| Melbourne City Football Club | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Names | |
| Full name | Melbourne City Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | City,City Men |
| Club details | |
| Founded | Early 1912; 113 years ago (1912) |
| Dissolved | 1 December 1913; 111 years ago (1 December 1913) |
| Colours | Dark red/claret White |
| Competition | Victorian Football Association 1912–1913 |
| Ground | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
TheMelbourne City Football Club was anAustralian rules football club which played in theVictorian Football Association (VFA) in 1912 and 1913, failing to win any games during its two seasons. The club played its home matches at theEast Melbourne Cricket Ground.
In the first decade of the 20th century, theVictorian Football Association was strategically determined to field a club based in inner Melbourne to boost its patronage; the Association had mostly represented outer and suburban Melbourne since the majority of its central clubs had formed the breakawayVictorian Football League in 1897, and had further lost its most central club,Richmond, to the League in1908. Since 1908, the Association had tried to convinceNorth Melbourne to become its inner-city team, but without success.[1]
Finally, for the1912 season, the Melbourne City Football Club was established as the inner-city club after thePreston Football Club left the VFA. The club was based at theEast Melbourne Cricket Ground, after having also considered the Friendly Societies' Ground (the site of present dayOlympic Park) as a home venue.[2] The club wore a dark red coloured guernsey (described as "claret" in contemporary sources) with white shoulders.[3]
Under rules in theVictorian Junior Football Association (VJFA), all clubs had to have areserves alignment to a VFA team, and theYarraville Football Club was forced to align with Melbourne City.[4] Both clubs retained their name, colours and home ground, although the VJFA dropped the requirement for a reserves alignment in 1913.[4]
In its two seasons in the Association, Melbourne City was uncompetitive. It finished last in both seasons, losing all thirty-six premiership games it played; a loss by seven points againstPort Melbourne in 1913 was its best result.[5] The club's thirty-six consecutive losses was a VFA record untilSandringham lost forty-four consecutive matches from 1940–1945.[6] The club did record comfortable wins in pre-season practice matches against junior clubs in both seasons, indicating the club played at a competitive junior standard, but at well short of senior standard.[7][8]
The club was in the heart of League territory, so it was competing more directly with the League than any other Association club; as such, it struggled to draw fans or players from its local area, resulting in low interest and an uncompetitive playing list. These inherent handicaps left the club with little hope of improvement;[9] so, on 1 December 1913, Melbourne City formally resigned from the Association, and disbanded as a club.[10]
| Record | Total | Game |
| Highest score | 12.13 (85) | vsPrahran, Round 12,1912, atEast Melbourne Cricket Ground[11] |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest score | 1.8 (14) | vsWilliamstown, Round 11,1912, atWilliamstown Cricket Ground[11] |
| 2.2 (14) | vsBrighton, Round 6,1913, atBrighton Beach Oval[11] | |
| Highest score conceded | 25.22 (172) | vsEssendon (A), Round 14,1912, atWindy Hill[12] |
| Lowest score conceded | 5.11 (41) | vsBrighton, Round 6,1913, atBrighton Beach Oval[12] |
| Biggest loss | 141 points | vsEssendon (A), Round 14,1912, atWindy Hill[13] |
| Club | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | Win % | Highest | Lowest |
| Brighton | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 8.11 (59) –1912 | 2.2 (14) –1913 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 12.6 (78) –1912 | 4.15 (39) –1913 |
| Essendon (A) | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 5.10 (40) –1913 | 3.7 (25) –1912 |
| Footscray | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.8 (50) –1912 | 2.8 (20) –1913 |
| North Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.7 (49) –1913 | 3.5 (23) –1912 |
| Northcote | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 6.11 (47) –1912 | 4.4 (28) –1913 |
| Port Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 8.11 (59) –1912 | 3.12 (30) –1913 |
| Prahran | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 12.13 (85) –1912 | 5.10 (40) –1912 |
| Williamstown | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.8 (50) –1913 | 1.8 (14) –1912 |
| Premiers | Grand Finalist | Minor premiers | Finals appearance | Wooden spoon |
| Year | Finish | W | L | D | Coach | Captain | Best and fairest | Leading goalkicker | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | 10th | 0 | 18 | 0 | [14] | |||||
| 1913 | 10th | 0 | 18 | 0 | [15] |
