# List of VFL debuts in 1904

The 1904 VFL season was the eighth season of the Victorian Football League (VFL). Ninety eight players made their senior debut in the 1899 season, while another 18 players debuted for a new club having previously played in the VFL.

## Summary

Summary of debuts in 1904 :
| Club | VFL debuts | Change of club |
| Carlton | 11 | 4 |
| Collingwood | 12 | – |
| Essendon | 7 | 2 |
| Fitzroy | 9 | 1 |
| Geelong | 14 | 1 |
| Melbourne | 9 | 4 |
| South Melbourne | 18 | 3 |
| St Kilda | 18 | 3 |
| Total | 98 | 18 |

## Debuts

| Name | Club | Age at debut | Round debuted | Games | Goals | Notes |
| Billy Payne | Carlton | 22 years, 253 days | 1 | 127 | 0 | |
| Ted Kennedy | Carlton | 26 years, 243 days | 1 | 106 | 13 | Brother of James Kennedy. Previously played for Essendon. |
| Bob Boyle | Carlton | 27 years, 173 days | 4 | 36 | 4 | |
| Harry Newbound | Carlton | 22 years, 232 days | 2 | 18 | 2 | Previously played for Collingwood. |
| Eddie Prescott | Carlton | 23 years, 199 days | 8 | 11 | 9 | |
| Percy Pitt | Carlton | 20 years, 249 days | 2 | 8 | 11 | |
| Pat Pelly | Carlton | 26 years, 198 days | 4 | 8 | 0 | |
| Henry Whight | Carlton | 22 years, 64 days | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Arthur Ryan | Carlton | 23 years, 219 days | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| Rupe Bradley | Carlton | 22 years, 233 days | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Albert Gourlay | Carlton | 22 years, 330 days | 3 | 3 | 0 | Previously played for Melbourne. |
| Jim Cullen | Carlton | 25 years, 333 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | Previously played for South Melbourne and Essendon. |
| Jimmy Gaynor | Carlton | 27 years, 11 days | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sam Marron | Carlton | 20 years, 118 days | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ernie Ashton | Carlton | 21 years, 44 days | 15 | 1 | 0 | |
| Robert Nash | Collingwood | 20 years, 85 days | 11 | 88 | 14 | Father of Laurie Nash. |
| Bob Strachan | Collingwood | 17 years, 352 days | 1 | 52 | 27 | |
| Don Fraser | Collingwood | 21 years, 269 days | 5 | 31 | 0 | |
| Bill Homan | Collingwood | 23 years, 134 days | 1 | 12 | 8 | |
| Grahame McConechy | Collingwood | 23 years, 336 days | 1 | 7 | 6 | |
| Ivor Lawson | Collingwood | 21 years, 19 days | 1 | 7 | 2 | |
| Harry Neil | Collingwood | 21 years, 286 days | 8 | 4 | 0 | |
| Allan Belcher | Collingwood | 19 years, 227 days | 11 | 4 | 1 | Brother of Vic Belcher. |
| Bob Burns | Collingwood | 19 years, 339 days | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Wally Sykes | Collingwood | 23 years, 5 days | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Darcy McDougall | Collingwood | 18 years, 35 days | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Les Abbott | Collingwood | 19 years, 16 days | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bill Busbridge | Essendon | 19 years, 98 days | 1 | 103 | 32 | |
| Arthur Legge | Essendon | 22 years, 229 days | 3 | 69 | 30 | |
| Bert Laxton | Essendon | 24 years, 266 days | 2 | 44 | 3 | |
| Fred Robinson | Essendon | 19 years, 365 days | 2 | 35 | 0 | Brother of Alex, Bill and Gordon Robinson. |
| Jim Phipps | Essendon | 20 years, 73 days | 9 | 22 | 0 | |
| Alex Robinson | Essendon | 17 years, 262 days | 1 | 9 | 5 | Brother of Bill, Fred and Gordon Robinson and father of Alexander and George Robinson. Played first-class cricket for Western Australia. |
| Alf Swift | Essendon | 32 years, 290 days | 3 | 7 | 2 | |
| Mick Pleass | Essendon | 29 years, 205 days | 5 | 4 | 0 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Norman Belcher | Essendon | 24 years, 302 days | 1 | 2 | 0 | Previously played for Geelong. |
| Percy Sheehan | Fitzroy | 20 years, 307 days | 1 | 58 | 11 | |
| Joe Johnson | Fitzroy | 21 years, 109 days | 1 | 55 | 15 | First known Indigenous Australian to play in the Victorian Football League. |
| Edgar Kneen | Fitzroy | 21 years, 241 days | 1 | 48 | 33 | |
| Gilbert Barker | Fitzroy | 21 years, 310 days | 5 | 42 | 4 | |
| Jack McDonough | Fitzroy | 24 years, 314 days | 5 | 29 | 6 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Les Sharp | Fitzroy | 18 years, 248 days | 5 | 23 | 12 | |
| Paddy Shea | Fitzroy | 18 years, 58 days | 2 | 13 | 8 | Also played first-class cricket for Victoria. |
| Bill Kelly | Fitzroy | 21 years, 173 days | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Hedley Tomkins | Fitzroy | 18 years, 338 days | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| Fred Lethbridge | Fitzroy | 20 years, 111 days | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| Dick Grigg | Geelong | 18 years, 334 days | 1 | 194 | 64 | |
| George Doull | Geelong | 24 years, 190 days | 1 | 96 | 16 | |
| Tom Rankin | Geelong | 23 years, 4 days | 1 | 47 | 12 | |
| Jim Munday | Geelong | 16 years, 340 days | 7 | 33 | 1 | |
| Jack Knell | Geelong | 25 years, 358 days | 9 | 32 | 12 | |
| Mick Holligan | Geelong | 22 years, 339 days | 15 | 6 | 3 | |
| Henry Molan | Geelong | 25 years, 34 days | 2 | 5 | 0 | |
| Bert Clarke | Geelong | 20 years, 69 days | 6 | 4 | 3 | |
| Bill Burns | Geelong | 20 years, 1 days | 15 | 2 | 0 | |
| Reg Digby | Geelong | 25 years, 212 days | 15 | 2 | 1 | |
| Joe Fox | Geelong | 26 years, 347 days | 15 | 2 | 0 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Jimmy Roberts | Geelong | 21 years, 21 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| George Horman | Geelong | 20 years, 254 days | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
| Peter McMurrich | Geelong | 18 years, 72 days | 12 | 1 | 0 | |
| Henry Cheeseman | Geelong | 28 years, 258 days | 17 | 1 | 1 | |
| Joe Pearce | Melbourne | 19 years, 107 days | 2 | 152 | 5 | One of the first VFL footballers killed in the First World War. |
| Bernie Nolan | Melbourne | 20 years, 197 days | 1 | 84 | 10 | |
| Hugh Purse | Melbourne | 22 years, 218 days | 1 | 84 | 26 | |
| Jim Conquest | Melbourne | 23 years, 343 days | 1 | 54 | 22 | |
| Ted Leach | Melbourne | 21 years, 13 days | 1 | 23 | 9 | Previously played for Collingwood. |
| Mark Gardner | Melbourne | 19 years, 288 days | 8 | 14 | 1 | |
| Roy Adam | Melbourne | 21 years, 87 days | 6 | 12 | 3 | Previously played for St Kilda. |
| Ernie Vollugi | Melbourne | 25 years, 122 days | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| Henri Jeanneret | Melbourne | 26 years, 134 days | 2 | 4 | 0 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Lionel Smale | Melbourne | 25 years, 164 days | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Tom Watson | Melbourne | 30 years, 127 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | Previously played for Carlton. |
| Alec Woods | Melbourne | 22 years, 243 days | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ted Wade | Melbourne | 19 years, 151 days | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bill Strang | South Melbourne | 20 years, 276 days | 10 | 69 | 80 | Father of Allan, Colin, Doug and Gordon Strang, and grandfather of Geoff Strang. |
| Dick McCabe | South Melbourne | 26 years, 327 days | 1 | 51 | 0 | Previously played for Fitzroy and St Kilda. |
| Harry Gibson | South Melbourne | 25 years, 132 days | 1 | 41 | 11 | |
| Charles Clements | South Melbourne | 22 years, 54 days | 2 | 32 | 68 | |
| Bert Sharpe | South Melbourne | 26 years, 15 days | 3 | 17 | 17 | Previously played for Fitzroy. |
| Bill Griffiths | South Melbourne | 25 years, 60 days | 5 | 9 | 0 | |
| Jim Schellnack | South Melbourne | | 5 | 7 | 6 | |
| John Catarinich | South Melbourne | 21 years, 274 days | 14 | 7 | 0 | |
| Dave McColl | South Melbourne | 28 years, 99 days | 1 | 5 | 0 | |
| Henry Morley Kidgell | South Melbourne | 23 years, 113 days | 11 | 5 | 0 | |
| Les Weate | South Melbourne | 19 years, 106 days | 9 | 4 | 1 | |
| Syd Wright | South Melbourne | 21 years, 340 days | 15 | 3 | 0 | |
| Herb Bruton | South Melbourne | 25 years, 333 days | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Artie Percy | South Melbourne | 24 years, 137 days | 15 | 2 | 0 | |
| Leslie Hope | South Melbourne | 19 years, 195 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Edmund Johnson | South Melbourne | 21 years, 59 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Robert Daykin | South Melbourne | 23 years, 183 days | 9 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tom Hawking | South Melbourne | 22 years, 162 days | 13 | 1 | 0 | Uncle of George Hawking. |
| Peter McCann | South Melbourne | 22 years, 56 days | 15 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jim Darcy | South Melbourne | 23 years, 194 days | 17 | 1 | 0 | Previously played for Essendon. |
| Con Hogan | South Melbourne | 23 years, 16 days | 17 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wally Scott | St Kilda | 19 years, 363 days | 8 | 108 | 4 | |
| Dan Feehan | St Kilda | 24 years, 90 days | 1 | 85 | 9 | |
| Jack Julian | St Kilda | 19 years, 202 days | 17 | 67 | 0 | |
| Bill Mahoney | St Kilda | 19 years, 141 days | 03 | 17 | 9 | Previously played for Geelong. |
| Jim King | St Kilda | 30 years, 194 days | 5 | 13 | 2 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Tommy Ryan | St Kilda | 32 years, 211 days | 1 | 11 | 8 | Previously played for Melbourne. |
| Jack King | St Kilda | 25 years, 162 days | 8 | 8 | 0 | |
| John Moloney | St Kilda | 22 years, 195 days | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| Alec Moffatt | St Kilda | 25 years, 213 days | 15 | 3 | 0 | |
| Fred Whelpton | St Kilda | 19 years, 071 days | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Jim Hallahan, Sr. | St Kilda | 26 years, 035 days | 10 | 2 | 0 | Father of Jim Hallahan, Jr. and Tom Hallahan. |
| Frank Kenny | St Kilda | 26 years, 011 days | 15 | 2 | 0 | |
| Jim Marshall | St Kilda | 22 years, 112 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| David Starke | St Kilda | 24 years, 242 days | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Des Griffin | St Kilda | 22 years, 252 days | 12 | 1 | 0 | |
| Dan Scullion | St Kilda | 18 years, 71 days | 14 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ivor Evans | St Kilda | 17 years, 34 days | 16 | 1 | 0 | |
| Gordon Downes | St Kilda | 26 years, 72 days | 17 | 1 | 0 | |
| Lewis Jones | St Kilda | 17 years, 311 days | 17 | 1 | 0 | |
| Joe Marchant | St Kilda | 19 years, 358 days | 17 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jimmy Sheehan | St Kilda | 20 years, 153 days | 17 | 1 | 2 | |