AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick has written to the Geelong Football Club, concerning the club's proposal to widen the recognition of the history of the game's foundation clubs.
Geelong FC, through its president Colin Carter, wrote to the AFL Commission detailing the club's view that the game's official history should reflect the matches played and won/lost by the foundation clubs prior to the establishment of the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897.
Prior to the VFL competition beginning in 1897, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne all competed in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). The VFA was a regulated competition from 1877-96 and then continued on in its own right after the eight founding clubs left to establish the VFL.
Current AFL teams Richmond, North Melbourne and Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs) also competed in the VFA before the formation of the VFL and remained there in 1897, until joining the then-VFL at later times in their respective club histories.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the AFL Commission had sought the advice of prominent game historians to determine how the VFA premierships up to 1896, won by current-day AFL clubs, should be acknowledged, along with the wider achievements such as player records including games played, goals, etc.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the Commission had resolved that it would 'endorse the recognition of premierships and player statistics for the period 1870-1896, subject to them being delineated between the major competitions of the VFA and VFL'.
For clarity, the AFL will not be aggregating the number of VFA premierships won with VFL/AFL premierships won by various clubs and the same will apply to player records. Each club will have the option to decide how it will recognise its history across VFA/VFL or SANFL (for Port Adelaide) /AFL, depending its continuous passage as a club.
As an example involving Geelong, Mr Fitzpatrick said the Commission had agreed that the club could recognise its history as seven VFA premierships (1878, 1879, 1880, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886), six VFL premierships (1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963) and three AFL premierships (2007, 2009 and 2011). Each other club in the competition would determine how it recognises its playing history.
"The VFL/AFL has its own discreet history from 1897 to 1990 when the name of the competition changed to the AFL but it has been the one organisation since its establishment until the VFL was used as the foundation to establish our national competition," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
"All player records and major awards including the Brownlow Medal, John Coleman Medal and Norm Smith Medal were retained when the competition expanded nationally."
