1953 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1953.

Premiership season

In 1953, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.

Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1953 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Ladder

Finals

First Semi-Final

Second Semi-Final

Preliminary Final

Grand final

Awards

• The 1953 VFL Premiership team was Collingwood.
• The VFL's leading goalkicker was John Coleman of Essendon who kicked 97 goals (including one goal in the finals).
• The winner of the 1953 Brownlow Medal was Bill Hutchison of Essendon with 26 votes.
• Hawthorn took the "wooden spoon" in 1953.

Notable events

• Because ANZAC Day fell on a Saturday, there was a fortnight between rounds 1 and 2. On the evening of Friday 24 April a night-time "exhibition match" is held between Collingwood and Fitzroy, under lights, at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. Collingwood win 12.12 (84) to Fitzroy's 5.8 (38).
• In round 2, John Coleman kicks 11 of Essendon's 13 goals.
• In a very wet game in Round 5, Fitzroy came close to becoming the first (and only) VFL team to be held scoreless. Allan Ruthven managed their only scoring shot, a goal, with one minute remaining in the game.
• The low scoring of the year in comparison to the previous three decades can also be seen in that:
  • Footscray's 959 points "Against" remains the lowest average points conceded per game since 1919.
  • The season's highest score of 21.10 (136) was the lowest since 1924.
  • For the first time since 1927, there was no match where both teams scored a century. This has since occurred only in 1955, 1961 and 1963.
• In round 14, Collingwood defeats Geelong at Kardinia Park 10.15 (75) to 7.13 (55). Prior to this defeat, Geelong had won 23 consecutive matches (still a VFL/AFL record), and had played 26 consecutive matches without a loss (also still a VFL/AFL record).
• In round 17, Keith Bromage plays his first senior match for Collingwood at 15 years and 287 days (still a VFL/AFL record).
• The Collingwood Grand Final team contained three sets of brothers:
  • Lou Richards and Ron Richards.
  • Bob Rose and Bill Rose.
  • Bill Twomey, Jr., Pat Twomey, and Mick Twomey.
• Collingwood supporter and controversial businessman John Wren suffered a heart attack at the 1953 Grand Final and died one month later.

References

• Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872-1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
• Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897-1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
• Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897-1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0

External links

• 1953 Season - AFL Tables
• Ken Piesse, "Stray Cat lifts lid on Grand Final dumping", (Sunday Herald Sun, 23 September 2007)