For the Glory: An Alternate Football Timeline

Finally getting free time from work, I have decided to return to a timeline I have been working on. This timeline will cover more than half a century of Australian football history, showing the changing faces and moods of the game throughout the decades.

We shall begin here:

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The 1954 premiership was the first premiership for the perennial losers: the Footscray Bulldogs. Their domination on the field that one day in September was helped by the fact they had a magnificent line up of players like captain-coach Charlie Sutton, leading goal-kicker Jack Collins and the man they called Mr. Football, Ted Whitten. The defeat of the Victorian darling team named the Melbourne Demons, coached by the famous Norm Smith, opened the eyes of the footballing populace to the fact a new heavyweight was stepping into the spotlight. However, the road to dynasty was a hard one.

The 1955 season was dominated by the strongest teams of the decade; Essendon, Melbourne, Geelong and Collingwood. Footscray drew the short end of the straw, being defeated by all the major sides (with the exception of Melbourne), often by short margins. This left them in a lofty position going into the final round. They had to rely on one of the years favourite teams, the Essendon Bombers to lose. This was a difficult thing to promise, as their challengers, the Hawthorn Hawks, were stuck in 8th position, and were unlikely to win. After winning their game against North Melbourne, Footscray returned to the changing rooms, when Charlie Sutton turned on the radio to listen to the final moments of the Hawthorn v Essendon match. The team listened anxiously to the game, as the final siren blew; Hawthorn won, Essendon lost, and Footscray were on their way to another finals series.

The first challenger was Geelong who finished up 3rd. The game which was played in a strong wind, as an uphill struggle for the Bulldogs. However, despite being down at half time, the team found it's strength, and fought back to win by 11 points. Then next challenger was the far more notorious Collingwood. The game played at the MCG was a titanic struggle for supremacy, with no team gaining power till the final quater, in which Footscray came out on top by 7 points.

This left the premiership to be decided by new rivals and the minor premier, Melbourne, and the upcoming Footscray. The Bulldogs kicked off in the first quater and never looked back. Almost a replay of the 1954 grand final, Footscray symbolically thrashed the favourites to the tune of 29 points, an understatement compared to the 51 point margin of 1954. Thus, the Bulldogs won their second premiership, their second in a row.

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A charging Ted Whitten breaks the pack in the '55 grand final

The 1956 season saw the retirement of Charlie Sutton as a captain, however, he did stay coach for the club until 1967. His successor for the captaincy was an obvious choice, Ted Whitten. Thus, the Footscray season was under way. The season of 1956 saw similar faces and similar teams. The maligned Essendon who was a major challenger for the 1955 premiership put the critics in their place by dominating the season, winning the minor premiership before the season was up. On the other end of the spectrum however, was the downfall of North Melbourne, who appeared in the finals just years earlier, now sat at the bottom of the ladder. However, nothing much else changed in terms of results, and at the end of the season, the stage was set for the finals; Collingwood looking for a much needed premiership, the Demons searching for redemption and revenge, the Bulldogs looking for a third premiership in a row, and the maligned Essendon who wanted to prove the critics wrong.

The semi-finals were 2 matches of unexpected results. The fourth placed Collingwood proved pundits wrong by defeating the Victorian darlings Melbourne by 34 points. A day later, Footscray unexpectedly pulled of a miraculous comeback to win by 17 points over Essendon, despite being down at the final change.

The preliminary final was the final chance at redemption for Essendon, and a step towards glory for Collingwood. The magpies shone on the day, defeating the minor premiers, thus proving the critics right in their speculation. The humiliated Bombers returned home after the 57 point thumping. In his rage, Essendon coach Dick Reynolds said "We'll come back here, and next time Collingwood will be sorry"; he would be proven right in time.

The grand final of 1956 was called the "blue-collar final", as it was contested between the working class teams of Footscray and Collingwood. Many pundits chose the Bulldogs to win due to their ferocious attacking style, and the fact that the past two premierships were won by them. This time however, they were wrong. The Collingwood Magpies, coached by the 1953 premiership coach Phonse Kyne, won out by 31 points. The loss caused an effect in Footscray that could only be likened to shell shock. The disastrous defeat left the bulldogs wondering, and like Dick Reynolds of Essendon, Charlie Sutton also said his team would come back. However, 1956 was Collingwood's year, and it was time to celebrate.

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A jubilant Collingwood marching off the ground following the 1956 Grand Final​
 
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The 1957 season "began" with the sacking of the North Melbourne coach Charlie Gaudion, thus ending his short reign at the club. In his place came the retired Richmond superstar and former coach, Jack Dyer. Such was the shock of hiring of Dyer that the tabloids at the time called it a "coup".

The season officially started with the clash of big teams. The growth of Footscray and Hawthorn following years of dominance by Melbourne, Collingwood, and Essendon threatened the balance of the game that these titans held. The latter three teams fluctuated up and down the ladder as the year continued, and only did Collingwood hold any steady balance of play. Yet again, near the end of the year however, the "balance" of the game returned to normal, but with new faces. Essendon's dominance due to its big player from the early 50's was slipping, and in it's niche came the Hawthorn Hawks, led by former Carlton player Jack Hale. Thus, at the end of the home-and-away season, did the major players of the VFL's immediate future come out; Melbourne, Collingwood, Footscray and Hawthorn.

The finals series saw the teams of the year duke it out in a relatively equal fight. Hawthorn overcame the team that alluded it for several years, Footscray, thus ending the Bulldogs chance at four finals in a row. A day later, the quintessential enemies of 1950's footy, Melbourne and Collingwood, fought down to the final siren in which Melbourne overcame it's enemy to the east by only a single goal. A week later, Collingwood rescinded its loss with an incredibly close game over Hawthorn, winning by 4 points.

The final that years between the bitter rivals showed the ruthlessness that the Demons were lacking in both the '54 and '55 grand finals. Dominating the centre clearances, Ron Barassi stole the show by kicking 5 of the 13 goals Melbourne scored on that day. The premiership showed who was the better team from down-town, for a short while that is.

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Future Melbourne captain and Richmond coach Ron Barassi holds the '57 premiership cup aloft​

The win by Melbourne against it's perennial enemy Collingwood caused the media of 1958 to give Melbourne coach Norm Smith a new nickname, "Stormin Norman", as gave hope to the Melbourne fans that his team is a major premiership contender. An old foe, Dick Reynolds, would prove him and the media wrong.

The 1958 season witnessed the slow decline of St Kilda complete with two 80+ point wins that season. This horrendous display, coupled with the rise of North Melbourne up the ladder after hiring Jack Dyer as coach the season previously, perhaps created a sense of irony for what was to come in the 1960's. However, despite the movement of most other teams, the favourites of last year remained the favourites for this year. "Stormin Norman" and the Demons showed class in the year of '58, finishing up on top of the ladder, followed by a persistent enemy by the name of Footscray, and then the 1950's holdover team of Essendon and finally Collingwood in fourth place.

The finals is what people expected. "Stormin Norman" and his men turned into a gentle breeze as Sutton's Bulldogs overcame the early attacks to win by almost 60 points. Meanwhile, the Bombers were proving Dick Reynold's point of "We'll come back here, and next time Collingwood will be sorry", thrashing the premiership dreams of the sorry Pies to the tune of 2 goals. The preliminary final could be considered a hold over, much like the team that won it. Getting of to a fast start, Reynold's men attacked and attacked as Melbourne got taken to town in the upset of the year. The Bombers finally had their chance to take down the young and powerful Bulldogs.

The grand final proved the media to be correct. The Bombers chance at winning the flag of '58 was unlikely as St Kilda's chance, and made even more so as Sutton's rousing half-time speech stirred his tired bunch into a rousing success. The 3rd quater showed the attacking dominance of Footscray, however, the team reverted back to defence in the last quater, nearly giving up the grand final, however, the boys in blue held on by 10 points to claim it's 3rd premiership. The defeated bombers returned to reassess for the seasons to come.

