# 1901 VFL season

The 1901 VFL season was the fifth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs and ran from 4 May to 7 September, comprising a 17-round home-and-away season followed by a two-week finals series featuring the top four clubs.
Essendon won the premiership, defeating Collingwood by 27 points in the 1901 VFL grand final; it was Essendon's second VFL premiership. Geelong won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with a 14–3 win–loss record, but was eliminated by Collingwood in the semi-finals. Essendon's Fred Hiskins won the leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkicker.

## Background

In 1901, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.
Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 14 rounds. Then, based on ladder positions after those 14 rounds, three further 'sectional rounds' were played, with the teams ranked 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th playing in one section and the teams ranked 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th playing in the other.
Once the 17 rounds of the home-and-away season had finished, the 1901 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the original Argus system.

## Home-and-away season
### Round 1

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | |
| Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 8.13 (61) | def. | Carlton 2.7 (19) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) | Essendon 1.15 (21) | def. by | Collingwood 9.10 (64) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) | Geelong 2.11 (23) | def. | Melbourne 3.3 (21) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 4 May (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 6.5 (41) | def. by | South Melbourne 6.13 (49) | Junction Oval |

### Round 2

| | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | |
| Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 13.16 (94) | def. | Carlton 0.7 (7) | Victoria Park |
| Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 3.1 (19) | def. by | Essendon 9.14 (68) | Junction Oval |
| Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 5.8 (38) | def. by | Geelong 6.12 (48) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Thursday, 9 May (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 5.6 (36) | def. by | South Melbourne 5.10 (40) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |

### Round 3

| | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | |
| Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.8 (26) | def. by | Geelong 7.13 (55) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 9.4 (58) | def. | Collingwood 6.11 (47) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) | Essendon 6.8 (44) | def. by | Fitzroy 7.5 (47) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 11 May (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 7.16 (58) | def. | St Kilda 3.3 (21) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |

### Round 4

| | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | |
| Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) | Carlton 4.3 (27) | def. | South Melbourne 3.7 (25) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 6.8 (44) | def. | Melbourne 3.4 (22) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) | Geelong 4.10 (34) | def. | Essendon 4.6 (30) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 18 May (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 15.16 (106) | def. | St Kilda 3.5 (23) | Brunswick Street Oval |

### Round 5

| | Round 5 | Round 5 | Round 5 | |
| Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) | Essendon 7.8 (50) | def. | Melbourne 3.6 (24) | EMCG |
| Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) | Carlton 5.10 (40) | def. | St Kilda 2.8 (20) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 3.7 (25) | def. by | Fitzroy 6.5 (41) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 25 May (3:00 pm) | Geelong 3.6 (24) | def. by | Collingwood 4.8 (32) | Corio Oval |

### Round 6

| | Round 6 | Round 6 | Round 6 | |
| Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 7.13 (55) | def. | Fitzroy 6.9 (45) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 2.5 (17) | def. by | Geelong 11.12 (78) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 5.5 (35) | def. by | Essendon 3.23 (41) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 1 June (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 7.7 (49) | def. | Carlton 5.4 (34) | MCG |

### Round 7

| | Round 7 | Round 7 | Round 7 | |
| Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | Geelong 9.11 (65) | def. | South Melbourne 3.4 (22) | Corio Oval |
| Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 5.6 (36) | drew with | Melbourne 5.6 (36) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 3.1 (19) | def. by | Collingwood 7.11 (53) | Junction Oval |
| Monday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | Essendon 15.15 (105) | def. | Carlton 3.7 (25) | EMCG |

### Round 8

| | Round 8 | Round 8 | Round 8 | |
| Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 7.7 (49) | def. | Essendon 7.6 (48) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) | Carlton 5.7 (37) | def. by | Fitzroy 6.8 (44) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 7.14 (56) | def. | St Kilda 1.1 (7) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 8 June (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 7.4 (46) | def. by | Geelong 9.5 (59) | MCG |

### Round 9

| | Round 9 | Round 9 | Round 9 | |
| Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) | Essendon 19.22 (136) | def. | St Kilda 4.5 (29) | EMCG |
| Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) | Carlton 6.6 (42) | def. by | Collingwood 9.9 (63) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 6.9 (45) | def. by | Melbourne 9.7 (61) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 22 June (3:00 pm) | Geelong 6.16 (52) | def. | Fitzroy 8.3 (51) | Corio Oval |

### Round 10

| | Round 10 | Round 10 | Round 10 | |
| Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 5.1 (31) | def. by | South Melbourne 7.9 (51) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 4.4 (28) | def. by | Melbourne 4.14 (38) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 6.8 (44) | def. by | Essendon 14.8 (92) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 29 June (3:00 pm) | Geelong 8.15 (63) | def. | Carlton 4.7 (31) | Corio Oval |

### Round 11

| | Round 11 | Round 11 | Round 11 | |
| Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) | Essendon 6.13 (49) | def. | Geelong 2.12 (24) | EMCG |
| Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 4.10 (34) | def. by | Fitzroy 11.7 (73) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 5.6 (36) | def. | Collingwood 4.11 (35) | MCG |
| Saturday, 6 July (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 10.10 (70) | def. | Carlton 3.2 (20) | Lake Oval |

### Round 12

| | Round 12 | Round 12 | Round 12 | |
| Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 9.11 (65) | def. by | South Melbourne 12.7 (79) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 6.5 (41) | def. by | Geelong 12.11 (83) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 6.6 (42) | def. | Essendon 4.9 (33) | MCG |
| Saturday, 13 July (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 7.8 (50) | def. | Carlton 4.8 (32) | Junction Oval |

### Round 13

| | Round 13 | Round 13 | Round 13 | |
| Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) | Geelong 8.7 (55) | def. | St Kilda 4.5 (29) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) | Essendon 6.16 (52) | def. | South Melbourne 8.3 (51) | EMCG |
| Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) | Carlton 5.6 (36) | def. by | Melbourne 6.6 (42) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 20 July (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 2.7 (19) | def. by | Collingwood 3.6 (24) | Brunswick Street Oval |

### Round 14

| | Round 14 | Round 14 | Round 14 | |
| Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 10.20 (80) | def. | St Kilda 1.7 (13) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.2 (20) | def. by | Essendon 11.13 (79) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 6.9 (45) | def. by | Geelong 6.13 (49) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 27 July (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 4.5 (29) | def. | Fitzroy 2.11 (23) | MCG |

### Pre-sectional ladder

* Section A
* Section B
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
| 1 | Geelong | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 712 | 478 | 149.0 | 48 |
| 2 | Collingwood | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 712 | 488 | 145.9 | 40 |
| 3 | Essendon | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 848 | 507 | 167.3 | 36 |
| 4 | Melbourne | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 540 | 507 | 106.5 | 34 |
| 5 | South Melbourne | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 651 | 583 | 111.7 | 28 |
| 6 | Fitzroy | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 693 | 597 | 116.1 | 26 |
| 7 | Carlton | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 396 | 820 | 48.3 | 8 |
| 8 | St Kilda | 14 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 350 | 922 | 38.0 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Source: AFL Tables

### Round 15 (Sectional round 1)

| | Round 15 (Sectional round 1) | Round 15 (Sectional round 1) | Round 15 (Sectional round 1) | |
| Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 6.8 (44) | def. | Melbourne 3.10 (28) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.5 (25) | def. by | Geelong 6.18 (54) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 1.3 (9) | def. by | Essendon 10.9 (69) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 3 August (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 4.3 (27) | def. by | Fitzroy 14.15 (99) | Junction Oval |

### Round 16 (Sectional round 2)

| | Round 16 (Sectional round 2) | Round 16 (Sectional round 2) | Round 16 (Sectional round 2) | |
| Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) | Geelong 7.12 (54) | def. | South Melbourne 4.6 (30) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) | Essendon 14.18 (102) | def. | Carlton 5.3 (33) | EMCG |
| Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 19.10 (124) | def. | St Kilda 3.4 (22) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 10 August (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 7.6 (48) | def. | Collingwood 2.6 (18) | Brunswick Street Oval |

