The 1953 VFL season was the 57th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 18 April until 26 September, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.
In 1953, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1953 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page–McIntyre system.
Because Anzac Day fell on a Saturday, there was a fortnight between Rounds 1 and 2. On the evening of Friday 24 April a night-time exhibition match was held between Collingwood and Fitzroy, under lights, at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds for the benefit of St Vincent's Hospital. Collingwood 9.13 (67) defeated Fitzroy 4.19 (43) before a crowd of 22,000.[1]
Footscray won its first final since joining the league in 1925, their twenty-ninth season. This came after making the finals six times previously and being eliminated each time (1938, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1948 and 1951).
In Round 5, Fitzroy came close to becoming the first (and only) VFL/AFL team to be held scoreless in their match against Footscray at the Western Oval, which was played amidst heavy rain and a burst water main. Allan Ruthven managed their only scoring shot, a goal, with about six minutes remaining in the match.[2] To date, it remains the longest amount of time a team has been kept scoreless in a match.
In a streak spanning from 1952 until 1953, Geelong won 23 consecutive matches and played 26 consecutive matches without defeat; both of these remain VFL/AFL records as of 2021. The winning streak ended in Round 14, when Collingwood defeated Geelong by 20 points. At the time, Geelong had a 13–0 record and a four game lead over second-place, but won only three of its eight remaining games for the season.
Overall it was a low-scoring season: Footscray's 959 points against remains the lowest average points conceded per game since 1919; the season's highest score of 21.10 (136) was the lowest since 1924; and, for the first time since 1927, there was no match where both teams scored more than 100 points.
Collingwood supporter and businessman John Wren suffered a heart attack at the 1953 Grand Final and died one month later.
References
^Hugh Buggy (25 April 1953). "Magpies rout Maroons in third quarter". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 30.
^Hugh Buggy (25 May 1953). "One goal debacle nears record". The Argus. Melbourne. p. 12.
Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN0-9591740-2-8
Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN0-670-90809-6
Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN0-670-86814-0
External links
1953 Season - AFL Tables
Ken Piesse, "Stray Cat lifts lid on Grand Final dumping", (Sunday Herald Sun, 23 September 2007)
January 28, 2023
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The 1953 VFL season was the 57th season of the Victorian Football League VFL the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria The season featured twelve clubs ran from 18 April until 26 September and comprised an 18 game home and away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs 1953 VFL premiership seasonTeams12PremiersCollingwood12th premiershipMinor premiersGeelong8th minor premiershipBrownlow MedallistBill Hutchison Essendon Leading Goalkicker MedallistJohn Coleman Essendon Matches played112Highest89 149 19521954 The premiership was won by the Collingwood Football Club for the twelfth time after it defeated Geelong by twelve points in the 1953 VFL Grand Final Contents 1 Premiership season 1 1 Round 1 1 2 Round 2 1 3 Round 3 1 4 Round 4 1 5 Round 5 1 6 Round 6 1 7 Round 7 1 8 Round 8 1 9 Round 9 1 10 Round 10 1 11 Round 11 1 12 Round 12 1 13 Round 13 1 14 Round 14 1 15 Round 15 1 16 Round 16 1 17 Round 17 1 18 Round 18 2 Ladder 3 Finals 3 1 First Semi Final 3 2 Second Semi Final 3 3 Preliminary Final 3 4 Grand final 4 Awards 5 Notable events 6 References 7 External linksPremiership season EditIn 1953 the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on the field players each plus two substitute players known as the 19th man and the 20th man A player could be substituted for any reason however once substituted a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances Teams played each other in a home and away season of 18 rounds matches 12 to 18 were the home and way reverse of matches 1 to 7 Once the 18 round home and away season had finished the 1953 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page McIntyre system Round 1 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateGeelong 12 15 87 Hawthorn 5 8 38 Kardinia Park 19 877 18 April 1953Essendon 17 9 111 Fitzroy 12 16 88 Windy Hill 23 100 18 April 1953Collingwood 17 16 118 South Melbourne 11 11 77 Victoria Park 29 678 18 April 1953Carlton 7 18 60 Footscray 9 11 65 Princes Park 27 198 18 April 1953St Kilda 8 9 57 North Melbourne 14 21 105 Junction Oval 14 000 18 April 1953Richmond 11 7 73 Melbourne 9 13 67 Punt Road Oval 18 000 18 April 1953Round 2 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateHawthorn 8 9 57 St Kilda 13 14 92 Glenferrie Oval 12 000 2 May 1953Footscray 8 13 61 Geelong 15 12 102 Western Oval 28 500 2 May 1953Fitzroy 12 9 81 Richmond 11 14 80 Brunswick Street Oval 21 000 2 May 1953South Melbourne 13 21 99 Essendon 13 11 89 Lake Oval 29 231 2 May 1953North Melbourne 18 10 118 Collingwood 11 9 75 Arden Street Oval 21 377 2 May 1953Melbourne 8 11 59 Carlton 13 12 90 MCG 29 204 2 May 1953Round 3 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateFootscray 16 15 111 Hawthorn 6 6 42 Western Oval 15 000 9 May 1953Essendon 17 20 122 St Kilda 7 16 58 Windy Hill 18 000 9 May 1953Collingwood 9 19 73 Geelong 14 14 98 Victoria Park 33 000 9 May 1953North Melbourne 12 12 84 Melbourne 11 17 83 Arden Street Oval 12 000 9 May 1953South Melbourne 10 15 75 Fitzroy 12 14 86 Lake Oval 24 000 9 May 1953Richmond 15 8 98 Carlton 16 8 104 Punt Road Oval 31 000 9 May 1953Round 4 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateHawthorn 7 11 53 South Melbourne 9 9 63 Glenferrie Oval 12 000 16 May 1953Fitzroy 12 14 86 North Melbourne 10 15 75 Brunswick Street Oval 20 500 16 May 1953Carlton 14 11 95 Collingwood 14 19 103 Princes Park 37 500 16 May 1953St Kilda 11 17 83 Richmond 8 17 65 Junction Oval 16 500 16 May 1953Melbourne 4 6 30 Footscray 9 21 75 MCG 23 727 16 May 1953Geelong 12 7 79 Essendon 9 11 65 Kardinia Park 35 000 16 May 1953Round 5 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateEssendon 6 10 46 Melbourne 9 3 57 Windy Hill 9 500 23 May 1953Collingwood 13 18 96 Hawthorn 3 8 26 Victoria Park 9 627 23 May 1953Carlton 7 10 52 St Kilda 6 7 43 Princes Park 9 150 23 May 1953South Melbourne 8 10 58 North Melbourne 9 8 62 Lake Oval 11 000 23 May 1953Richmond 6 16 52 Geelong 15 16 106 Punt Road Oval 10 000 23 May 1953Footscray 10 6 66 Fitzroy 1 0 6 Western Oval 14 087 23 May 1953Round 6 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateGeelong 14 16 100 South Melbourne 7 5 47 Kardinia Park 24 832 30 May 1953Collingwood 9 8 62 Richmond 5 9 39 Victoria Park 23 036 30 May 1953St Kilda 10 9 69 