# Albert Park Football Club

The Albert Park Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Albert Park. The club currently holds the record for longest senior premiership drought in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), winning just three reserves grand finals since it was founded in 1954.
As of 2024, Albert Park's men's team competes in Division 3 of the VAFA, while the women's team is in Division 4 of the VAFA Women's (VAFAW) − both the lowest divisions in the respective competitions.

## History
### Early years

Albert Park was founded in 1954 as the ANZ Bank Football Club, nicknamed the Zedders. The club was founded by sports-minded officers at the head office of ANZ Bank, who negotiated a place in the VAFA's E Section, with the club's first home ground located at Yarra Bend Park in Fairfield. The club initially was composed entirely of players who worked at the bank, and former Richmond and Hawthorn footballer Andy Brannan served as the inaugural coach.
The Zedders made their first grand final in 1958, although they lost to St Kilda CBC Old Boys by 13 points. They were promoted for the first time to D Section in 1959, but were relegated back down to E Section after only a single win in 1966. The club won its first premiership in 1969 with a 12-point victory over Brunswick in the reserves grand final.

### ES&A and National Bank

The ES&A Bank Football Club was formed in 1932 and entered the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA, now VAFA) the same year. Likewise, the National Bank Football Club was also formed in 1932 and also entered the MAFA the same year. The clubs were linked to the English, Scottish & Australian Bank and National Australia Bank respectively.
In 1936, the clubs entered into a brief merger and competed as ES&A−National Bank until the end of the 1937 season. After World War II ended, the administration of both banks issues a directive to reform the clubs, with ES&A returning in 1952 and National Bank returning in 1954.
National Bank continued competing until it disbanded at the end of the 1979 season.

### Merger and new name

At the end of the 1969 season, ES&A Bank was absorbed by ANZ Bank, which was followed by the banks themselves merging in October 1970. ANZ Bank won its second reserves premiership in 1974, defeating Old Geelong in E Section. The club made its second senior grand final in 1991, but were defeated by Elsternwick by 10 points.
In 1991, ANZ Bank faced rival club Elsternwick in the F Section grand final. Although they were "so heavily favoured to win that they hired marquees", Elsternwick won by ten points.
Ahead of the 1996 season, the club decided to change its name to the ANZ Albert Park Football Club, nicknamed the Rats. The decision was made amid difficulty in fielding teams, increasing interest from the local community in Albert Park and ANZ Bank withdrawing support.
The club removed any reference to ANZ Bank from its name in 1999 and became known simply as "Albert Park", nicknamed the "Falcons" (although the "Rats" nickname lasted informally for several years). The club was runners-up in the F Section grand final later that year, going down to Eley Park by 14 points.
Albert Park's most recent premiership, as of 2024, was in 2002, when they defeated Werribee in the D4 Section reserves grand final.
The club introduced its first netball teams in 2015.

## Club song
### Current song

The club's song is sung to the tune of Victory March, the same as the song of the Sydney Swans.
    Cheer, Cheer the Red and the Blue
    We'll keep on fighting all the game through
    Soaring to Success we fly
    Shake down the thunder from the sky
    Whether the odds are great or be small
    The Boys from the Park will win overall
    While our loyal sons are marching
    Onwards to victory

### ANZ Albert Park song

The club used similar lyrics and the same tune when it was known as ANZ Albert Park.
    Cheer, cheer the red and the blue
    We'll give our best the whole game through
    Lift that noble banner high
    Shake down the thunder from the sky
    Whether the odds be great or small
    The rats from the park will win over all
    While the loyal sons are marching
    Onwards to victory

### ANZ Bank song

ANZ Bank's club song was sung to an unknown tune.
    Beat them all, beat them all
    The bigger the harder they fall
    We'll beat the high teams and we'll beat the low
    We'll beat the lot of them cause they all know
    That we’re going to "D" Grade next year
    And there's not a team we will fear
    We'll thrash our opponents and then have our moments
    So drink up your beer down them all

### ES&A Bank song

ES&A Bank's club song was sung to the tune of George M. Cohan's 1906 song "You're a Grand Old Flag", and was the same song that the Melbourne Football Club uses.
    We are the red and green forever
    The team of the ES&A
    We're out just for recreation
    To pass the time away
    We'll fight for honour and for glory
    And to victory for our team
    Should old acquaintance be forgotten
    Keep your eyes on the red and the green