Camberwell Football Club

Early years

Camberwell was formed in 1886 and joined the Victorian Junior Football Association (VJFA), with its earliest-recorded match on 1 May 1886 against Hawthorn Juniors.^[2][3]

The club finished sixth on the ladder in 1889, eighth in 1890, and eighth in 1891. At the 1895 VJFA AGM, the competition was reduced from 20 teams to 12 teams and Camberwell was one of the clubs that was not admitted and it appears that Camberwell FC went into recess for a number of years, before joining the Eastern Suburbs Football Association (ESFA) in 1899 and the Reporter District Football Association (RDFA) in 1905.

In 1912, Camberwell went into recess again, with their players being distributed to the Burwood and Kew football clubs.^[4] In 1913, the club was readmitted into the VJFA, rated by many as the third highest grade of football in Victoria at that time.^[5]

Camberwell won a three-peat in the Melbourne District Football Association (MDFA) from 1921 until 1923, with the latter grand final held as a curtain-raiser at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before Essendon played South Melbourne in the second Victorian Football League (VFL) semi-final.^[6]

In its earliest years, the club was playing at Camberwell Junction (the corner of Burke and Riversdale Roads); the space that became the home of the Camberwell Football Club for 80 years (eventually known as "Camberwell Sports Ground") was originally a vegetable garden ("Brooks Paddock") and part of Camberwell Racecourse. The preparation of a new sports ground (originally dubbed "Bowen Park") on this site was finished in 1909 and Camberwell Football Club first played at the new ground the following year (1910). A grandstand for visitors' rooms (the "Tramways Grandstand") was built in 1920. A much larger spectators' grandstand and pavilion was built in 1935 – and ready for the 1936 football season.^[7]

VFA

After establishing itself as a successful junior and sub-district club, Camberwell was seen by the 1920s as a likely strong fit for expansions into the eastern suburbs of either the Victorian Football League (VFL) or the Victorian Football Association (VFA). It lodged applications to join both at different times during the early 1920s,^[8][9] and was admitted to the VFA for the 1926 season.^[10] It reached its first Grand Final in 1935, losing by nine points to Yarraville.^[11]

With the introduction of throw-pass football to the VFA in 1938, the club made one of the VFA's most significant ever recruiting coups when it recruited champion VFL player Laurie Nash for a huge salary of £8/wk.^[12][13] Following World War II, Camberwell won its first and only top division minor premiership in 1946,^[14] but lost in the Grand Final against Sandringham by seven points.^[15]

Following the end of the throw-pass era in 1950, Camberwell became one of several weaker VFA clubs who struggled throughout the 1950s. The club was operating as amateur in 1953 due to lack of funds,^[16] and it faced pressure to hold its lease at the Camberwell Sports Ground from local soccer clubs who could offer the council more money.^[17] It was generally near the bottom of the ladder, and found itself in Division 2 when the Association was partitioned in 1961. The club remained weak throughout the 1960s.

The club improved through the early 1970s, and became a regular Division 2 finalist from 1973. The club played in losing Grand Finals in 1975 against Brunswick^[18] and in 1978 against Frankston,^[19] before winning its first premiership in 1979, defeating Oakleigh by 38 points.^[20] Promoted to Division 1 for the first time, the club was relegated after one season, but won the Division 2 premiership again in 1981, defeating Waverley by 32 points in the Grand Final.^[21] In the next few years, Camberwell was considered one of the boom clubs of the VFA, and in 1984 it reached the Division 1 finals for the first time since the 1940s.^[22]

Camberwell's position deteriorated abruptly in 1985. Struggling financially, as many VFA clubs were, it asked its players to take a pay cut at the start of the season; but, still unable to make its player payments, senior players began to walk out on the club at midseason.^[23] Within a year, there had been an exodus of more than forty players,^[24] plus the club was left with a large damage bill after a grandstand fire.^[25] The inexperienced team which remained was winless with a percentage of only 30.1 in 1986, including suffering a VFA-record loss against Williamstown by 315 points,^[26] and was relegated.^[27] The club was more competitive in Division 2, but endured two consecutive winless seasons after the competition was recombined into a single division in 1989.^[a] After pre-season form indicated the club would be even less competitive in 1991, the club dropped out of the VFA a couple of weeks prior to the start of the season.^[30]

VAFA

Camberwell hoped to regroup and rejoin the VFA in 1992, but this did not eventuate. Instead, the club joined the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) as Camberwell Amateurs for the 1992 VAFA season, competing in the G North section.^[1] Although the club finished fifth at the end of the season and did not make the finals series, they were promoted to F2 Section in 1993, in which they finished second-last with only three wins.^[31] The club played at Rathmines Road Reserve in Hawthorn East during the 1993 season.^[1]

Camberwell's final season was in 1994 in the Club XVIII North section (formerly known as G Section North), with the club winning its final game against North Old Boys.^[1] In the summer of 1995, Camberwell went into recess and folded later that year.^[1][32]

Club records

• Most goals in a season: 141 - Laurie Nash in 1941
• Most Consecutive games in a row: Harry Jones - 133

VFA best and fairest winners

• J. J. Liston Trophy winners
  • 1950 – Frank Stubbs
  • 1957 – Ken Ross
• J. Field Medal winner
  • 1971 – Rodney Evans

Team of the Century

• Backline: Colin Judd, Jim Bohan, Ken Ross
• Half back: Geoff Mason, Harry Jones, Marcus Boyall
• Centre: Reg Horkings, Lloyd Holyoak, Charlie Clamp
• Half forward: Ian Whitten, Laurie Nash, Roy Williams.
• Forward: Bill Luff, Garry Hammond, Geoff Simpson^[33]
• Followers: Frank Stubbs, Godon Duff, R.J. 'Nipper' Bradford
• Interchange: Brendan Budge, Mark Davidson, Peter Oliver, Peter Stevenson, George Stone,^[34] Ross Wright
• Coach: A 'Horrie' Mason
• Captain Jim Bohan
• Vice Captain Colin Judd

100-game players

The following footballers played at least 100 senior games for Camberwell in the VFA:

• Harry Jones: Played his first 133 games in a row for Camberwell.

Seniors

Grand finals

VFL players who joined Camberwell

The following footballers came to play and/or coach with Camberwell after senior experience at a VFL (now AFL) club: