Footscray’s 10 Premierships 1898-1954
FOOTSCRAY PREMIERSHIPS: ALL 10 OF THEM 1898-1954
1898 1899 1900 1908 1913 1919 1920 1923 1924 1954
Information gained from ‘Unleashed’ – the Official History of the Footscray Football Club book.
The VFA did not hold Grand Finals as such until 1903. The team on top of the ladder at seasons end were declared Premiers.
All names have been taken from ‘Unleashed.’ So there are some unknown full names, be they full names, or just as a surname, or an initial and then surname. Some examples are F. Hewitt from 1899 and L. Serby of 1900. Spelling in the ‘Unleashed.’ Premiership players register is different for some in the general registry.
1898
The 21 players
| Arthur Armstrong | William Kruse |
| Charlie Brockwell | Charlie Molyneaux |
| Dave De Coite (Captain) | Billy McCarthy |
| Dave Drew | Alex Mitchell |
| Bobby Dick | Robert (Stump) Montgarrett |
| Billy Dickens | William Robinson |
| Charlie Grunden | Pat Shanahan |
| Col Gregory | Ted Suffolk |
| William (Ching) Harris | Alf (Tracker) Wilson |
| Thomas (Paddy) Hinch | Arthur (Nance) Williams |
| Jack James |
1899
The 24 players
| Arthur Armstrong | Jack James |
| Charlie Brockwell | William Kruse |
| Alf Cunningham | Billy McCarthy |
| Lou Daily | Joe Marmo |
| Dave De Coite (Captain) | Alex Mitchell |
| Billy Dickens | T. Mitchell |
| Dave Drew | Charlie Molyneaux |
| Col Gregory | Robert (Stump) Montgarrett |
| Charlie Grunden | William Robinson |
| F. Hewitt # | Ted Suffolk |
| William (Ching) Harris | Alf (Tracker) Wilson |
| Thomas (Paddy) Hinch | Arthur (Nance) Williams |
1900
The 24 players
| Charlie Brockwell | Edgar ‘Coronation’ McGlynn |
| Lou Daily | Joe Marmo |
| Dave De Coite (Captain) | Alex Mitchell |
| Billy Dickens | Charlie Molyneaux |
| Dave Drew | Robert (Stump) Montgarrett |
| Charlie Grunden | Jim ‘Slim’ Pymm |
| Col Gregory | William Robinson |
| William (Ching) Harris | L. Serby* |
| Thomas (Paddy) Hinch | Robert Sevior |
| William Kruse | Ted Suffolk |
| Billy McCance | Jack Todd |
| Billy McCarthy | Arthur (Nance) Williams |
Footscray Premiers 1908
| Teams | Quarter Time | Half Time | 3/4 Time | Full Time |
| Footscray | 1. 2. 8 | 3. 4. 22 | 6. 5. 41 | 9. 10. 64 |
| Brunswick | 2. 0. 12 | 4. 0. 24 | 5. 3. 33 | 6. 4. 40 |
Footscray Grand Final Team of 1908
| Backline | Vic Neilson | William (Ching) Harris | Joe Greenwood |
| Half Back Line | Tom Sevior | Joe Marmo | Dan (Soldier) McCarthy |
| Centreline | Fred Hansen | Archie Clarke | George Stewart |
| Half Forward Line | Johnny Lander | W. Egan | Fred Elliott |
| Forward Line | Jim Neylan | Jack Hutchinson | Tom McKinley |
| Followers | Arthur Gregory | ||
| Rover | Roy Cotton | ||
| Captain | Tom McKinley | ||
| Coach | Jim Cassidy |
Footscray Premiers 1913
| Teams | Quarter Time | Half Time | 3/4 Time | Full Time |
| Footscray | 4. 2. 26 | 7. 10. 52 | 8. 13. 61 | 10. 14. 74 |
| North Melbourne | 3. 4. 22 | 6. 4. 40 | 10. 6. 66 | 11. 7. 73 |
Footscray Grand Final Team of 1919
| Backline | Billy Mongan | Jack Meuleman | Bill Edwards |
| Half Back Line | Charles Grierson | Norm Ford | Frank Davidson |
| Centreline | Alec (Tattles) Patterson | Johnny Grierson | F. Fitzgibbon |
