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1954 was a year of communist spies and royal tours, the race of the century and a race around Australia. Construction crews moved into the MCG and North Melbourne embraced their Kangaroo mascot while John Coleman’s made his last jump for a mark. The season would be tarnished with a Grand Final scandal that would forever change how the game is officiated and, for the first time ever, the Australian code would be shown on TV, not in Melbourne but in the USA. The 1954 VFL season was impossible to predict, teams went from second last to second on the ladder but who would make finals wasn’t known until the very last round. Listen to this episode to see how crazy the season was and how the finals unfolded. And find out more about Bob Hawke and Rupert Murdoch’s footy careers, decades before one presented a VFL cup and the other helped arrange some TV broadcast deals.   www.grandfinalhistory.au/episode-58-1954-the-footys-on-the-tv-in-the-usa/   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SQW7OWdDAlKJQHuSY3Xe7?si=p8fn_l3RRSOHadjQj8Qr2g Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/episode-58-1954-the-footys-on-the-tv-in-the-usa/id1532640129?i=1000792320367

A season with the longest winning streak in the V/AFL history and the debut of one of the game’s giants while Collingwood mourned the loss of a club legend. 1953 was a year Coronation Fever swept the country, a Melbourne premiership player helped get the Olympic games to the MCG and the first All Australian Squad was announced. Supporters flocked to an Anzac Eve night game, even if it was not easy to see all the action. Geelong dropped one of their stars during the finals, was he a victim of religious bigotry? All this and more if you listen to the 1953 episode of Grand Final History More intormation at https://grandfinalhistory.au/episode-57-1953-the-streak/ Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-57-1953-the-streak/id1532640129?i=1000786739985 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/12zVcAq5HielvpDjMomfuS?si=qzgDjGFJT_CfW__ORfNShQ

Games in four states, the first night game for premiership points, radio broadcasts of interstate games and teams visiting the Gold Coast, 1952 was a window to the future. Geelong began a mighty streak and Coleman kicked yet another ton. It was the wettest season in years, one ground literally ploughed up to remove the water but that didn't stop the footy! The venue for the Melbourne Olympics was announced, not what you might be expecting.

Mr Football, Ted Whitten, won four Best and Fairest Awards in one season the year before his VFL debut with Footscray in 1951. It was a year with one of the biggest tribunal shock decisions in the entire history of the V/AFL and a year full of rumours about Dick Reynold's return to the playing field. Essendon players wanted reserved seats for their wives, mothers or girlfriends at the Finals but was there an ulterior motive? The Grand Final was a thriller which moved one player to describe it as “Not just your average run of the mill Grand Final.” Listen to the entire episode to see how the 1951 VFL unfolded and which club received the first trophy for winning a VFL Premiership.

Every Jock McHale Medal winner can trace their coaching DNA back to Jock McHale, yet who was this man, this Prince of Coaches. A man who held the games played record, a man who held the games coached record, a man whose 8 premierships as coach is unmatched, a man who coached Collingwood to an unprecedented and unmatched four premierships in a row. All of that and more, an author, a political campaigner, a husband, a father and an inspiration. He began his League career more than 120 years ago but his name will never be forgotten. Listen to this episode to learn more about the man his players always called Mr McHale.

Jock McHale coached Collingwood for almost 1,400 days. His successor lasted just 4 days. The man the players always called Mr McHale retired in 1950 and a civil war exploded at Collingwood. Hawthorn also had their own controversial, disruptive coaching replacement scandal, an experience that became a turning point for the club. It was a year of war in Korea and Communism reached the MCG on Grand Final Day and league footballers played the game under lights. Times were changing at the half way mark of the 20th Century.

Jack Dyer played the game hard until he could play no more, but none of the players were expecting a kiss from the big man after his last game. As his career came to an end John Coleman made a debut unlike any other in the history of V/AFL footy. The Russians exploded an atomic bomb but that was not the only big news on grand final day. The 1949 VFL season saw a new team top the ladder in a year four clubs appointed new coaches looking for success. Listen to the episode to find out what was happening in 1949 on and off the field and why Carlton took such a long time to get to Kardinia Park to play Geelong.   www.grandfinalhistory.au/episode-53-1949-the-end-of-the-dyer-era/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0AJI6862IImeCqE5PQ67Z4?si=8e473c5c970b4227 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grand-final-history/id1532640129

Was Melbourne’s 1948 Grand Final team the craziest brave selection for any Grand Final team ever? Two blokes who had played the season for Uni Blacks in the Amateurs and a full forward who had spent the season in the Reserves. Essendon had already beaten Melbourne 3 times in 1948 and 12 times in a row. What were the Demon’s selectors thinking? A big season of footy got even bigger when the 1948 Grand Final ended in a draw. A first for the VFL and everyone had to come back the following week, one coach was not going to be at the wedding that had been scheduled for the week after footy was supposed to be finished. Find out what was happening in 1948 and who would be premiers after the first ever drawn VFL Grand Final.   www.grandfinalhistory.au/episode-52-1948-the-first-grand-final-draw Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1dDvt4VE3i2t57xolUY8N9?si=6EdjZiRMRTCDS0MlI-k5rQ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/episode-52-1948-the-first-grand-final-draw/id1532640129?i=1000756687744

Carlton shocked their supporters and the football world in 1947 when they selected their new captain who had only played two games in the VFL. It was a time of change with the invention of the Four'nTwenty Pie, as immigrants beginning new lives, far away from the chaos in Europe and women playing footy in front of one of the biggest crowds of the season. Collingwood threatened to forfeit rather than play their home game against Carlton at the MCG, it was all about money and bribery scandals saw a lifetime ban imposed. Fred Fanning kicked 18 goals in his last game for Melbourne. The Final Four saw the last four premiership winners playing for the premiership but only one team could take the 194 Flag by the narrowest of margins.

A special extra episode covering the 5th decade of the VFL from 1937 to 1946. From the greatest Grand Final ever to the Infamous Bloodbath, from war with the VFA to surviving WWII the VFL and the clubs faced many challenges. Players were killed in the war, some returned from the horrors of the Burma Railway, others kept the country moving at home, playing football when they were not working 12 hours shifts. A decade that finished with the league celebrating its 50th season with a return to an MCG Grand Final.

The VFL celebrates its 50th Jubilee season with the return of the MCG and the Brownlow and some changes including the addition of a 20th man. The game has become a “Gigantic Industry’ according to VFL Secretary Like McBrien but clubs are still having trouble getting enough jumpers and balls with rationing still in place. Goal kicking legend Bob Pratt’s comeback would end after one game, some players would return to VFL footy after the trauma of being POW’s at Changi and the Burma Railway and some future champions would make their debut’s. The finals were thrilling, the second drawn semi final had the MCG curators fretting and the Grand Final would define what a “Premiership Quarter” looked like.

Ted Whitten said it was the best game he ever saw, several of the players had no memory of what happened, a suspended player got reported and Ted Whitfield’s pre-match routine was to drink 6 beers with a top up at halftime. The Bloodbath was an extraordinary Grand Final played shortly  after the end of World War II where a football match occasionally broke out between the fights. 1945 was a pivotal year, supporters were back watching footy and the country waited for the end of hostilities, mourned the death of the US president and an Australian Prime Minister then saw the dawn of the Atomic Era. Listen to the episode to see how the 1945 season unfolded and how the legend of the Bloodbath began.

Supporters were “Up the Junction” in 1944, making their way to the Junction Oval, hosting the Grand Final for the first time since 1899, baked by hot winds on a 30C day with trams and busses on strike. It had been another tough wartime season, so tough even Jack Dyer got suspended, for the only time in his career. Some had suggested that anyone who hit Dyer deserved a Victoria Cross. The Tigers had considered a boycott in protest against a teammate's suspension but were in their third Grand Final in a row against Fitzroy, back in the Grand Final 22 years after their last premiership. As the Allies progressed through Europe and the Pacific, football administrators grappled with the future of football, would their be peace in our time between the VFL and the VFA? Join us as we delve into the stories of resilience, sportsmanship, and historical significance that shaped the 1944 VFL season.

Eleven teams started the 1943 season but only ten made it to the final round. To ensure only one bye per team, the club on the bottom of the ladder after round eleven was eliminated! The earliest Wooden Spoon ever! The war meant everything was different, US Marines were at the MCG, they even played a gridiron game, the American football code as a rare game on the G once it was occupied for the war. The Americans even took on the Australians in a hybrid football game described as ‘aerial bombardment”. All the while the VFL season unfolded, with challenges of player availability and news of loss at the front line. Still plans were being prepared for peace time, would the VFL be expanding?

This episode delves into a unique chapter of football history set against the backdrop of World War II. Discover the remarkable story of the Changi Australian Football Association and the creation of the Changi Brownlow Medal within the brutal confines of Changi Prisoner of War Camp in Singapore. Despite being far from home in a hostile environment, Australian POWs found solace and a sense of normalcy through a makeshift football league. Learn how this extraordinary season symbolised the enduring spirit and camaraderie of the players amidst adversity, and how it left an indelible mark on the history of the sport. With insights from Roland Perry's book, "The Changi Brownlow," and historical records this is a story that honours the legacy of resilience of the prisoners at Changi and the unifying power of the Australian Game.