The Old Melburnians Football Club History

PREMIERSHIPS

TEAM OF THE CENTURY (24th March 1999)

A Section - J.N. WOODROW MEDAL (Competition Best and Fairest)

A Section - "JOCK" NELSON MEDAL (Best on the ground in A Section Grand Final)

B Section - G.T. MOORE MEDAL (Competition Best and Fairest)

B Section - R.I. CORDNER MEDAL (Best on the ground in B Section Grand Final)

OMFC State Representatives

The "father" of Australian Rules Football and no doubt the OMFC was H.C.A. Harrison who was born in Picton NSW on the 16th October 1836. When he was one year old his father decided to take up land in the newly opened up country of Port Phillip, later to be known as Victoria. Young Harrison grew up in Melbourne and attended the Diocesan Grammar School. The Headmaster was Mr Richard Budd, M.A. of Cambridge. When Mr Budd died in 1854 the school was closed, however in 1858 a Church of England school was re-opened under the name of the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, with Dr. Bromby as its Headmaster.

His cousin T.W. Wills a former captain of cricket and football at Rugby Public School had been invited to coach the Victorian Cricket Team as they had lost to NSW in 1856 and 1857. Wills believed that the Victorians would never win until their fitness improved. Soccer had not yet an organised sport (1863) and rugby was hardly the answer.

Over at Scotch College a master named Harvey who had also come from Rugby had six footballs sent to him from England and he encouraged the Scotch boys to learn how to kick them and they practised the difficult art at Fitzroy Gardens.

H.C.A. Harrison and Wills were looking for a sport which would resolve their cricket problems and watched these non organised games with interest. On the 7th August 1858 an advertisement appeared in the Morning Herald..."It is announced that a grand football match will be played between Church of England Grammar School and Scotch College near the Melbourne Cricket Ground, commencing at 12.00 noon, with an interval for lunch".

When the two teams lined up to do battle they numbered forty players a side. The match started on the afternoon of the 7th August 1858 and did not finish until nearly a month later. The match was played on the Richmond Paddock between Wellington Pde and the MCG. The goals were over a half a mile apart! Prior to the start of the game it was decided that the winner would be the first team to score 2 goals. After playing on three Saturday afternoons and with the score at one all the match was declared a draw because it was time to turn to cricket. This was the inauguration of Victorian Public Schools football. It was also the beginning of the Australian Rules game.

In 1920 the Old Melburnians Football Club was formed. The names of many of the footballers who played in 1920 are very familiar today with many of their descendants having played with the club since. Names such as Cordner, Mollison, Guest, Atkins, McLean, Wood, Cox and Grimwade have become household names in the club.

In 1930 the OM’s won their first premiership in A Section and have won 16 premierships in total with the last being the 2002 B Section flag. The halcyon days for the club were the 1950's when the OM’s won three A Section and one B Section flags but this was closely followed by the 1980's and 1990's when the club also won 4 premierships but only one in A Section.

The club has also produced many great footballers with B Kerr, K Rollason, G Peck, R Brown, I Murray, I Cordner, R Pisarski, A Boreham, A Pinkus, M Berry, W Thomas, P Cox and I McMullin all being presented with All Australian Blazers. The club has also been well represented at VFL/AFL level with players such as E Cordner, J Cordner, D Cordner, B Roet, B Kerr, G Peck, R Atkinson, R Brown, I McMullin, A Thompson, P Thompson, N McMullin, R Payne, K Rollason, S Griffiths, A Witts, J Nichols and no doubt others having distinguished careers.

In 81 years over 180 players have played in premierships with many having played in multiple premierships. Five players have been fortunate enough to have played in four premierships and they are R Brown, R B Church, J T Downs, R Pisarski and W B Thomas. Sixteen players have played in three premierships and they are M Berry, W Colenso, R I Cordner, P Cox, J Hannan, C Knight J Mitchell, W M Mitchell, P Mumme, J Nichols, J Porter, K Rollason, I Rutherford, T Stuckey, S Theodore, R Webb. AE Witts and A J Witts.

Looking back over club records it is interesting to note that in 1956 it cost 680 pounds to run the club. The main costs were affiliation fees 108 pounds, rent at the Albert Ground 42 pounds, medical equipment 63 pounds, footballs 126 pounds and subsidy for the Adelaide trip 85 pounds (good to see that they had their priorities right). Even taking into account inflation and the transition to decimal currency 680 pounds was a lot of money. Today it costs over $140,000.00 to run the club so in the area of money not much has changed.

In 1920 the club had one team but today we have four with over 100 players regularly playing for the club. The club was no doubt formed in order to give students leaving MGS an opportunity to play football. This is still probably the fundamental reason for the club’s existence and the formation of an Under 19's side in the early 1980's has afforded school leavers with even better opportunities today.

Most people who have played with the OM’s for a few seasons or more have derived great benefit from both on field and off field activities. All have made life long friends, some met girlfriends or even wives, and others have been able to pursue business opportunities which may not have otherwise arisen.

Football clubs also build character and in today’s society with high rates of youth suicide, drug, crime problems and simply the difficulty that young people have in finding employment means that ours and other clubs can have an even greater impact and surely have a greater responsibility.

We also have a responsibility to the people who founded the OMFC and all the administrators, players and members who have supported the club in the past 81 years. We must ensure that the opportunities that they and we had are still offered to school leavers and other players alike. Let us all hope that our great club continues and prospers for the next 81 years and beyond.