| Half Forward Line | Aubrey McKenzie | Vernon Banbury | Harry Greaves |
| Forward Line | Harry Morgan | Johnny Craddock | Paddy L’Estrange |
| Followers | Jack (Chooka) Howell | Vic Samson | |
| Rover | Johnny Martin | ||
| Captain | Johnny Craddock | ||
| Coach | Billy Sewart |
Footscray Premiers 1920
| Teams | Quarter Time | Half Time | 3/4 Time | Full Time |
| Footscray | 3. 3. 21 | 5. 4. 34 | 6. 7. 43 | 10. 9. 69 |
| Brunswick | 1. 5. 11 | 3. 12. 30 | 6. 15. 51 | 8. 18. 66 |
Footscray Grand Final Team of 1920
| Backline | Vic Samson | Jack Meuleman | C. Miller |
| Half Back Line | Len Jonnson | Charles Grierson | Bill Edwards |
| Centreline | Sam Holden | Johnny Grierson | Les Govan |
| Half Forward Line | Percy Maybury | Vernon Banbury | Aubrey McKenzie |
| Forward Line | Paddy L’Estrange | Johnny Craddock | Roy Park |
| Followers | Jack (Chooka) Howell | J Carmody | |
| Rover | Johnny Martin | ||
| Captain | Johnny Craddock | ||
| Coach | Not established | Most likely to be | Johnny Craddock |
Footscray Premiers 1923
| Teams | Quarter Time | Half Time | 3/4 Time | Full Time |
| Footscray | 3. 4. 22 | 3. 4. 22 | 6. 9. 45 | 7. 10. 52 |
| Port Melbourne | 0. 0. 0 | 2. 1. 13 | 2. 2. 14 | 5. 8. 38 |
Footscray Grand Final Team of 1923
| Backline | William Doolan | Sivies | Vic Smith |
| Half Back Line | Morden | Norm Ford | Frans Nielsen |
| Centreline | Rupert Gibb | Alby Outen | Bill McIntyre |
| Half Forward Line | Wally Fraser | Jack O’Brien | Vic Samson |
| Forward Line | Jack (Chooka) Howell | Tom Mullens | J. Scanlon |
| Followers | Con McCarthy | Charlie Zinnick | |
| Rover | Alex Eason | ||
| Captain | Con McCarthy | ||
| Coach | Con McCarthy |
Footscray Premiers 1924
| Teams | Quarter Time | Half Time | 3/4 Time | Full Time |
| Footscray | 3. 5. 23 | 4. 6. 30 | 9. 9. 63 | 11. 11. 77 |
| Williamstown | 0. 1. 1 | 0. 4. 4 | 0. 4. 4 | 3. 4. 22 |
Footscray Grand Final Team of 1924
| Backline | William Doolan | Jack Meuleman | Wally Fraser |
| Half Back Line | Bill McIntyre | Norm Ford | Frans Nielsen |
| Centreline | Rupert Gibb | Colin Laidlaw | Alf Merton |
| Half Forward Line | Alan Hopkins | Jack O’Brien | Tom McHenry |
| Forward Line | Charlie Zinnick | Tom Mullens | Les Punch |
| Followers | Con McCarthy | Vic Samson | |
| Rover | Alex Eason | ||
| Captain | Con McCarthy | ||
| Coach | Con McCarthy |
Footscray Premiers 1954
| Teams | Quarter Time | Half Time | 3/4 Time | Full Time |
| Footscray | 6. 3. 39 | 8. 5. 53 | 12. 9. 81 | 15. 12. 102 |
| Melbourne | 1. 4. 10 | 4. 6. 30 | 6. 7. 43 | 7. 9. 51 |
Footscray Grand Final Team of 1954
| Backline | Wally Donald | Herb Henderson | Dave Bryden |
| Half Back Line | Alan Martin | Ted Whitten | Jim Gallagher |
| Centreline | Ron McCarthy | Don Ross | Doug Reynolds |
| Half Forward Line | Roger Duffy | Peter Box | Ron Stockman |
| Forward Line | Charlie Sutton | Jack Collins | Brian Gilmore |
| Followers | Harvey Stevens | Arthur Edwards | |
| Rover | John Kerr | ||
| Reserves | Angus Abbey | Jack Nuttall | |
| Just missed out | Lionel Ryan | Omitted to make | way for return of Sutton |
| Captain | Charlie Sutton | ||
| Coach | Charlie Sutton |
The players written in the Bold & Italic font are still alive.
