1913 VFL season

Updated on Dec 07, 2023

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Highest attendance 59,479 Start date 1913 Matches played 94		Leading Goalkicker Medallist Roy Park (University) Teams 10

Premiers Fitzroy (5th premiership) Minor premiers Fitzroy (4th minor premiership) Similar 1912 VFL season, 1911 VFL season, 1923 VFL season, 1904 VFL season, 1924 VFL season

The 1913 Victorian Football League season was the 17th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.

Premiership season

In 1913, the VFL competition consisted of ten teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.

Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds.

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1913 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".

Finals

All of the 1913 finals were played at the MCG so the home team in the Semi Finals and Preliminary Final is purely the higher ranked team from the ladder but in the Grand Final the home team was the team that won the Preliminary Final.

Grand final

Fitzroy defeated St Kilda 7.14 (56) to 5.13 (43), in front of a crowd of 59,479 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football).

Awards

The 1913 VFL Premiership team was Fitzroy.

The VFL's leading goalkicker was Roy Park of University with 53 goals.

University took the "wooden spoon" in 1913.

Notable events

VFL forms an independent tribunal to hear charges against players.

In the round 14 match against Fitzroy, controversy erupted after VFL Stewards incorrectly reported Essendon follower Bill Walker.

University Football Club's full-forward Roy Park, only 5"5" (165 cm), was selected as the Victorian Interstate team's full-forward, and kicked 53 of University's 115 goals for the season; he was the second player to win the goalkicking when his team won the wooden spoon after Charlie Baker of St Kilda in 1902, whose team also finished last without a win.

Prior to their Round 4 game against Fitzroy, several Melbourne players went on strike, due to the club not supporting a player who was charged by police after striking a Carlton player in Round 3. Melbourne President Dr WC McClelland orders the strikers to play, saying that they will never play again for the club if they do not take the field.

References

1913 VFL season Wikipedia

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