# 1899 VFL season

The 1899 VFL season was the third 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 13 May to 16 September, comprising a 14-round home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring all eight clubs.
Fitzroy won the premiership, defeating South Melbourne by one point in the 1899 VFL grand final; it was Fitzroy's second (consecutive and overall) VFL premiership. Fitzroy also won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with an 11–3 win–loss record. Geelong's Eddy James won his second leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkicker.

## Background

In 1899, 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.
Once the 14 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1899 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the 1898 VFL finals system.

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

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | |
| Saturday, 13 May (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 10.13 (73) | def. | Carlton 2.6 (18) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 13 May (3:00 pm) | Geelong 8.6 (54) | def. | Collingwood 3.9 (27) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 13 May (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 6.11 (47) | def. | Essendon 0.9 (9) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 13 May (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 16.20 (116) | def. | St Kilda 3.5 (23) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |

### Round 2

| | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | |
| Saturday, 20 May (3:00 pm) | Carlton 1.5 (11) | def. by | Geelong 5.6 (36) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 20 May (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 4.3 (27) | def. by | Melbourne 7.12 (54) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 20 May (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 3.2 (20) | def. by | Essendon 8.18 (66) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 20 May (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 5.8 (38) | def. by | Fitzroy 6.6 (42) | Lake Oval |

### Round 3

| | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | |
| Wednesday, 24 May (11:00 am) | Collingwood 13.9 (87) | def. | St Kilda 2.6 (18) | Victoria Park |
| Wednesday, 24 May (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.1 (19) | def. by | Melbourne 6.9 (45) | Princes Park |
| Wednesday, 24 May (3:00 pm) | Essendon 1.9 (15) | def. | South Melbourne 0.9 (9) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Wednesday, 24 May (3:00 pm) | Geelong 0.8 (8) | def. by | Fitzroy 4.8 (32) | Corio Oval |

### Round 4

| | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | |
| Saturday, 27 May (3:00 pm) | Essendon 6.12 (48) | def. | Carlton 1.3 (9) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 27 May (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 3.4 (22) | def. by | Collingwood 3.11 (29) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 27 May (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 7.14 (56) | def. | St Kilda 5.3 (33) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 27 May (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 4.8 (32) | def. | Geelong 4.3 (27) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |

### Round 5

| | Round 5 | Round 5 | Round 5 | |
| Saturday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.3 (21) | def. by | Collingwood 7.10 (52) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | Geelong 3.10 (28) | def. | Essendon 3.6 (24) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 4.11 (35) | def. | Fitzroy 3.6 (24) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 3 June (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 4.9 (33) | def. by | South Melbourne 10.10 (70) | Junction Oval |

### Round 6

| | Round 6 | Round 6 | Round 6 | |
| Saturday, 10 June (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 4.5 (29) | def. by | Carlton 4.7 (31) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 10 June (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 1.7 (13) | def. by | Fitzroy 5.5 (35) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 10 June (3:00 pm) | Essendon 4.6 (30) | def. | Melbourne 1.10 (16) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 10 June (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 5.5 (35) | def. | Geelong 3.1 (19) | Lake Oval |

### Round 7

| | Round 7 | Round 7 | Round 7 | |
| Saturday, 17 June (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 5.15 (45) | def. | Carlton 1.7 (13) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 17 June (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 6.12 (48) | def. | Essendon 4.4 (28) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 17 June (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 3.13 (31) | def. by | Geelong 12.6 (78) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 17 June (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 7.8 (50) | def. | South Melbourne 6.7 (43) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |

### Round 8

| | Round 8 | Round 8 | Round 8 | |
| Saturday, 24 June (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.6 (24) | def. | South Melbourne 0.5 (5) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 24 June (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 2.8 (20) | def. by | Geelong 9.7 (61) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 24 June (3:00 pm) | Essendon 6.15 (51) | def. by | Fitzroy 10.3 (63) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 24 June (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 2.8 (20) | def. by | Melbourne 5.7 (37) | Junction Oval |

### Round 9

| | Round 9 | Round 9 | Round 9 | |
| Saturday, 8 July (3:00 pm) | Geelong 9.9 (63) | def. | Carlton 5.3 (33) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 8 July (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 1.7 (13) | def. by | Collingwood 3.3 (21) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 8 July (3:00 pm) | Essendon 11.19 (85) | def. | St Kilda 1.0 (6) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 8 July (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 9.8 (62) | def. | South Melbourne 4.5 (29) | Brunswick Street Oval |

### Round 10

| | Round 10 | Round 10 | Round 10 | |
| Saturday, 15 July (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 7.12 (54) | def. | Carlton 3.4 (22) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 15 July (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 1.5 (11) | def. by | Collingwood 13.16 (94) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 15 July (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 5.5 (35) | def. by | Essendon 7.9 (51) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 15 July (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 3.5 (23) | def. by | Geelong 8.10 (58) | Brunswick Street Oval |

