Melbourne Football Club

An offshoot of the Melbourne Cricket Club[?], owners of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, its first affiliated competition began in 1858 and the club was formalised in 1859, playing in what became the Victorian Football Association. In 1889 the club was reincorporated into the MCC.

It joined the new Victorian Football League[?] at its formation in 1897, and has been an integral part of the competition ever since.

Its close association with the MCC has traditionally given it close links with the city's rich and powerful.

Some of its most successful eras were the period 1939-41, when it won three premierships in a row, and the 1950s, with another "three-peat" in 1955-57 and wins in 1959 and 1960.

In the mid 1990s, the club almost merged with Hawthorn, but the merger was defeated. A new off-field leadership team headed by prominent Jewish rabbi and businessman Joseph Gutnick[?] ("Diamond Joe") took over. However, the cultural and personality clashes between Gutnick and other members of the football community eventually became too much for the members and Gutnick resigned in December, 2000.

Premierships:

Brownlow Medal winners: