Leopold Football Club

For the current Geelong-based club, see Leopold Football Netball Club.
Leopold Football Club
Names
Full nameLeopold Football Club
NicknameLeos[1][2]
Club details
Founded1898 (1898)
Dissolved1924 (1924)
PresidentC.D.M. Thomson (1912)[3][4]
PremiershipsMJFA (5)
GroundWarehousemen's Cricket Ground
Uniforms
Home

The Leopold Football Club was an Australian rules football club based in the suburb of South Melbourne.[5][6]

The club is best known for acting as the reserves team for the South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Junior Football League (VJFL, later AFL reserves) from 1919 until 1924.[7][8]

History

Leopold first appeared in historical records in 1890 playing a programme of social games each season. In 1895 they were influential in the formation of the newly formed 'fourth rate' competition; the South Suburban Junior Football Association where they were runners up in 1895 to the Marlton Club and premiers in 1896 and 1897. In 1898 they joined the Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA).[9] The club won its first MJFA premiership in 1900, going back-to-back with another victory in 1901.[7] At the time, the club played its home games at Warehousemen's Cricket Ground.[10][11]

The club originally played home fixtures on a ground near the Middle Park railway station. From 1898 to 1900 they played at the North Port Oval, 1901 to 1904 on the Warehouseman’s ground, and from 1905 to 1924 on the Lakeside Oval.

The club’s was believed to be formed by members of the Rechabites and chose the name Leopold as a tribute to Queen Victoria’s youngest son Prince Leopold who was a prominent proponent of teetotalism.

Their uniform was a red jumper with blue shorts and red hose. Their all red hose led to their nickname being the Redlegs. In 1922 they changed to a white jumper with a red sash which they wore until 1924.

At some point around 1904, Leopold had a relationship with the Melbourne Football Club. Possibly due to its use of the Warehousemans Ground (Albert Ground) in this era. However, its later use of the South Melbourne Cricket Ground (Lake Oval) forged its connexion with the South Melbourne Football Club. [12]

The club won two premierships in a row again in 1910 and 1911.[7] In 1912, like other MJFA clubs developing formal affiliations, Leopold developed an association with the South Melbourne Football Club, which competed in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[9] As South Melbourne was a senior side, Leopold operated as its junior team.[13] South Melbourne’s 1909 VFL premiership team contained six players (Dave Barry, George Bower, Bob Deas, Horrie Drane, Alf Gough, and Alan Pentland) recruited from the Leopold Club and indicated the standard of the Leopolds.

A fifth premiership was won in 1913, before the impacts of World War I in Australia affected football competitions. The MJFA went into recess in 1916 and Leopold similarly went into recess from 1916 to 1918. The VFL had chosen to form a feeder competition for its clubs prior to the outbreak of the war but held off until 1919 to institute it. As the MJFA was yet to reform, Leopold chose to accept South Melbourne FC’s offer to be its representative in the VJFL.

The club’s influence on the football world in the first half of the twentieth century was profound. Former players were Like McBrien who was VFL Secretary 1929 to 1956; George Cathie who was founding editor of the Football Record; Jack McGuinness Secretary of the Geelong Football Club; and Squire Reid VFA President 1947-48. It was often desribed in the press as the best junior club in Melbourne and given its record against clubs like Brighton, Coburg and Hawthorn who went on to play in the VFA and VFL, it was surprising it was not offered a place in a higher competition but the lack of its own home ground and failure to be a district named club clearly worked against them being promoted to the VFL or VFA. The MJFA often played its finals matches as curtain raisers to VFL finals games and so the Leopolds were well known to the broader football community.

VJFL

The VFL introduced a reserves competition in 1919, known as the Victorian Junior Football League (VJFL), and Leopold contested as South Melbourne's affiliate until the end of the 1924 season. Other VFL clubs had affiliate clubs represent them such as Collingwood District FC, Carlton Juniors FC but the terms Districts and Juniors were later discarded.

In 1925, the competition was renamed as the VFL seconds and the League decided that all senior clubs must have a representative side. Leopold had two choices; rename itself as the South Melbourne second eighteen or continue in its own name in another competition. It chose the former option and on the eve of the 1925 season at its AGM, the Club renamed itself. It operated as a separately run committee as the South Melbourne Second Eighteen until 1933 when the VFL directed all Clubs to bring their Reserves teams under the direct control of their senior committees.

In 1936 there was an effort to revive the Club and a Leopold team was entered in the A Grade of the Melbourne Boys League. The organisation of the team was rushed and struggled to recruit players. It finished the season bottom of the eight teams with no wins, twelve losses, and one no match. It did not reappear again in 1937 and the Leopold name disappeared forever.

Seasons

Premiers Grand Finalist Minor premiers Finals appearance Wooden spoon League leading goalkicker League best and fairest
Year League Finish W L D Captain President Secretary Treasurer Ref
1895 SSJFA 2nd 14 2 0
1896 SSJFA 1st J. Deas R. J. Cathie S. Cathie
1897 SSJFA 1st J. Deas R. J. Cathie L. W. Bennett
1898 MJFA 3rd 9 5 2 L. W. Bennett [14]
1899 MJFA 2nd 10 4 3 G. Cathie [15]
1900 MJFA 1st 15 1 0 T. Williams J. Noy J. O'Donnell J. Lillie
1901 MJFA 1st 14 14 0 T. Williams J. Noy[16] E. Hocking J. Lillie [17]
1902 MJFA 5th 9 7 0 T. Williams R. J. Cathie[18] S. J. Cathie J. Lillie [19]
1903 MJFA 2nd 14 1 1 T. Williams R. J. Cathie J. Remington J. Lillie [20]
1904 MJFA 3rd 12 6 0 T. Williams R. J. Cathie J. Lillie [21]
1905 MJFA 3rd 11 6 1 T. Williams R. J. Cathie R. Howie J. Lillie [22]
1906 MJFA 4th 12 6 0 J. C. H. Richardson [23]
1907 MJFA 5th 9 9 0 -. Curnow E. D. M. Thomson J. R. Briggs R. Howie [24]
1908 MJFA 2nd 16 2 0 E. D. M. Thomson J. R. Briggs R. Howie [25]
1909 MJFA 3rd 15 3 0 T. Drewitt E. D. M. Thomson J. R. Briggs T. Drewitt [26]
1910 MJFA 2nd 14 4 0 J. Bray E. D. M. Thomson D. M. McIntosh L. H. McBrien [27]
1911 MJFA 1st 17 1 0 E. D. M. Thomson D. M. McIntosh L. H. McBrien [28]
1912 MAFA 4th 12 6 0 T. Hughes E. D. M. Thomson E. N. Glass L. H. McBrien [29]
1913 MAFA 2nd 14 3 1 T. Hughes E. D. M. Thomson E. N. Glass L. H. McBrien [30]
1914 MAFA 3rd 12 6 0 T. Hughes L. Tate E. N. Glass E. S. Evans [31]
1915 MAFA 2nd 12 1 1 T. Hughes L. Tate E. N. Glass E. S. Evans [32]
1919 VJFL 3rd 3rd 10 6 W. Hennington L. Tate E. N. Glass
1920 VJFL 7th 6 10 0 P. Skehan & C. Glass T. J. Sealy H. Jarman E. N. Glass
1921 VJFL 9th 1 15 0 M. Ryan & L. Turner T. J. Sealy H. Jarman E. N. Glass
1922 VJFL 9th 4 12 0 T. Hughes T. J. Sealy H. M. Stanley E. N. Glass
1923 VJFL 5th 9 9 0 M. Ryan T. J. Sealy H. M. Sealy J. McGuinness Jnr
1924 VJFL 5th 10 8 0 E. Marsh T. J. Sealy H. M. Sealy J. N. A. Meehan
1936 MBL A 8th 0 12 *

VFL (AFL) players

References

  1. ^ "LEOPOLD F.C. NOTES". Standard. 22 September 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  2. ^ "LEOPOLD v. ST. IGNATIUS". Record. 26 July 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  3. ^ "LEOPOLD CLUB". The Age. 26 March 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  4. ^ "LEOPOLD CLUB". The Age. 20 March 1912. p. 13. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  5. ^ "FOOTBALL TEAMS". Leader. 6 October 1900. p. 36. Retrieved 13 August 2024. The Leopolds, whose district is South Melbourne
  6. ^ "LEOPOLD FOOTBALL TEAM: PREMIERS METROPOLITAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION. 1900". The Australasian. 6 October 1900. p. 30. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Dowd, David (30 April 2012). "Club History". Leopold Football Netball Club. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Coburg Two Years In League Seconds". Sporting Globe. 11 April 1945.
  9. ^ a b "A BRIEF HISTORY This was later renamed the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA) and then the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA)" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 9 April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  10. ^ "JUNIOR MATCHES". The Herald. 3 May 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  11. ^ "METROPOLITAN". The Herald. 21 June 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  12. ^ "FOOTBALL NOTES". Australasian. The Australasian. 7 May 1904. I hear that the redlegs will be able still to draw upon their Leopold friends for such supplies as may be necessary to equip them fully.
  13. ^ Football: Metropolitan Amateur Association, The Argus, (Saturday, 8 May 1915), p.17.
  14. ^ "METROPOLITAN JUNIOR ASSOCIATION". Trove. Leader. 17 September 1898. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  15. ^ "METROPOLITAN JUNIOR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". The Age. 13 September 1899. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  16. ^ "FOOTBALL". Record. 6 April 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Metropolitan Football Association". Leader. 7 September 1901. p. 17. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  18. ^ "METROPOLITAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". The Age. 7 August 1902. p. 7. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  19. ^ "THE FOOTBALL SEASON". The Age. 22 September 1902. p. 9. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  20. ^ "BRIGHTON PREMIERS". The Argus. 7 September 1903. p. 7. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  21. ^ "METROPOLITAN ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 5 September 1904. p. 7. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  22. ^ "PORT ROVERS F.C. PREMIERS 1905". Port Melbourne Standard. 2 September 1905. p. 4. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  23. ^ "SUCCESS OF UNIVERSITY CLUB". The Age. 3 September 1906. p. 11. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  24. ^ "UNIVERSITY AGAIN PREMIERS". The Age. 9 September 1907. p. 10. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  25. ^ "SOUTH YARRA CHAMPIONS". The Age. 7 September 1908. p. 9. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  26. ^ "SOUTH YARRA WINS MINOR PREMIERSHIP". The Age. 30 August 1909. p. 11. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  27. ^ "METROPOLITAN ASSOCIATION". The Argus. 5 September 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  28. ^ "METROPOLITAN ASSOCIATION". The Age. 5 September 1911. p. 12. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  29. ^ "BEVERLEY MINOR PREMIERS". The Age. 2 September 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  30. ^ "COLLINGWOOD DISTRICT MINOR PREMIERS". The Age. 1 September 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  31. ^ "METROPOLITAN". Trove. The Argus. 24 August 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  32. ^ "METROPOLITAN AMATEUR". The Argus. 26 July 1915. p. 11. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
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