons than they did
in the fourth decade of the BFL.
St Kilda did not have a good decade. Reform groups took over the committee,
to be succeeded by subsequent reform groups.
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Different coaches were tried and sacked.
Seven coaches in ten years was high even by the standards of the era.
There was one memorable game against North Melbourne in 1933,
when the team ended up with 15 men on the field, and yet had a famous victory.
The players received a special badge featuring the club motto, adopted that same year.
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Fortius quo fidelis Strength through loyalty
And the game has grown in St Kilda
folklore North Melbourne club officials had a different
view of the game Pointing out many of the injuries were accidental
Or caused by clashes between St Kilda players And none of the experienced umpires
found any incidents worthy of report And North players were threatened by the
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crowd Including a St Kilda baseball player with a bat I guess it depends on
which club you support The Saints supporters could also cheer for full forward Bill Moore,
another of the VFL forwards, to top the century.
He achieved his ton in 1936, 101 goals, and he didn't even have to play finals to score his century.
Footscray were one of the newcomers to the VFL, joining in 1925 and finding
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things harder than the VFA.
Though, of the three new clubs, they were the most successful through these
10 years. But when we see Hawthorne and North's performance,
that was not a high bar to clear.
The club got their mascot in 1928 when a bulldog led the team out,
and they did win an average of seven games per season, so they provided some
regular joy to their supporters.
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1931 was the best year when they finished fifth, just percentage keeping them
out of their first finals appearance.
The club made several attempts to get Sid Coventry as coach,
even announcing his appointment as playing coach in 1930.
A bit premature, as Collingwood did not clear Sid, and he would lead the Magpies
to a fourth premiership that year.
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After Sid retired in 1935, he did take over as coach of the Bulldogs,
but he found success hard to come by.
The Doggies would benefit by the efforts of Albert Collier to see Alan Hopkins
get a retrospective brown low for 1930, but supporters had to wait till 1989 to cheer that result.
Fitzroy had been a powerhouse of the VFL in its first few decades,
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but their last premiership was back in 1922 and in the fourth decade of the
league it ranked third last in terms of games won across the 10 years.
Like the other struggling teams it saw reform groups and new coaches come and go.
Eight coaches in 10 years does not indicate a stable environment.
They did however win the chase for the wonderful Aidan Bunton.
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Even if he had to sit out a season and having breached the rules on how much a player could be paid.
It was a bit hypocritical for the other clubs to insist on an investigation,
given most clubs were throwing offers at the young lad from Albury,
and few abided by the rules.
Fitzroy got the play out, and they had to pay the penalty. He won two Brownlows
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in his first two seasons, 1931 and 1932, and a third in just his fifth season.
The Maroons may not have made the finals, nor won many games,
but they did well in the Brownlow, Wilfred Chicken Smallhorn making it a hat-trick
for the club in 1933, and Dennis Dinnie Ryan getting another in 1936.
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As a supporter and a player, you'd prefer a premiership or to play finals,
but at least Fitzroy had something to cheer about.
Hawthorne did not have much to cheer about. They too joined the league in 1925,
providing a strategic footprint in the eastern suburbs, but that's about all.
They only won 34 games across 10 seasons.
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Collingwood almost did that in two seasons. There were three wooden spoons and
in 1927 they only had one win and none in 1928.
Two long hard seasons.
The club was willing to try new ideas though.
Advertising for players in 1935 given it did not have the funds to send officials
up country or interstate for recruiting.
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There were ongoing rumours about their place in the BFL but they would survive.
North Melbourne was the other cellar dweller for this decade.
They would only win 30 games in the 10 seasons. There were two seasons without
any wins and three with only one victory resulting in five wooden spoons.
But after all those struggles the club did win four games in 1936 including a win over Richmond.
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So perhaps there was some hope for changing times ahead for the boys from Arden Street.
So that's what happened. across the league's fourth decade, a time remembered
for the struggles of the Depression and the dominance of the magpie machine.
An uneven decade in terms of which teams made it into finals,
but also a decade of innovations, some of which are still with us today.
(30:00):
Next episode, we will resume normal programming as we look at season 1937,
the start of the fifth decade of VFL football.