### Round 17 (Sectional round 3)

| | Round 17 (Sectional round 3) | Round 17 (Sectional round 3) | Round 17 (Sectional round 3) | |
| Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 20.23 (143) | def. | St Kilda 2.3 (15) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.6 (24) | def. by | South Melbourne 4.13 (37) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) | Geelong 5.3 (33) | def. by | Essendon 9.12 (66) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 17 August (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 4.13 (37) | def. | Melbourne 3.6 (24) | Brunswick Street Oval |

## Ladder

| (P) | Premiers |
| | Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
| 1 | Geelong | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 853 | 597 | 142.9 | 56 |
| 2 | Essendon (P) | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1085 | 582 | 186.4 | 48 |
| 3 | Collingwood | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 917 | 579 | 158.4 | 48 |
| 4 | Fitzroy | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 877 | 666 | 131.7 | 38 |
| 5 | Melbourne | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 716 | 610 | 117.4 | 38 |
| 6 | South Melbourne | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 727 | 730 | 99.6 | 32 |
| 7 | Carlton | 17 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 476 | 1013 | 47.0 | 8 |
| 8 | St Kilda | 17 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 414 | 1288 | 32.1 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Average score: 44.6 Source: AFL Tables

## Finals series
### Semi-finals

| | 1st Semi Final | 1st Semi Final | 1st Semi Final | | |
| Saturday, 31 August 1901 | Collingwood | def. | Geelong | EMCG (crowd: 10,000) | Report |
| | 2.3 (15) 3.5 (23) 5.8 (38) 6.9 (45) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 0.2 (2) 1.3 (9) 3.4 (22) 3.6 (24) | Umpires: Gibson | Umpires: Gibson |
| Smith 2, Bryce, Morgan, Rowell, Tulloch | Smith 2, Bryce, Morgan, Rowell, Tulloch | Goals | Bennion, Rankin, Woods | Bennion, Rankin, Woods |
| | 2nd Semi Final | 2nd Semi Final | 2nd Semi Final | | |
| Saturday, 31 August 1901 | Essendon | def. | Fitzroy | Victoria Park (crowd: 15,000) | Report |
| | 0.1 (1) 3.2 (20) 5.7 (37) 6.10 (46) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 2.4 (16) 2.6 (18) 3.8 (26) 6.9 (45) | Umpires: Henry "Ivo" Crapp | Umpires: Henry "Ivo" Crapp |
| Thurgood 5, Larkin | Thurgood 5, Larkin | Goals | Brosnan 2, Sharp 2, Sharpe 2 | Brosnan 2, Sharp 2, Sharpe 2 |

### Grand final

| | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final | | |
| Saturday, 7 September 1901 (2:50 pm) | Essendon 6.7 (43) | def. | Collingwood 2.4 (16) | Lake Oval (crowd: 30,031) | Report |

## Win–loss table

The following table can be sorted from biggest winning margin to biggest losing margin for each round. If two or more matches in a round are decided by the same margin, these margins are sorted by percentage (i.e. the lowest-scoring winning team is ranked highest and the lowest-scoring losing team is ranked lowest). Opponents are listed above the margins and home matches are in bold.
| + | Win | | Qualified for finals |
| - | Loss | X | Bye |
| | Draw | | Eliminated |
| Team | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Home-and-away season | Ladder | Finals series | Finals series |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Ladder | SF | GF |
| Carlton | FIT -42 | COL -87 | GEE -29 | SM +2 | STK +20 | MEL -15 | ESS -80 | FIT -7 | COL -21 | GEE -32 | SM -50 | STK -18 | MEL -6 | ESS -59 | GEE -31 | ESS -69 | SM -13 | 7 (2–15–0) | | |
| Collingwood | ESS +43 | CAR +87 | SM -11 | MEL +22 | GEE +8 | FIT +10 | STK +34 | ESS +1 | CAR +21 | SM -20 | MEL -1 | GEE -42 | FIT +5 | STK +67 | MEL +16 | FIT -30 | STK +128 | 3 (12–5–0) | GEE +21 | ESS -27 |
| Essendon | COL -43 | STK +49 | FIT -3 | GEE -4 | MEL +26 | SM +6 | CAR +80 | COL -1 | STK +107 | FIT +48 | GEE +25 | MEL -9 | SM +1 | CAR +59 | SM +60 | CAR +69 | GEE +33 | 2 (12–5–0) | FIT +1 | COL +27 |
| Fitzroy | CAR +42 | GEE -10 | ESS +3 | STK +83 | SM +16 | COL -10 | MEL 0 | CAR +7 | GEE -1 | ESS -48 | STK +39 | SM -14 | COL -5 | MEL -6 | STK +72 | COL +30 | MEL +13 | 4 (9–7–1) | ESS -1 | |
| Geelong | MEL +2 | FIT +10 | CAR +29 | ESS +4 | COL -8 | STK +61 | SM +43 | MEL +13 | FIT +1 | CAR +32 | ESS -25 | COL +42 | STK +26 | SM +4 | CAR +31 | SM +24 | ESS -33 | 1 (14–3–0) | COL -21 | |
| Melbourne | GEE -2 | SM -4 | STK +37 | COL -22 | ESS -26 | CAR +15 | FIT 0 | GEE -13 | SM +16 | STK +10 | COL +1 | ESS +9 | CAR +6 | FIT +6 | COL -16 | STK +102 | FIT -13 | 5 (9–7–1) | | |
| South Melbourne | STK +8 | MEL +4 | COL +11 | CAR -2 | FIT -16 | ESS -6 | GEE -43 | STK +49 | MEL -16 | COL +20 | CAR +50 | FIT +14 | ESS -1 | GEE -4 | ESS -60 | GEE -24 | CAR +13 | 6 (8–9–0) | | |
| St Kilda | SM -8 | ESS -49 | MEL -37 | FIT -83 | CAR -20 | GEE -61 | COL -34 | SM -49 | ESS -107 | MEL -10 | FIT -39 | CAR +18 | GEE -26 | COL -67 | FIT -72 | MEL -102 | COL -128 | 8 (1–16–0) | | |
Source: AFL Tables

## Season notes

* Fitzroy lodged an official protest against the result of the second semi-final, which it lost against Essendon by one point, alleging that the goal umpire had erred in awarding Essendon's first goal because the ball had hit the post. Later in the week, Fitzroy withdrew its protest against the result, and the scheduling of the grand final was not affected; an inquiry later in September found that the goal umpire had made a mistake, but no change was made to the score after the finding.
* Against South Melbourne in Round 6, Essendon kicked 17 behinds between its first and second goals. Only Geelong against St Kilda in 1919 and St Kilda against Fitzroy in 1921 have beaten this unwanted record. Fred Hiskins kicked ten behinds.
* In the Round 13 match between Collingwood and Fitzroy, neither team scored in the final quarter. As of 2024, this remains the only quarter in VFL/AFL history in which no score was registered at all.
* In the last home-and-away match between South Melbourne and Geelong, field umpire Henry "Ivo" Crapp experimented with clearly calling out his decisions.
* In Essendon's grand final victory against Collingwood, Albert Thurgood kicked three of Essendon's six goals. One of his goals was scored with an 86-yard (79 m.) drop-kick, and another (measured immediately after the match) was scored with a 93-yard (85 m.) place-kick into a strong head wind.
* VFL instituted the original Argus system to determine the season's premiers.

## Awards

* The 1901 VFL Premiership team was Essendon.
* The VFL's leading goalkicker was Fred Hiskins of Essendon with 34 goals.
* St Kilda took the "wooden spoon" in 1901.