Footscray 14 9 93 Junction Oval 19 000 30 May 1953Melbourne 10 11 71 Fitzroy 12 9 81 MCG 21 205 30 May 1953North Melbourne 7 9 51 Essendon 9 14 68 Arden Street Oval 25 000 30 May 1953Hawthorn 10 7 67 Carlton 6 11 47 Glenferrie Oval 12 000 30 May 1953Round 7 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateSt Kilda 7 11 53 South Melbourne 18 16 124 Junction Oval 21 000 6 June 1953Fitzroy 8 12 60 Hawthorn 5 14 44 Brunswick Street Oval 9 500 6 June 1953Essendon 11 18 84 Richmond 7 6 48 Windy Hill 21 000 6 June 1953Carlton 14 16 100 North Melbourne 7 6 48 Princes Park 22 219 6 June 1953Melbourne 8 10 58 Geelong 11 16 82 MCG 26 254 6 June 1953Footscray 7 9 51 Collingwood 7 10 52 Western Oval 32 114 6 June 1953Round 8 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateHawthorn 8 14 62 North Melbourne 12 8 80 Glenferrie Oval 7 000 13 June 1953Collingwood 19 17 131 St Kilda 8 8 56 Victoria Park 16 200 13 June 1953South Melbourne 11 11 77 Melbourne 9 17 71 Lake Oval 22 565 13 June 1953Richmond 8 11 59 Footscray 9 14 68 Punt Road Oval 16 000 13 June 1953Geelong 21 10 136 Fitzroy 7 8 50 Kardinia Park 21 489 13 June 1953Essendon 14 14 98 Carlton 7 11 53 Windy Hill 30 300 13 June 1953Round 9 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateNorth Melbourne 6 9 45 Richmond 5 12 42 Arden Street Oval 9 000 20 June 1953Footscray 5 13 43 South Melbourne 11 6 72 Western Oval 21 105 20 June 1953St Kilda 6 8 44 Geelong 9 6 60 Junction Oval 9 500 20 June 1953Hawthorn 9 10 64 Essendon 12 15 87 Glenferrie Oval 8 000 20 June 1953Melbourne 7 6 48 Collingwood 9 9 63 MCG 27 175 20 June 1953Fitzroy 7 12 54 Carlton 7 18 60 Brunswick Street Oval 15 000 20 June 1953Round 10 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateFitzroy 11 9 75 St Kilda 7 10 52 Brunswick Street Oval 9 500 27 June 1953Carlton 8 15 63 Geelong 10 14 74 Princes Park 32 526 27 June 1953South Melbourne 12 7 79 Richmond 6 14 50 Lake Oval 17 000 27 June 1953Melbourne 10 14 74 Hawthorn 16 6 102 MCG 11 993 27 June 1953North Melbourne 3 7 25 Footscray 5 12 42 Arden Street Oval 15 000 27 June 1953Essendon 11 14 80 Collingwood 6 16 52 Windy Hill 31 900 27 June 1953Round 11 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateGeelong 12 14 86 North Melbourne 13 7 85 Kardinia Park 21 130 4 July 1953Collingwood 7 19 61 Fitzroy 9 8 62 Victoria Park 25 078 4 July 1953Carlton 14 13 97 South Melbourne 10 13 73 Princes Park 29 688 4 July 1953St Kilda 11 7 73 Melbourne 8 21 69 Junction Oval 12 000 4 July 1953Richmond 12 10 82 Hawthorn 7 6 48 Punt Road Oval 11 000 4 July 1953Footscray 9 15 69 Essendon 7 11 53 Western Oval 34 884 4 July 1953Round 12 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateMelbourne 11 9 75 Richmond 11 9 75 MCG 19 402 11 July 1953Hawthorn 9 8 62 Geelong 12 14 86 Glenferrie Oval 14 000 11 July 1953Footscray 13 12 90 Carlton 8 18 66 Western Oval 31 668 11 July 1953North Melbourne 20 11 131 St Kilda 5 16 46 Arden Street Oval 10 500 18 July 1953Fitzroy 7 20 62 Essendon 14 13 97 Brunswick Street Oval 25 500 18 July 1953South Melbourne 12 9 81 Collingwood 17 17 119 Lake Oval 30 000 18 July 1953Round 13 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateEssendon 12 11 83 South Melbourne 8 14 62 Windy Hill 23 000 25 July 1953Collingwood 13 16 94 North Melbourne 8 17 65 Victoria Park 23 868 25 July 1953Carlton 12 24 96 Melbourne 10 10 70 Princes Park 16 367 25 July 1953St Kilda 9 13 67 Hawthorn 4 14 38 Junction Oval 7 500 25 July 1953Geelong 11 12 78 Footscray 8 10 58 Kardinia Park 32 093 25 July 1953Richmond 13 7 85 