If you've enjoyed our final history, please leave a review wherever you get
your podcasts from, The more goals we kick, the easier it is for others to find the podcast.
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(30:22):
grandfinalhistory.au or check out the grandfinalhistory.au website or Facebook
and Twitter for more Grand Final History.
Hello and welcome to Grand Final History. In this special supplementary episode,
we review the fourth decade of the VFL, from 1927 to 1936.
It's a way of looking at the trends, issues and significant incidents,
some quirks and oddities over the last 10 years, before we start on episode 41 for 1937.
(00:24):
If you haven't listened to the episodes covering the last decade,
you can listen now as a way of saving time if you want, or or it might provide
some context as each episode unfolds.
If you're a regular listener, you might enjoy this review and analysis of the overarching themes.
Or you can go on to the next episode. Your choice.
So let's get started. The fourth decade of the VFL was overshadowed by the crushing
(00:47):
impact of the 1930s Great Depression, with dramatic increases in unemployment,
forcing families into poverty and homelessness.
Worldwide, the Depression resulted in political instability and the rise of
extremist political ideologies that would, in time, lead to another world war.
(01:07):
In Australia, it was also a decade where people looking for distractions from
hard times cheered on heroes like Farlap on the racecourse or Don Bradman on
the cricket fields at home or in England.
VFL football provided a cheap, accessible entertainment and a focus for a community that was struggling.
For many players, it was their only source of income, the only way they could
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continue to provide food for their family and put a roof over their heads.
Unemployment would reach over 30% in the early 1930s and was even higher in
the inner Melbourne suburbs like Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond.
VFL games were often brutal, violent affairs, driven in part by the desperation
of players to hold their place in the side so they could continue to receive match payments.
(01:57):
Through the decade, several clubs were forced to cut match payments.
Collingwood players were talking about going on strike in 1928,
until Captain Sid Coventry said that it would not happen, and players followed his lead.
In another example, North Melbourne wages were cut in 1935, a decision the players
apparently accepted philosophically.
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Amongst this economic turmoil, it was a decade that saw the VFL establish a
framework, a structure that would be followed for decades until the expansion of the 1980s.
1927 to 1936 saw the first full decade of the 12 teams that would become the bedrock of the league,
Putscray, Hawthorne and North Melbourne having been admitted in 1925,
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and also the implementation of a new final system that is the foundation of
the current final fixture, As well as some of the structural battles that would
be fought for decades, and some examples of the League's emerging political power.
At League head office in 1929 saw the resignation of the BFL's first secretary,
Edwin Wilson, and the appointment of Likely McBrien as the first full-time secretary,
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effectively the general manager of the League.
We should pay tribute to Edwin Wilson, who was the inaugural VFL secretary from
1897 to 1929, who managed affairs with such diligence and professionalism that
he only missed one league delegates meeting,
the handover meeting to like McBrien.
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Ed Wilson had literally worked overnight the day before to prepare everything
for the transfer and was so unwell that doctors confined him to bed.
Although recognised by the VFL at the time with presentations and the naming of the E.L.
Wilson Shield that is awarded to each season's Premiership
team Edwin Wilson is yet to be
inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in the Administrators section
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one of the many missing names from the early years of the league across many
categories The league also took the significant step of purchasing a city office
building to be their head office Rather than renting rooms from the Victorian Cricket Association,
located on the corner of Spring Street and Flinders Lane, Harrison House was
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a significant financial investment and a statement on the emerging economic
power of the BFL to control its own destiny.
Harrison House was named in honour of the father of Australian football,
Colton Harrison, a man who actually did not invent the game,
but he was instrumental in popularising the code and formalising the laws of
(04:32):
the game in its early years.
He was also the longest surviving member of that cohort of football pioneers,
so he was honoured with the name Father of Football.
He died in 1929 as the VFL was finalising the terms for the purchase of the building.
As strong as the league was becoming, there were calls in 1929, 1930,
(04:53):
1932 and more over the decade for the clubs to hand over control to an independent board,
given the obvious conflict that each club delegate had between what was best
for the league overall versus their other commitment to their own clubs.
It would take until the 1980s for the clubs to finally surrender control.
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The fourth decade of the VFL saw battles over grounds that the game was played on intensify.
