Reviewed by Richard Tutin
When a club or organisation is fortunate enough to celebrates its centenary, the usual starting point is the formation story. From there the rest of its story unfolds until it reaches the point or date when the centenary is celebrated.
The 100-year period that Australian Football’s 100 Year Club marks is unusual. The three great teams that form the basis of this book – Hawthorn, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs (Footscray) were already well established. Each team was seeking to move from the lower grade Victorian Football Association (VFA) to become members of the Victorian Football League (VFL). Gaining this membership was not an easy feat. Sometimes receiving it seemed to be not what the team did when it played but who its backers knew to gain the necessary numbers to pass the motion that would admit them.
It was a great surprise to many, including the clubs themselves, that all three were nominated for membership together and the VFL Committee successfully passed the motion in 1925.
While Andrew Clarke offers some background to the beginnings of each club the real starting point of the book is their block admittance to VFL membership.
Clarke offers parallel histories of each club by dividing the chapters into decades. Nothing is left out. Each club has their good and not so good times. A couple of them almost collapsed and closed during periods such as World War I, the Great Depression and World War II when players, members and money were scarce and backers were few.
One important element comes through each of the histories is the support the clubs received from local councils and the communities around them. They were seen as a way of helping their communities or suburbs to grow and develop through the provision of the best playing facilities that could be afforded. The willingness of local councils to be involved was one of the reasons that the three clubs gained their VFL membership.
As well as the written stories Clarke also includes photos from various periods during the 100 years under review. This is a great aid as are the game statistics for each ten-year period for those who are interested in the numbers as well as the stories.
Each of the three clubs are today AFL powerhouses. How they got there makes interesting reading. While it is easy to say that Australian Football’s 100 Year Club is aimed at the club or AFL faithful Clarke’s style and his ability to weave a good set of stories helps to open the door to one of Australia’s great sports whose popularity seems to be growing as the years go by.
Andrew Clarke is a Melbourne-based journalist and author. He has written and edited some 30 books and worked in many industries, blending his love of sport and cars with a passion for business and change. Australian Football’s 100 Year Club is his second Gelding Street Press book.
Australian Football’s 100 Year Club – celebrating three great teams
by Andrew Clarke
(2025)
Gelding Street Press
ISBN: 978 192266 204 0
$34.99; 296pp