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Three very happy men: Ted Whitten, Charlie Sutton and Jack Collins​

The final season for the decade was perhaps the most changing, in terms of players and coaches. Dick Reynold's left Essendon, and in his place came one of the most recognizable faces in football history, John Coleman. Lowly St Kilda also picked up a face that would become familiar with time, Graham "Polly" Farmer, the future St Kilda captain-coach, and premiership player.

One of the lasting images of 1959 was the round 10 loss of the then top of the ladder Melbourne to the 10th placed St Kilda. Up by 3 points, Melbourne dominated all day but and was expected to come out on top, however, the new recruit for the team, Polly Farmer, scored a goal seconds before the siren, thus giving Melbourne a mighty shock to the system. Following the loss, Melbourne dipped down into 6th position, thus opening up a place for another team, this time the Carlton Blues. The Blue's had little to cheer about during much of the mid 1950's, and only in 1959 did the navy blues explode onto the scene, finishing the season on top of the footy ladder.

The finals of 1959 were peculiar. If you were to say that Carlton and Hawthorn would take the 1st and 2nd place at any other time during the 1950's, you would be considered insane. The change that the decade brought was that of old teams that dominated the 1940's gave way to the expansion teams, and teams that didn't get much of a chance in the rest of the decade.
The first week of the finals saw the blue collar fight between two of the best known teams of the decade, Footscray and Collingwood. Played in sloppy weather, the teams thrashed it out in an almost biblical atmosphere, however, the home ground advantage gave way to the victory of Collingwood. A day later, the Hawks and the Blues tossed about at Princes Park, however, the finals experience of Hawthorn shone through as they tore into the home side by 11 points, thus, a titanic preliminary was set up between the oldest and fiercest of enemies; Carlton and Collingwood. The game was one of not strength, but mind, as Carlton led at every change, always over 10 points, however, the Magpies found a way to wear the minor premiers down, until they crossed the line by the smallest of margins; a point.

The grand final was thus set up between the well known and liked team of the 50's Collingwood, and the newcomers to footballs grandest stage Hawthorn. The Hawks would go onto stun everyone with their blistering style of forward movement, and essentially dominated the relatively weak Magpies. Blowing out the game essentially from the first siren, the team from east won at every change, and tearing into Collingwood during the final quater, the Hawks prevailed, winning their first flag, in their first grand final. The set up for the 1960's was in effect, and no-one could guess what was to come next.

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The Hawthorn Hawks, the final premiers of the 1950's​
 
The sun is shining, the people are out and it's time to play some football. That's right, the 1960's are in full swing as the 1960 season is under-way as the teams everybody knows kicks off to a flying start. On field dominance by Melbourne and Essendon led the way to perhaps the most peculiar finalist of 1960, Fitzroy. Whilst it had only been 16 years since Fitzroy won the 1944 grand final, in football terms, that's a long time to go without a premiership, so they were in the hunt. After failing to make the finals for much of the 1950's, they finally pulled through in 1960 with a last round victory of the up-and-coming St Kilda who rebounded off their lowly 11th position in 1958 to run up the ladder into 4th. However, their finals dreams ere dashed after Fitzroy won, and had to wait for revenge against the teams that maligned them throughout the previous decade.

The first finals of the '60's are under way and it is a blow-out. The Footscray Bulldogs took Fitzroy and thrashed it about as the Sutton's men kept the Lions to only 9 points at the final siren, and walked off the ground 116 point victors. A day later, the a much closer game at the MCG took place as Melbourne overcame Coleman's Bombers by only a goal kicked by the champion, Ron Barassi. The preliminary final between the extremely favoured Essendon and the growing team from Footscray caught many Bomber supporters off guard as the team lost ground by 25 points in an atmosphere that seemed to favour what the media where now dubbing "Coleman's Kids" due to the amount of young players on the side. Thus, another grand final was set between the fast growing and fast playing rivals, Melbourne and Footscray.

When the two teams met 6 years earlier, the media, the people, and even the players believed that Norm Smith's Demons would come out on top that day. Obviously Footscray proved all of the pundits wrong, and Sutton would come out of the 50's a living football martyr for struggling Bulldogs supporters, as well as a star in his own right. However, when the 1960 siren blew, people could only speculate the amount of points Footscray would win by this time. In reality, nobody noticed the gradual improvement of Melbourne, so in 1960, when the final siren sounded, and Melbourne ran out victorious by 31 points, many were shocked. Was this the beginning of a Melbourne dynasty? Only time would tell the confused footballing populace.

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The 1960 Premiership Team, Melbourne​

After the 1960 grand final, people didn't know where football was heading; would it stay still, were the same players going to be up the ladder, where are the teams headed. Whilst there was not going to be a premier that was not part of the big four (Melbourne, Footscray, Collingwood and Essendon) until 1965, the 1961 season was the leaping off point for the rest of the decade, as new teams clambered onto the scene in the top 4. Geelong, St Kilda and Fitzroy were unexpected sides that reached into the 4 following the retirement of some of the better players from the big four teams. In fact, the only team from the big four to reach the finals was the least likely to win it, that team being Footscray.

When the finals were set up, only the games would tell who would control the ensuring years, as only 2 of the finalists finished in the top 4 years earlier, these being Fitzroy and Footscray. Like the year previous, Footscray defeated the Lions, this time by a much more respectful margin of 18 points. A day later, the Geelong Cats had a half time scare against the Saints before running out the game, and winning by 51 points. The preliminary final between the up coming St Kilda and the popular Bulldogs would later eventuate into one of football's fiercest rivalries, however, the teams would have to wait 50 years until they met on Australian football's biggest stage.But until then, the Bulldogs were the victors, running out the clock, winning by 13 points.

The final was settled. The new comers in blue and white Geelong, and the boys from the west called Footscray. In perhaps the well known grand finals ever, alongside a magnificent leap by Jack Collins, the Bulldogs couldn't shake off the minor premiers as they kept coming back when it seemed like they got away. With 2 minutes to play, the champion by the name of Ted Whitten snapped a goal from the right pocket, and scored a goal. And after a gruelling 2 minutes of defence, the boys in blue won their 4th grand final, solidifying themselves as one of the best Footscray teams ever (only to be outdone by the team of 2006-2011) and one of the most dominant teams to ever grace football.

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Mr Football watches on as "Jumping" Jack Collins catches his famous specky​
 
Following the victory of the Bulldogs, many other teams began a massive effort to "repair" their clubs. One such team was Essendon. Coleman's kids were strong and had the ability to make it to the premiership, however, the other stronger sides in the competition (Geelong, Collingwood and Footscray) blocked much success. The Bombers appearance in the 1958 grand final was in no way connected to the coaching of Coleman, than it was to Dick Reynolds, and many of the veteran players that had then since retired. So it was up to the new recruits to fight it out against the other big four teams, and also the up-coming-teams of Geelong and St Kilda. The sheer determination of Essendon during the 1962 season gave them the minor premiership, and like Footscray a year earlier, they became the only club of the big four sides to make it to the finals.

The finals saw the return of clubs that for a while were cast off as illegitimate or unable to get the premiership. Geelong, despite it's experience in the finals of 1961, they couldn't overcome a surging Carlton who finished in 4th place. This set up a preliminary final between the much more favoured Hawthorn, and the Blues, who were at this point written off. The preliminary final proved the public correct as Hawthorn defeated the white collar team, and proceed onto fight the champion by the name of John Coleman.

Coleman's kids were Australia's darling for a day and they did deliver. Hawthorn, now led by Hawthorn premiership star John Kennedy, Sr, tried hard all day to fight back against the power and gravitas of the attacking side in Essendon, however, their failure to catch up to the fast starting bombers lost them the game. As the last major hurrah for the big four due to the "large" margin (39 points), it also showed the public that the power that existed in the 5's was losing grip, and new players in the game were emerging. It was just a matter of time.

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Don McKenzie's massive leap during the first quater inspired many players​

Whilst many in the 1962 season saw the finalists as a fluke, the 1963 season proved them wrong as St Kilda topped off their 1961 appearance by finishing the season in 3rd place. Carlton, the 1962 preliminary finalist also felt a power surge as they went up the ladder into 2nd place, and dominated most of their games. The only team that topped them off however was Melbourne still being led by "Stormin Norman", however, a press release earlier in the year saw him saying that "1963 is my last year". A great disappointment for many Melbourne players, they and the players promised the public that they wouldn't stop till the flag was theirs.

Applying pressure is the key to any clubs success, and apply it is what the finalists did. Making the record books as the finals (before 1990) with the most tackles ever made, the teams all looked like premiership material. Leading the pack was Melbourne , now captained by the often fearless Ron Barassi, who in the semi-final helped his team win by kicking 5 of the 14 goals. The day before, Hawthorn took to the firing range to run out victors against St Kilda, who was conditioned to win the flag, but were blocked by the experience of the hawks. That semi-final holds the distinction due to the fact that it is the only final in which Polly Farmer did not kick a goal. The preliminary final saw the bitter rivals from a year previous fight it out; Carlton and Hawthorn. making the same mistakes as in 1962, they let the hawks run out from the first siren, and couldn't reign them back in. Hawthorn was thus going to its second grand final in a row.

The final of 1963 was marred by something that makes a classic grand final; closeness. The game was incredibly tight up till the final change, in which Hawthorn made a grave error, removing the power forward John Peck from the game. His goal kicking ability kept his team in the game during the first half, and put them in front during the third quarter. After he was switched out, Melbourne switched on and over came the 10 point deficit to take out the final quater and the grand final by 17 points.

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Ron Barassi's skill up forward elevated the team to victory in the final quater​

The 1964 season kicked off with the ceremonious retirement of "Stormin Norman", who in his last year as a coach got his team to the minor and major premiership, a feat that would not be accomplished by another Melbourne coach or team until the 90's. But till then, the Victorian darling was in the mix with the other big four teams. Geelong, the only club that could hold it's own against the big four during the season, was the only one of the non-big four teams to make the finals. Led by Reg Hickey, the cats looked like they had a chance for the premiership of 1964. They did not stand any. Despite the strength of both Melbourne and Geelong during the season, it would be Coleman's kids that would take the top spot at the beginning of the finals.

The finals would be the last one until 1990 in which half of the finalists were part of the big four. Their dominance would end this year, but what a year it was. To the tune of 7 points were the cats taken out of the finals by the Demons, who were in the search of a dynasty that they felt was taken away from them by Footscray 10 years earlier. A day later, the Bombers bombed the magpies by 25 points, putting them into a preliminary final against a fast fading rival Melbourne. To ensure a place at the last day in September, Melbourne almost defeated the weakened Collingwood to the point where defeat seemed inevitable, however, through persistence, they came back from 4 goals down to win by 10 points, thus ensuring a spot on footy's biggest day.

For 2 teams so entrenched with the populace, and players so skilled, many supporters on the day expected a close match with an awesome finish. This would not be the case, as an opening 7 goals by the Magpies would end any doubt that they deserved the flag. A blistering second quater followed by a much slower but still fierce third and fourth quarters, would see the pies run out the game, and win by 48 points. Essendon left the ground humiliated, and Collingwood would have the distinction of being the last of the big four teams to win the flag for 15 years. But until the next season, the mighty Magpies had all bragging rights.

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Some of the big faces at Collingwood hold the 1964 premiership flag with pride​
 
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Going into the 1965 premiership season, nobody could even image what repercussions the year would have on the rest of the century. The year was dominated by the literal underdog side by the name of St Kilda. After her entrance for the first VFL season in 1897, the Saints couldn't catch a break, gaining a record 6 wooden spoons in a row, followed by 12 more. However, following the hiring of 1950's St Kilda legend Allen Jeans, as well as the up-and-coming star Polly Farmer, the Saints had the power to take themselves to that one day in September. However, the road to the finals was bumpy at best, as the young team in Richmond took to the stage finishing the season in third, the ageing superstar side of Footscray finishing in a modest fourth, and white collar team by the name of the Carlton Blues finishing second behind the new minor premiers, St Kilda.

The finals set the stage for the coming years. The Bulldogs, still led by the "Champion" Charlie Sutton narrowly won over the Richmond Tigers who found themselves surprisingly taking the lead in the fourth quater, before falling behind the experience of Footscray. The game however, showed the growing weakness of the side, and the beginning of a future storm. The next day, St Kilda thrashed the favourites of Carlton before half time, and then safely playing out the rest of the game before winning by 38 points. The deciding factor in the preliminary final was one of skill and experience. The young Carlton had to match up against the old boys in blue, red and white, who led all day, and eventually took out the victory. Carlton took lessons from the game, and was ready to return with a vengeance.

The grand final was a first for many people. For the first time in a generation, the people of Australia witnessed a grand final which had St Kilda participating in it. It was also a last, as it would be the final grand final in which Charlie Sutton would coach, witnessing his seventh grand final in only 11 years. Despite the players best efforts though, the Bulldogs couldn't get odd to the perfect start that was the antithesis for many of their other finals. This left them walking behind the raging Saints, who were wishing and fighting violently for their first premiership in the teams 91 year history. Finally, at the end of the day, they overcame the experience with full force, and with a fury of sound from the fans, the underdogs became champions of Victoria, the Premiers of the VFL.

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Allen Jeans celebrating the first of what would become five grand final victories for the St Kilda Saints​

Following the jubilation and ecstasy of the Saints first grand final victory (from the longest premiership drought in football history; 68 years), many saw the downfall of the old days finished, as the rise of a new order of teams began to take shape. Geelong, Richmond, St Kilda and Carlton formed a new, however more lofty and weak "big-four". The fact that they couldn't take full dominance of the footballing world left much to imagination that these teams themselves would be overrun in the near future. This was not the case in 1966, as the new "big-four" shone their brightest. The Saints finished third following a commanding series of victories, following by a mid season slump. Surround them on the ladder by the Geelong cats in fourth and powerful and fast growing team of Richmond. Finally, taking out the minor premiership was the grand old navy blue; Carlton.

To see the finals of the 1960's was glory in itself. Packed houses filled with fans with an almost religious support for the teams they supported. In the 1966 semi-final between Carlton and Richmond, a record number of fans turned out to the most packed final besides the one day in September. 99,807 people showed up to see the showdown between the two teams, and in a twist of events, it was Richmond who took out the victory on that day, and following a long week of anguish, Carlton had to face it's rival of a season previous, St Kilda. After brushing off the Cats, the Saints took to the field to face it's most ruthless opponent, Carlton. The game that day was filled with violence from both sides, and to this day, the scars between both teams haven't healed as the rivalry rebounded recently with the 2010 preliminary final game between the two teams. However, on that day, St Kilda took the victory, and went up to fact it's most challenging opponent yet, Richmond.

The 1966 final would go down in history as the final dominated by defence. The teams would lock down at various different times, and movement would stall to a crawl. St Kilda took to the stage on the final day in football as the team everyone underestimated to take their second grand final, and consequently, their second premiership in a row. This would not of been achieved of course without the help of forwards along the likes of Polly Farmer and Alan Morrow. The dominance of St Kilda that day shocked everyone in Australia, as the long time underdogs took out the silver wear they long waited for before the 1965 grand final. The thousands of fans that day who looked onto the premiers would later recount the years of '65 and '66 as those of the St Kilda Saints.

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Polly Farmer looks on as Alan Morrow kicks the sealing goal in his last VFL game​
 
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Great Work so far, I Can't Wait to see more of Australian Rules Football in this timeline so I Can't wait to See what will happen when we get to the 1970's so we will see John Nicholls of Carlton, Terry Waters of Collingwood, Royce Hart of Richmond and more!
 
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