The grounds had originally been allocated to cricket clubs well before football
was a thing, so most clubs were effectively tenants of the cricket club.
The cricket clubs had formed a ground management association to address issues
of admission price, splits of gate revenue, catering and bar management, etc.
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As football clubs generated much bigger crowds and much more revenue than cricket
clubs, Anger about the Division of Gate Revenue and related issues became more intense.
In 1931, the VFL made arrangements to play games at the Motodrome,
a ground located where the Amy Park for Rugby and Soccer now stands,
(05:59):
and the Exhibition Oval, a ground that used to exist in the Exhibition Gardens,
where the Melbourne Museum is now located.
Responding to the VFL scheduling games away from traditional grounds,
the Ground Management Association threatened to evict football clubs from the
grounds they controlled and declared they would start their own football competition.
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The Victorian Government Lands Minister arbitrated an agreement that saw the
VFL schedule games at the traditional home grounds.
But when the Ground Management Association reneged on part of the deal in the
week before the opening round of 1931, like McBride went to the Victorian government
and declared that the VFL would cancel round one.
(06:42):
Recognising the outrage this would call the government arranged for the Ground
Management Association to back down.
An early example of the VFL flexing its own political power.
Ground control would continue to be a source of tension for decades.
Melbourne would eventually play three unhappy losing games on the motor drone
in 1933 but this was at least a sign of cooperation.
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Melbourne Football Club giving the MCG time to top dress the ground in preparation
for an important Ashes tour the following summer.
Richmond looked to move to the motor drive in 1936 when it could not come to
suitable terms with the cricket club at Punt Road but this move was averted
and Punt Road remains the home of the Tiger to this day.
(07:26):
While games are now played in comfortable stadiums with seats for all and many
undercover, going to the football in the 1930s required a sterner supporter.
With the exception of the grandstand, which was often controlled by the cricket
club, supporters had to stand on an embanked, sloping mound and endure rain,
wind, or whatever the weather provided,
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with toilet facilities that were basic at best.
Journalists who had been to America called for better conditions and stands
with seats for all, as seen in the United States.
But the Ground Management Association and the cricket clubs were not willing
to make those investments.
The MCG struggled to fit the crowds that were coming to finals and, in 1936,
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construction of the Southern Stand commenced which would ensure that the ground
could fit around 100,000 people even if you had to watch your club in quite
ordinary conditions throughout the home and away season.
The VFL's other sparring party, besides the Ground Management Association,
had traditionally been the VFA.
However, while the VFL was largely able to weather the storms of the Depression.
(08:32):
The VFA had a much harder time.
And there was some doubt if it was even going to survive. So there was a decade
focused more on cooperation than fighting, even if the much-discussed prospect
of amalgamation with two divisions allowing promotion and relegation never happened.
As much as it made sense to the VFA, no VFL club was going to support a scheme
(08:53):
that saw it risk relegation.
But the VFL and VFA did renew arrangements managing clearances between their
competitions and played four representative games between 1931 and 1936 to raise
funds for charity, as well as an exhibition night game in 1936.
Relations will not remain so friendly in the years to come.
(09:14):
This fourth decade of the VFL saw a number of innovations, like the night game
I just mentioned, with the VFA.
The first night game between two VFL clubs happened in 1935,
It was a practice match between Richmond and South Melbourne.
The grand final rematch attracted a large crowd at Olympic Park,
the rebranded Motor Drone, and there were plans for more practice games under lights.
(09:38):
But they were blocked by the league delegates meeting, the resistance coming
from those clubs that objected to stronger clubs getting additional revenue.
And other clubs who opposed the idea of practice matches between VFL clubs. Clubs.
Practice matches in this era were usually intra-club affairs or against VFA or country teams.
If supporters could see how their teams were performing against league clubs,
(10:02):
they might not turn up when the season started.
Night football would have to wait until the 1950s. Other innovations in this
decade were electronic time clocks at the MCG that showed exactly how much time
remained in each 25 minute quarter.
The clocks were connected to the timekeeper's clocks and would stop whenever time on was signalled.
But by 1936, the VFL decided it was not good for players to see how much time
(10:28):
remained, and the MCG removed them, much to the disappointment of the crowd.
