History of Australian Rules Football in Victoria (1859–1900) - 1860s and 1870s

1860s and 1870s

Within a few years of the drafting of the early rules, there were no fewer than 19 football clubs using the rules drafted at the Parade Hotel. The following clubs are known to have existed by the mid-1860s:
Ballarat
Brunswick
Carlton
Castlemaine
Collingwood (no association with the present club, formed in 1892)
Emerald Hill
Geelong
Melbourne
Melbourne Grammar School
Northcote
Richmond (no association with the present club, formed in 1885)
Royal Park
Scotch College
University
Wharehousemen
Williamstown

In 1865 the first moves towards the establishment of a roof body were seen when the Athletic Sports Committee presented a Challenge Cup for the champion Senior team. The result was disputed in 1869 with both Carlton and Melbourne claiming the Cup. In the following year, Melbourne and South Yarra both claimed champion status. However, there's a strong clue as to whom the Athletic Sports Committee thought was the righful claimant when, in 1871, the Cup was renamed the South Yarra Challenge Cup. A few years after the Challenge Cup was first presented, Junior teams were able to compete for a Junior Challenge Cup.

Prior to the actual establishment of an official football-only roof body in 1877, there was still a great degree of organisation and cooperation between the various clubs. Regular meetings were held between the secretaries of the clubs at which, inter alia, the following matters were discussed:
- changes and refinements to the rules;
- fixtures for each season;
- the naming of the Champion club at the end of each season.

These meetings would have also discussed the ratings of each club, which were by the early 1870s listed in the following categories:
* Senior clubs
* Junior clubs
* Minor clubs
* Country clubs
* School clubs.

Fixtures did not necessarily confine clubs to playing other teams with a similar rating but if, for example, a Senior club played a Junior club, the Junior club would be allowed to have a greater number of players on the field. Clubs did not only play against other Victorian clubs and games between interstate teams were surprisingly frequent, particularly for the days before the establishment of interstate railway links, when the most common way of travelling from Melbourne to, say, Sydney or Adelaide, was by sea.

In the early/mid-1870s an annual called The Footballer was published. The 1875 edition is kept in the collection of the State Library of Victoria. The Footballer provides readers with a fascinating insight into the early days of the game. It includes the results of all matches and a full and comprehensive listing of all contemporary teams, Senior, Junior, Minor, Country and School Clubs. The listing for most clubs includes details of its uniform, officials, playground (sic), year of formation, number of members and, importantly, potted biographies of most players.

In 1875 the following eight clubs were listed in The Footballer, as Senior Clubs:
Albert Park
Carlton
Carlton Imperials
East Melbourne
Hotham
Melbourne
St Kilda
University.

(Country-based clubs that were later to be regarded by the VFA as Senior Clubs, were listed by The Footballer in the country section. These include: Ballarat, Ballarat Imperials, Beechworth, Castlemaine, Geelong, Inglewood, Rochester and South Ballarat).

There were as many as 33 junior clubs listed in 1875.

The need for some roof body is illustrated by an anecdote from 1875. The East Melbourne v Williamstown game was cancelled when the East Melbourne players decided that they would rather watch the Carlton v Melbourne game!