Nickname(s) Bears Founded 1965 | Colours Blue and White Grounds Princes Park, Caulfield | |
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Full name Caulfield Football Club Dissolved 1988; 29 years ago (1988) (merged to form Ashburton-Caulfield FC, dissolved 1989) Competition Victorian Football League (1965–1987) | ||
Caulfield football club vfa history
Caulfield Football Club was an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1965 until 1987 when due to financial difficulties the club folded.
Contents
History
The club was established as the "South Caulfield Football Club" in 1957, which competed in the Federal District League. On 29 March 1962, the club merged with the Victorian Football Association's struggling Brighton Football Club –which had been evicted from its home ground at Elsternwick Park and could barely field a team– to form a club known as "Brighton-Caulfield". The merged club was based at South Caulfield's home ground at Princes Park on Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield. In 1965, after three seasons of competing as Brighton-Caulfield, the club severed all links to its former Brighton identity, and became known as the "Caulfield Football Club". The club adopted a new guernsey of white with navy blue hoops, and adopted Bears as a new nickname.
Caulfield initially played in the second division and failed to make the finals during the rest of the 1960s. In 1971 they managed to lure former Richmond premiership player Tony Jewell to coach the club. They also recruited his teammates Paddy Guinane and Neville Crowe to the playing group. With VFL players in the team they had immediate success, topping the second division ladder and losing just three games in the home and away season. Caulfield however lost their preliminary final and thus missed out on playing in the grand final. They went one better the following season and made it to the decider which they lost to Geelong West in the last minute; the Geelong club had been unbeaten all season, but Caulfield put up a fight, leading by 12 points at three-quarter time.
In 1973, the club won its first and only premiership, defeating Brunswick 18.20 (128) to 14.22 (106) in the grand final; full forward John Logan kicked six goals. This victory earned the promotion to the first division, where it competed for eight years. In its time in the top division, the club reached the finals once, in 1976; and, in 1977 it won the lightning premiership and was runner-up in the Centenary Cup.
At the end of 1981, Caulfield was demoted to Division 2 as part of a restructure of the Association's two-division system, in large part because of its substandard playing facilities. In its first season back in Division 2, the club reached the grand final, losing to Northcote by five points. The club endured financial difficulties through the 1980s, and it was eventually suspended from the Association after the 1987 season, due to having falling $11,000 behind on affiliation levies.
In 1988 the club merged with local club Ashburton to form Ashburton-Caulfield Football Club, and won the premiership in the South East Suburban FL first division; but, the club was suspended shortly before the 1989 season after it sent an abusive letter to the league secretary, and folded permanently.