There were also a couple of attempts to use sirens rather than bells to signal time.
But sirens in this era took a few seconds to build up volume.
Bells could be rung straight away, even if umpires did not always hear the bell on time.
The tradition of tuning into the grand final, wherever you are in the world,
(10:52):
started in 1934 with the first shortwave radio broadcast of a grand final,
which allowed a Richmond supporter to hear the Tigers win the premiership while he was in Scotland.
Rubber balls were also trialled in pre-season games for a few seasons and received mixed reviews.
They were a better option in the wet than the sodden leather ball,
(11:12):
but too flighty for the league delegates to feel comfortable in making the change
from the traditional leather footy.
Another innovation that did not go anywhere was a merged game combining rugby
league and Australian rules football.
There had been efforts prior to World War I to develop a compromised national
code that all states could play. When the 1933 National Carnival was held in
(11:36):
Sydney, there was one final push to see if such a game made sense.
A secret trial game was held between
some rugby league players and representatives of various state teams.
But despite the novel event being seen as fast and attractive,
there was little enthusiasm from the southern states and firm opposition from
many in the rugby league camp.
(11:56):
So the split between rugby league-dominated New South Wales and Queensland and
the rest of Australia continues. today.
Some changes to the rules of the game had a huge impact during the fourth decade
of the league and some continue to today.
A key difference in this era was that the VFL could not make up the rules for themselves.
They had helped set up the National Football Council to have common rules across the country.
(12:19):
It was a decision that would cause some frustration but at that time the VFL
saw giving power for the rules to the National Football Council was in the overall
best interest of the code, even if it meant the VFL could not do as it liked.
The 19th man as a substitute, no interchange allowed, was implemented in 1930.
(12:39):
Much of the opposition to this sensible proposal focused on the potential for
captains and coaches to use the 19th man to replace a player that was playing
poorly, not just a substitute for injuries.
Of course, no league club would ever manipulate collect the system for play substitutes.
A rule that had been introduced in 1925 saw a fundamental shift in the style of play this decade.
(13:03):
From 1925, if the ball went out of bounds, a free kick was awarded against the
team that last touched the ball.
Clubs began focusing play on what we would now call the centre corridor,
rather than the flanks. This meant the ball got to forwards much faster.
Scoring increased significantly, and there were several full forwards that kicked
more than 100 goals in a season.
(13:24):
The forward of the era was Collingwood's Gordon Coventry, who was the first
to top the tonne in 1929, and again in 1930, 1933 and 1934.
Or there was the extraordinary feats from Bob Pratt, who kicked 150 goals in
1934, a record that was only matched by Peter Hudson in 1971 with two extra games.
(13:45):
Off the field, the Koolta Law capping player payments was introduced.
But how faithfully it was adhered to was another question. In 1934,
North Melbourne's president said it was only the poor clubs obeying the Koolta
Law because they could not afford to pay any more.
The other major innovation was the shift from the modified Argus system of finals
(14:05):
to the McIntyre Final Four.
The change was driven by Collingwood's four premierships in a row from 1927 to 1930.
Other clubs felt the right of challenge for finishing on top of the ladder was too big an advantage.
Also, with two semi-finals and a final, unless the top of the ladder team was
beaten, resulting in a grand final, meant you never knew how long the final series would last.
(14:29):
The McIntyre Final Four, with two semi-finals, the preliminary final and a grand
final, was seen as a good balance between rewarding the teams atop the ladder
at the end of the season without giving them too much of an advantage.
Although we now have a Final Eight, we can trace its roots back to 1931,
the first year of the new Final Four system.
(14:49):
Radio itself was an emerging medium at this time.
Some country leagues wanted broadcasts banned because they feared supporters
would stay home to listen to VFL games rather than attending their local games.
Radio stations had to negotiate broadcast deals with each ground.
Broadcast revenue go to the cricket clubs rather than to the league or football
teams, much to the anger of the BFL.
(15:12):
Radio station 3KZ decided they would just put up scaffolding outside the Lakeside
Able to broadcast South Melbourne games and avoid having to pay the cricket club.
But after a few weeks, the club erected a large tarpaulin, blocking their view.