Fitzroy 13 12 90 Punt Road Oval 15 000 25 July 1953Round 14 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateMelbourne 9 13 67 North Melbourne 8 16 64 MCG 13 768 1 August 1953Fitzroy 12 18 90 South Melbourne 7 19 61 Brunswick Street Oval 16 000 1 August 1953Carlton 15 16 106 Richmond 10 19 79 Princes Park 21 508 1 August 1953Hawthorn 3 10 28 Footscray 11 10 76 Glenferrie Oval 10 000 1 August 1953St Kilda 9 10 64 Essendon 14 15 99 Junction Oval 19 500 1 August 1953Geelong 7 13 55 Collingwood 10 15 75 Kardinia Park 31 635 1 August 1953Round 15 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateRichmond 13 16 94 St Kilda 11 14 80 Punt Road Oval 9 500 8 August 1953Footscray 14 14 98 Melbourne 9 7 61 Western Oval 18 075 8 August 1953Essendon 8 13 61 Geelong 7 8 50 Windy Hill 41 000 8 August 1953South Melbourne 7 12 54 Hawthorn 9 8 62 Lake Oval 8 500 8 August 1953North Melbourne 17 19 121 Fitzroy 7 9 51 Arden Street Oval 12 000 8 August 1953Collingwood 12 15 87 Carlton 9 16 70 Victoria Park 31 277 8 August 1953Round 16 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateNorth Melbourne 8 8 56 South Melbourne 11 21 87 Arden Street Oval 8 000 15 August 1953Geelong 14 18 102 Richmond 4 9 33 Kardinia Park 10 000 15 August 1953Fitzroy 7 11 53 Footscray 14 14 98 Brunswick Street Oval 17 500 15 August 1953Melbourne 8 9 57 Essendon 12 10 82 MCG 25 543 15 August 1953Hawthorn 11 6 72 Collingwood 12 16 88 Glenferrie Oval 7 000 15 August 1953St Kilda 8 15 63 Carlton 7 16 58 Junction Oval 9 700 15 August 1953Round 17 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateFootscray 12 18 90 St Kilda 4 5 29 Western Oval 15 158 22 August 1953Fitzroy 6 13 49 Melbourne 9 10 64 Brunswick Street Oval 7 500 22 August 1953Essendon 12 6 78 North Melbourne 12 7 79 Windy Hill 18 000 22 August 1953Carlton 12 15 87 Hawthorn 6 9 45 Princes Park 8 500 22 August 1953South Melbourne 14 14 98 Geelong 8 7 55 Lake Oval 21 000 22 August 1953Richmond 12 9 81 Collingwood 13 17 95 Punt Road Oval 18 000 22 August 1953Round 18 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateGeelong 16 14 110 Melbourne 8 8 56 Kardinia Park 18 124 29 August 1953Collingwood 10 14 74 Footscray 8 7 55 Victoria Park 33 867 29 August 1953South Melbourne 13 20 98 St Kilda 4 12 36 Lake Oval 13 000 29 August 1953Hawthorn 9 10 64 Fitzroy 13 6 84 Glenferrie Oval 5 000 29 August 1953Richmond 13 7 85 Essendon 19 12 126 Punt Road Oval 19 000 29 August 1953North Melbourne 14 10 94 Carlton 15 15 105 Arden Street Oval 14 000 29 August 1953Ladder Edit1953 VFL ladder Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts1 Geelong 18 15 3 0 1546 1079 143 3 60 Finals2 Collingwood P 18 14 4 0 1518 1229 123 5 563 Footscray 18 13 5 0 1309 959 136 5 524 Essendon 18 13 5 0 1529 1177 129 9 525 Carlton 18 10 8 0 1409 1310 107 6 406 Fitzroy 18 10 8 0 1208 1421 85 0 407 North Melbourne 18 9 9 0 1388 1287 107 8 368 South Melbourne 18 9 9 0 1385 1323 104 7 369 St Kilda 18 5 13 0 1065 1561 68 2 2010 Richmond 18 3 14 1 1220 1501 81 3 1411 Melbourne 18 3 14 1 1137 1420 80 1 1412 Hawthorn 18 3 15 0 974 1421 68 5 12Source VFL ladderRules for classification 1 points 2 percentage 3 number of points for P PremiersFinals EditFirst Semi Final Edit Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr FinalFootscray 3 7 3 8 4 11 6 13 49 Essendon 1 0 3 7 4 7 5 11 41 Attendance 68 533Second Semi Final Edit Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr FinalGeelong 3 1 6 4 7 12 8 12 60 Collingwood 2 3 5 7 7 8 13 12 90 Attendance 70 292Preliminary Final Edit Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr FinalGeelong 0 6 2 7 6 10 8 15 63 Footscray 2 1 3 4 4 5 5 7 37 Attendance 58 615Grand final Edit Main article 1953 VFL Grand Final Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr FinalCollingwood 2 4 5 6 10 10 11 11 77 Geelong 2 2 3 9 5 11 8 17 65 Attendance 89 149Awards EditThe 1953 VFL Premiership team was Collingwood The VFL s leading goalkicker was John Coleman of Essendon who kicked 97 goals including one goal in the finals The winner of the 1953 Brownlow Medal was Bill Hutchison of Essendon with 26 votes Hawthorn took the wooden spoon in 1953 Notable events EditBecause Anzac Day fell on a Saturday there was a fortnight between Rounds 1 and 2 On the evening of Friday 24 April a night time exhibition match was held between Collingwood and Fitzroy under lights at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds for the benefit of St Vincent s Hospital Collingwood 9 13 67 defeated Fitzroy 4 19 43 before a crowd of 22 000 1 Footscray won its first final since joining the league in 1925 their twenty ninth season This came after making the finals six times previously and being eliminated each time 1938 1942 1944 1946 1948 and 1951 In Round 2 John Coleman kicked 11 of Essendon s 13 goals In Round 5 Fitzroy came close to becoming the first and only VFL AFL team to be held scoreless in their match against Footscray at the Western Oval which was played amidst heavy rain and a burst water main Allan Ruthven managed their only scoring shot a goal with about six minutes remaining in the match 2 To date it remains the longest amount of time a team has been kept scoreless in a match In a streak spanning from 1952 until 1953 Geelong won 23 consecutive matches and played 26 consecutive matches without defeat both of these remain VFL AFL records as of 2021 The winning streak ended in Round 14 when Collingwood defeated Geelong by 20 points At the time Geelong had a 13 0 record and a four game lead over second place but won only three of its eight remaining games for the season Overall it was a low scoring season Footscray s 959 points against remains the lowest average points conceded per game since 1919 the season s highest score of 21 10 136 was the lowest since 1924 and for the first time since 1927 there was no match where both teams scored more than 100 points The Collingwood Grand Final team contained three sets of brothers Lou Richards and Ron Richards Bob Rose and Bill Rose Bill Twomey Jr Pat Twomey and Mick Twomey Collingwood supporter and businessman John Wren suffered a heart attack at the 1953 Grand Final and died one month later References Edit Hugh Buggy 25 April 1953 Magpies rout Maroons in third quarter The Argus Melbourne p 30 Hugh Buggy 25 May 1953 One goal debacle nears record The Argus Melbourne p 12 Maplestone M Flying Higher History of the Essendon Football Club 1872 1996 Essendon Football Club Melbourne 1996 ISBN 0 9591740 2 8 Rogers S amp Brown A Every Game Ever Played VFL AFL Results 1897 1997 Sixth Edition Viking Books Ringwood 1998 ISBN 0 670 90809 6 Ross J ed 100 Years of Australian Football 1897 1996 The Complete Story of the AFL All the Big Stories All the Great Pictures All the Champions Every AFL Season Reported Viking Ringwood 1996 ISBN 0 670 86814 0External links Edit1953 Season AFL Tables Ken Piesse Stray Cat lifts lid on Grand Final dumping Sunday Herald Sun 23 September 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1953 VFL season amp oldid 1078910111, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
