- Champion of the Colony
-
The Champion of the Colony award refers to a list that was most likely compiled in the late 1940s by Australian football historian C.C. (Cecil Clarence) Mullen for the publications "Mullen's Footballers' Australian Almanac 1950",[1] and 1951, plus a History of Australian rules football he wrote in about 1958.[2] The final date for each list used by Mullen varies throughout his works – the 1950 Almanac finishes with 1949, the 1951 edition 1950, and the history book ends with 1940.
A list (date range 1856–1945) claimed to be based on Mullen's work has been used since 2003 in official Australian Football League (AFL) publications as if it were an actual award. The AFL guide claims in recent editions that their version of the list is from Mullen's history book, but that is incorrect. It has been claimed that the award was originally based on votes by club captains and later voting was by Melbourne's leading football journalists.[3]
Contents
Notes
The list itself carries errors of fact.
- Tom Wills cannot have won the 1856 award, as he did not arrive back in Victoria until 23 December 1856,[4][5] having spent years away in England.
- G S Bruce could not have won the award while playing for Richmond Cricketers Football Club, a club which is not known to have existed in 1858.[6][7]
- Hugh Gavin (of Essendon) is named as winner in 1903, which is impossible as he played in Western Australia that year, not Victoria.[8]
Winners
* Player also won the Brownlow Medal that year.
See also
Australian rules football - Early years in Victoria
References
- ^ The Almanac 1950
- ^ http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8490868
- ^ AFL Record Season Guide 2011. p. 561. ISBN 978-1-921778-19-3.
- ^ Wills arrived in Melbourne on board the Oneida which had departed from Southampton
- ^ "The Argus.". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848–1954) (Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia): p. 4. 24 December 1856. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7142136. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/title/13
- ^ http://news.google.com.au/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC
- ^ "FOOTBALL.". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848–1954) (Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia): p. 7. 12 May 1904. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10319140. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
Categories:- Australian Football League awards
- Australian rules football awards
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