The growth of radio was significant. At the end of the 1920s,
only about 20% of homes had a radio, but by the late 1930s, over two-thirds
(15:35):
of houses were listening, and football was always a popular topic.
Newspapers were allocating more space to football and using current and former
players to provide special comments.
And there was more space allocated to photos of games, with much better quality
images than previous years.
I know from the searches I do on Trove, looking at newspapers from each season,
(15:55):
that there was a 32% increase in articles about footy between 1927 and 1936.
The public was that hungry for news about their footy. In the modern era,
the AFL is fiercely protective of their market share, battling with both rugby
league and soccer for the hearts and minds and dollars of the public.
But back in this fourth decade, it had a much more live-and-let-live attitude.
(16:20):
In 1927, the opening round of the MCG saw an exhibition soccer match between
a Victorian representative team and members of the visiting British Navy.
In 1935, the League hosted a reception for the visiting New Zealand Rugby Union team.
Mike McBride even declared that
the League was always ready to help Rugby Union, but not so much today.
(16:43):
The Brownlow Medal generated more interest each year through this decade,
while live broadcasts of the vote count were some time off.
At the end of each home and away season, there was plenty of articles previewing
who would win the coveted award.
Fitzroy had little success on the field and did not make the finals,
but they did win five brownlays.
(17:04):
Three to Hayden Button, two in his first two seasons, and one each to Wilfred
Chicken Smallhorn and Dennis Dinny Ryan.
And just as now, there was the annual discussion of whether umpires should be
casting votes and why it was always the centermen or the rovers,
what we would now call midfielders, winning this award.
Seems this is never going to change. The voting system did change after a three-way
(17:27):
tie in 1930 between Richmond's Stan Judkins, Footscray's Alan Hopkins and Collingwood's Harry Collier.
Until 1930 umpires only awarded one vote per game but from 1931 the 3-2-1 system
that we have today was introduced.
Judkins was awarded the 1930 Brownlow on the logic that he had played the fewest games for his votes.
(17:50):
Harry Collier was the catalyst for awarding retrospective Brownlows to the players
that had missed out when they tied, and he and others finally got their medals in 1989.
Also, worth noting that almost all the press reports refer to the Brownlow as
the award to the best and fairest player.
We'll see when the shift to fairest and best happens in future episodes.
(18:12):
So how did each of the clubs do over the league's fourth decade?
Decade. It was clearly Collingwood's decade.
Six grand finals for six premierships. The Magpie machine only missed the finals once.
They also had three Brownlow medalists, Sid Coventry in 1927,
Albert Collier in 1929, and his brother Harry Collier, retrospectively, in 1928.
(18:34):
Then there was Gordon Coventry topping the goal kicking five times.
In an 18-round home-and-away season, the Magpies won an average of more than
14 games per season and in 1929 they went through the home and away season undefeated
only losing a semi-final against Richmond before going on to win the grand final.
(18:54):
Richmond were the next most successful team, unlucky to have one of their best
eras at the same time as the Collingwood Machine.
The Tigers would play in seven grand finals, one more than the Magpies,
but for only two premierships.
Across 1932, 33 and 34, they played three grand finals in a row with three different
coaches, winning against Carlton in 1932 and South Melbourne in 1934.
(19:19):
The Tigers won an average of 13.2 games per season for the 10 years and missed
the finals only once in 1936.
They had one Brownlow medalist in Stan Judkins in 1930.
And while skinny Jack Titus did not leave the goal kicking in this decade,
he was one of the outstanding full forwards of the era.
It was also the decade that saw the debut of Richmond's immortal Jack Dyer.
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An extraordinary performance by the club, but in the shadow of one of the league's
most dominant teams of any era.
South Melbourne were also a powerful team. They were coming from a long way
back when the club made the decision to appoint grocery store entrepreneur Archie
Crofts to the committee, and he soon became president.
He brought a new energy and a professional approach and was pivotal in recruiting
(20:03):
the foreign legion of players from Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
With extraordinary talent such as Laurie Nash, Bob Pratt, Brighton Diggins and
more, under the powerful leadership of Captain Coach Jack Bissett,
the club made it to four Grand Finals in a row.
Was it the focus on individual brilliance rather than team performance?
(20:24):
Or was it the Crofts' curse, where Archie Crofts declared after 1933 the Premiership
triumph, that more Premierships were on the way?
