Victorian Football Club (Western Australia)

The Victorian Football Club, often referred to as Victorians or Vics, was an Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Formed in 1885, the club was a founding member of the West Australian Football Association (WAFA), which was established the same year. The club merged with the West Australian Football Club at the end of the 1888 season to form the Metropolitan Football Club (now the West Perth Football Club).

Victorians
Names
Full nameVictorian Football Club
Nickname(s)Victorians, Vics, Reds
Club details
Founded1885
Dissolved1888 (merged with West Australians)
Colours         navy blue and cardinal
CompetitionWAFA (1885–88)
Captain(s)↓ see below
Premiershipsnil
Ground(s)Old Recreation Ground
New Recreation Ground

History

The club was established on 2 May 1885, when a meeting was held at the Criterion Hotel in Perth in order to form a "new Footballers' Club". At the meeting, A. C. Rankin and H. S. Haussen were elected captain and vice-captain of the club, respectively, while J. C. H. James was elected president. A number of names were suggested for the new club, with "various appellations such as Cornstalks, Wanderers, Federals, and Victorians" being suggested. It was eventually decided that the club would be known as the Victorian Football Club, and would play in navy blue and cardinal guernseys.[1]

The following week, on 8 May, representatives of Victorians and two other clubs, Rovers and Fremantle, met at the Criterion Hotel, establishing the West Australian Football Association. Victorians' secretary, Hugh Dixson, was made secretary of the new association.[2] Later, the High School (now Hale School) was invited to field a team in the competition, but dropped out of the league after two matches due to a lack of competitiveness. Victorians' first match, which was also the first match of the competition, was against Rovers on 3 June, and was played at the Recreation Ground (later the Esplanade Reserve) near the Swan River. Victorians' team consisted of 19 players, with four emergencies. Rules for the match were variable – the game began with a kick-off instead of a ball-up, and one player, Drummond of the Rovers, carried the ball behind the line in an attempt to score a Rugby-style "touchdown".[3] The match ended with Rovers (one goal, six behinds and a touchdown) defeating Victorians (six behinds).[4] The club played a further five games for the season, finishing with a total of two wins, one draw, and three losses, allowing them to finish in second place behind Rovers on the ladder.[5]

At the general meeting of the club in April 1886, Dixson was replaced by H. Wilson as secretary, and J. C. H. James moved to the position of chairman, allowing Edward V. H. Keane to assume the position of president of the club. It was also noted that there were: "names of a hundred members on the books".[6] Victorians finished runner-up in the competition in both 1886 and 1887, dropping to third place in 1888.[7]

In April 1889, a meeting of the West Australian and Victorian Football Clubs was held at the Criterion Hotel, in which it was unanimously decided to amalgamate the two clubs into a single club known as the Metropolitan Football Club, which has survived until the present day as the West Perth Football Club. The West Australians' captain, F. McDonough, remained captain of the combined club, while West Australians' club colours of red and black were maintained for the merged club.[8]

Honourboard
YearPositionCaptainVice-captainPatronPresidentSecretaryRef
18852ndAlexander RankinH. S. HaussenFrederick BroomeJ. C. H. JamesHugh Dixson[1]
18862ndAlexander RankinH. GamsonEdward ScottEdward V. H. KeaneHorace Wilson[6]
18872ndHorace WilsonHarry SadlerEdward V. H. KeaneHector RasonA. Lake[9]
18883rdHarry SadlerW. SheehanHector RasonEdward ScottA. A. Moffat[10]
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References
  1. NEW FOOTBALL CLUB. – The West Australian. Published Tuesday, 5 May 1885. Retrieved from Trove, 30 June 2012.
  2. FOOTBALL. – The West Australian. Published Wednesday, 13 May 1885. Retrieved from Trove, 1 July 2012.
  3. Beginning with beginnings: the 1885 season – WestAustralianFootball. Published 30 October 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  4. ROVERS V. VICTORIAN – The West Australian. Published Wednesday, 10 June 1885. Retrieved from Trove, 1 July 2012.
  5. WEST PERTH - Part One: 1885 to 1944 – Full Points Footy. Archived by the National Library of Australia. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  6. VICTORIAN FOOTBALL CLUB. – The Western Mail. Published Saturday, 24 April 1886. Retrieved from Trove, 1 July 2012.
  7. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE - PREMIERSHIP PLACINGS 1885 TO 1924 – Full Points Footy. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  8. FOOTBALL. – Western Mail. Published Saturday, 27 April 1889. Retrieved from Trove, 27 June 2012.
  9. THE VICTORIAN FOOTBALL CLUB. – The West Australian. Published Saturday, 26 March 1887. Retrieved from Trove, 1 July 2012.
  10. FOOTBALL. – The West Australian. Published Saturday, 26 March 1887. Retrieved from Trove, 1 July 2012.
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