History of the Essendon football club

Building Up

In 1897, a breakaway league was formed, the Victorian Football League. Along with Essendon, the new league consisted of Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Carlton and St.Kilda. The VFL would go on to become the most powerful league in the country and eventually became the Australian Football League in 1990 almost one hundred years after its beginnings. But back in 1897, the league was new, and so the first year's competition was played under a round-robin style scheme, with the top four teams from the 'home & away' rounds playing each other again, and thus deciding the premier without an actual grand final. In this first year, Essendon secured the first of its 16 premierships.

Success eluded Essendon until 1901, when the return of the great Albert Thurgood from the goldfields of Western Australia allowed the club to once again take the flag. True Grand Finals had been played since the 1898 year, when Essendon had gone down to Fitzroy, but with Thurgood the club defeated Collingwood 6.7.43 to 2.4.16 in the premiership game. With Thurgood's return and another fine forward in Fred Hiskins, Essendon became the first club to score more than 1,000 points in a season, with a tally 1,174 points. In 1902 the results were reversed and such was the belief that Thurgood was so good that no-one could contain his efforts that when he was kept to only one goal for the Grand Final, the club investigated his affairs. Despite finding completely exonerated, the fallout with the club saw the greatest player in the league effectively retire. He would return again in 1906, but by then his body was no longer able to reproduce the great feats of the past decade. 1906 was to be the last season for Thurgood, easily the first superstar of League football and one of the greatest player to ever wear red & black.

In 1911 and 1912 the Same Olds would taste victory in Grand Finals, this time under coach John Worrall, whom they had secured after his tenure as a master coach at Carlton in 1911. Another great era seemed at hand, but with World War One, the club was left decimated and by the end of the decade the club was struggling to hold onto its proud tradition of success.

In 1922, Essendon moved from playing at the East Melbourne ground, to the Essendon Recreation Reserve; the ground eventually known as Windy Hill. Along with the move to the new ground came a gradual change to the names supporters used for the club. Up until the move the club had been known as variously the 'Sash Wearers", the "Same Olds" and the "Essendonians". With the move came the new nicknames of "Bombers" and "Dons" that are still in use today. The move also saw the Dons make it back to the upper reaches of the ladder, with a preliminary final loss in 1922 and premiership in 1923.

The 1923 side coined the phrase "Mosquito Fleet" after the speed with which Essendon's smaller players ran the ball from end to end. Six of Essendon's premiership side were 5 foot six inches or less, and included Charley Hardy, the second shortest man to ever play league football at just five feet three inches tall. The 1923 side would go on to back-to-back flags, repeating the success of 1923's victory over Fitzroy . The 1924 success was soured, with many players accused of taking bribes. Despite the flags of 23-24, the rumors and speculation about the money taking episode would cause the club to drop from the heights it was enjoying down to cellar dwellars for more than a decade. As Michael Mapplestone puts it in his excellent history of the club, 'Flying Higher': "It was probably the blackest time in Essendon's History."

Next: Golden Age

The people over at Australian Football Video currently have the "Bombers - The history of the Essendon Football Club" DVD available at a discount price. Instead of the usual $29.95, the DVD is being offered at just $19.95. It covers the history of the club in detail from the era of Dick Reynolds right through to the current players and coach. The documentary includes narration by club favorite Tim Watson.

All original images on this site remain the property of Danny Bishop and cannot be used without prior approval. Any tradmarks remain the property of their respective owners. It doesn't look like the AFL have the best interests of fans at heart, so make sure you're a member of your club so you can have a say. Go Bombers. ©2004-2005.