Or just the fact that they played their Grand Finals against Richmond and Collingwood,
two of the best teams of any era?
While they may have only managed one Premiership, 1933 did Sea South have their
(20:47):
Swans mascot bestowed to them.
It was made official in 1934, but the Alex Gurney cartoon from the Herald was
the catalyst for the making of The Swans.
Geelong played in two grand finals, losing in 1930 to Collingwood,
but defeating Richmond in 1931.
Charlie Climo retired with the unique 100% success record as coach,
(21:08):
one season, one premiership, and back to Ballarat.
The club made the finals for five out of the ten seasons, so a mixed time for Cat supporters.
They also had George Maloney kicking 109 goals in 1932.
The Cats appointed Collingwood Charlie Dibbs
as playing coach in 1936 hoping that some
of the magpie magic might find its way to the Corio Oval But Dibbs had been
(21:32):
badly concussed in the 1935 Grand Final and retired from Geelong early in 1936
After some thoughts of reappointing Charlie Climo the committee realised that caretaker,
captain coach Reg Hickey was winning games The team won the last six games of the 1936 season,
perhaps a sign of things to come.
(21:53):
Carlton were also a successful team in the fourth decade, only missing the finals
once, but only making it to the grand final once in 1932, losing the centenary
premiership to Richmond.
Carlton had some great players Sapi Valance was
their top forward and he led the goal kicking in 1931 and
matches against long time rivals Collingwood and Richmond were eagerly anticipated
(22:16):
although they could get nasty at times The 1934 game at Victoria Park was particularly
spiteful with Gordon Coventry knocked out and Blues officials incensed that
no Collingwood players were reported,
Carlton were one of the leading clubs of the decade but they could not add to
their last premiership, won in 1915.
(22:39):
Melbourne were the only other team to make the finals in the league's fourth
decade, finishing third in 1928 and fourth in 1936.
They did manage to pick up Richmond's premiership coach, Frank Checker-Hughes,
for the 1933 season onwards, and their second 18 had an amazing run,
making six grand finals in a row and winning five premierships between 1931 and 1935.
(23:01):
It may not have been the decade the club wanted for their firsts,
but they did have the league's first dual brown low
medalist with Ivor Ward-Smith and in
1936 coach Checker Hughes revealed the
nickname the Red Demons which would soon become the Demons mascot much more
inspiring than the Fuchsias so with one win in the 1936 finals the success in
(23:25):
the second 18 a premiership coach and a decent mascot perhaps things were also
looking good for the Red Demons As noted above,
it had been an unbalanced decade, with three clubs dominating and only three
others competitive enough to make it to finals.
But what of the six remaining clubs who had raised the issue of pool and gate
(23:45):
receipts, or capping the number of players clubs could have on their list?
The more successful clubs were not very sympathetic.
They said it was up to each club to build itself up.
Easier said than done, when your zone was covered with factories rather than
homes, in the case of North Melbourne,
and the constant challenge of poor results, leading to fewer memberships being
(24:06):
sold, which made it harder to recruit players, which led to poor results,
and so the vicious cycle continued.
Hawthorne even threatened to withdraw from the league after Round 1,
1935, if their local community did not buy more membership tickets.
Let's have a look at the clubs that had a harder time.
(24:26):
Essendon had won back-to-back premierships in 1923 and 24 and played finals
in 1925 and 26, but the fourth decade of the VFL was a struggle for the team from Windy Hill.
They cycled through coaches and had some occasional bright spots,
but they were not consistent enough.
They did, however, uncover a star recruit by the name of Richard Reynolds,
(24:48):
or Dick Reynolds as he was also known.
He won a Brownlow in his second season, aged just 19, Essendon and Dick Reynolds
would go on to have much more success in the subsequent seasons than they did
in the fourth decade of the BFL.
St Kilda did not have a good decade. Reform groups took over the committee,
to be succeeded by subsequent reform groups.
(25:09):
Different coaches were tried and sacked.
Seven coaches in ten years was high even by the standards of the era.
There was one memorable game against North Melbourne in 1933,
when the team ended up with 15 men on the field, and yet had a famous victory.
The players received a special badge featuring the club motto, adopted that same year.
(25:32):
Fortius quo fidelis Strength through loyalty
And the game has grown in St Kilda
folklore North Melbourne club officials had a different
view of the game Pointing out many of the injuries were accidental
Or caused by clashes between St Kilda players And none of the experienced umpires
found any incidents worthy of report And North players were threatened by the
(25:55):
crowd Including a St Kilda baseball player with a bat I guess it depends on
which club you support The Saints supporters could also cheer for full forward Bill Moore,
another of the VFL forwards, to top the century.
He achieved his ton in 1936, 101 goals, and he didn't even have to play finals to score his century.
Footscray were one of the newcomers to the VFL, joining in 1925 and finding
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things harder than the VFA.
Though, of the three new clubs, they were the most successful through these
10 years. But when we see Hawthorne and North's performance,
that was not a high bar to clear.
The club got their mascot in 1928 when a bulldog led the team out,
and they did win an average of seven games per season, so they provided some
regular joy to their supporters.
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1931 was the best year when they finished fifth, just percentage keeping them
out of their first finals appearance.
The club made several attempts to get Sid Coventry as coach,
even announcing his appointment as playing coach in 1930.
A bit premature, as Collingwood did not clear Sid, and he would lead the Magpies
to a fourth premiership that year.
(27:01):
After Sid retired in 1935, he did take over as coach of the Bulldogs,
but he found success hard to come by.
The Doggies would benefit by the efforts of Albert Collier to see Alan Hopkins
get a retrospective brown low for 1930, but supporters had to wait till 1989 to cheer that result.
Fitzroy had been a powerhouse of the VFL in its first few decades,
(27:22):
but their last premiership was back in 1922 and in the fourth decade of the
league it ranked third last in terms of games won across the 10 years.
Like the other struggling teams it saw reform groups and new coaches come and go.
Eight coaches in 10 years does not indicate a stable environment.
They did however win the chase for the wonderful Aidan Bunton.
(27:46):
Even if he had to sit out a season and having breached the rules on how much a player could be paid.
It was a bit hypocritical for the other clubs to insist on an investigation,
given most clubs were throwing offers at the young lad from Albury,
and few abided by the rules.
Fitzroy got the play out, and they had to pay the penalty. He won two Brownlows
(28:07):
in his first two seasons, 1931 and 1932, and a third in just his fifth season.
The Maroons may not have made the finals, nor won many games,
but they did well in the Brownlow, Wilfred Chicken Smallhorn making it a hat-trick
for the club in 1933, and Dennis Dinnie Ryan getting another in 1936.
(28:28):
As a supporter and a player, you'd prefer a premiership or to play finals,
but at least Fitzroy had something to cheer about.
Hawthorne did not have much to cheer about. They too joined the league in 1925,
providing a strategic footprint in the eastern suburbs, but that's about all.
They only won 34 games across 10 seasons.
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Collingwood almost did that in two seasons. There were three wooden spoons and
in 1927 they only had one win and none in 1928.
Two long hard seasons.
The club was willing to try new ideas though.
Advertising for players in 1935 given it did not have the funds to send officials
up country or interstate for recruiting.
(29:10):
There were ongoing rumours about their place in the BFL but they would survive.
North Melbourne was the other cellar dweller for this decade.
They would only win 30 games in the 10 seasons. There were two seasons without
any wins and three with only one victory resulting in five wooden spoons.
But after all those struggles the club did win four games in 1936 including a win over Richmond.
(29:37):
So perhaps there was some hope for changing times ahead for the boys from Arden Street.
So that's what happened. across the league's fourth decade, a time remembered
for the struggles of the Depression and the dominance of the magpie machine.
An uneven decade in terms of which teams made it into finals,
but also a decade of innovations, some of which are still with us today.
(30:00):
Next episode, we will resume normal programming as we look at season 1937,
the start of the fifth decade of VFL football.
If you've enjoyed our final history, please leave a review wherever you get
your podcasts from, The more goals we kick, the easier it is for others to find the podcast.
If you have questions or want to leave feedback, please email me at info at
(30:22):
grandfinalhistory.au or check out the grandfinalhistory.au website or Facebook
and Twitter for more Grand Final History.
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