### Round 11

| | Round 11 | Round 11 | Round 11 | |
| Saturday, 22 July (3:00 pm) | Carlton 3.8 (26) | def. by | Essendon 8.9 (57) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 22 July (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 5.9 (39) | def. | South Melbourne 5.6 (36) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 22 July (3:00 pm) | St Kilda 4.6 (30) | def. by | Fitzroy 12.12 (84) | Junction Oval |
| Saturday, 22 July (3:00 pm) | Geelong 5.6 (36) | def. | Melbourne 2.10 (22) | Corio Oval |

### Round 12

| | Round 12 | Round 12 | Round 12 | |
| Saturday, 29 July (3:00 pm) | Collingwood 5.13 (43) | def. | Carlton 4.3 (27) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 29 July (3:00 pm) | Essendon 10.7 (67) | def. | Geelong 6.7 (43) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 29 July (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 6.5 (41) | def. | Melbourne 4.9 (33) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 29 July (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 8.9 (57) | def. | St Kilda 3.6 (24) | Lake Oval |

### Round 13

| | Round 13 | Round 13 | Round 13 | |
| Saturday, 5 August (3:00 pm) | Carlton 6.11 (47) | def. | St Kilda 1.2 (8) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 5 August (3:00 pm) | Fitzroy 3.7 (25) | def. by | Collingwood 5.7 (37) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 5 August (3:00 pm) | Melbourne 3.7 (25) | def. by | Essendon 5.8 (38) | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 5 August (3:00 pm) | Geelong 7.12 (54) | def. | South Melbourne 3.9 (27) | Corio Oval |

### Round 14

| | Round 14 | Round 14 | Round 14 | |
| Saturday, 12 August (3:00 pm) | Carlton 2.4 (16) | def. by | Fitzroy 5.9 (39) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 12 August (3:00 pm) | Essendon 4.7 (31) | def. by | Collingwood 8.5 (53) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 12 August (3:00 pm) | Geelong 16.23 (119) | def. | St Kilda 0.2 (2) | Corio Oval |
| Saturday, 12 August (3:00 pm) | South Melbourne 6.13 (49) | def. | Melbourne 6.6 (42) | Lake Oval |

## Ladder

| (P) | Premiers |
| | Section A |
| | Section B |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
| 1 | Fitzroy (P) | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 618 | 403 | 153.3 | 44 |
| 2 | Geelong | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 684 | 386 | 177.2 | 40 |
| 3 | Collingwood | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 590 | 436 | 135.3 | 40 |
| 4 | Essendon | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 600 | 428 | 140.2 | 36 |
| 5 | Melbourne | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 574 | 420 | 136.7 | 32 |
| 6 | South Melbourne | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 528 | 502 | 105.2 | 20 |
| 7 | Carlton | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 317 | 597 | 53.1 | 12 |
| 8 | St Kilda | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 288 | 1027 | 28.0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Average score: 37.5 Source: AFL Tables

## Progression by round

Points by round :
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Fitzroy | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 32 | 36 | 40 | 40 | 44 |
| Geelong | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 32 | 36 | 40 |
| Collingwood | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 40 |
| Essendon | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 36 |
| Melbourne | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| South Melbourne | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| Carlton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 12 |
| St Kilda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Finals series
### Sectional rounds
#### Sectional round 1

| | Sectional round 1 | Sectional round 1 | Sectional round 1 | |
| Saturday, 26 August (2:30 pm) | Fitzroy 5.11 (41) | def. | Carlton 6.4 (40) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 26 August (2:30 pm) | Melbourne 3.7 (25) | def. by | Collingwood 6.9 (45) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 26 August (2:30 pm) | Essendon 16.24 (120) | def. | St Kilda 3.4 (22) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 26 August (2:30 pm) | Geelong 5.8 (38) | def. by | South Melbourne 6.5 (41) | Corio Oval |

#### Sectional round 2

| | Sectional round 2 | Sectional round 2 | Sectional round 2 | |
| Saturday, 2 September (2:30 pm) | Collingwood 5.8 (38) | def. | Carlton 2.5 (17) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 2 September (2:30 pm) | Essendon 4.15 (39) | def. by | Geelong 6.11 (47) | East Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Saturday, 2 September (2:30 pm) | Fitzroy 5.10 (40) | def. | Melbourne 0.2 (2) | Brunswick Street Oval |
| Saturday, 2 September (2:30 pm) | St Kilda 1.6 (12) | def. by | South Melbourne 12.10 (82) | Junction Oval |

#### Sectional round 3

| | Sectional round 3 | Sectional round 3 | Sectional round 3 | |
| Saturday, 9 September (2:30 pm) | Carlton 6.5 (41) | def. | Melbourne 2.4 (16) | Princes Park |
| Saturday, 9 September (2:30 pm) | Collingwood 4.7 (31) | def. by | Fitzroy 6.9 (45) | Victoria Park |
| Saturday, 9 September (2:30 pm) | South Melbourne 3.10 (28) | def. | Essendon 2.1 (13) | Lake Oval |
| Saturday, 9 September (2:30 pm) | Geelong 23.24 (162) | def. | St Kilda 0.1 (1) | Corio Oval |
| St Kilda's 1 point set and, as of 2024, still holds the record for the lowest score in AFL/VFL history. ||||||

#### Section A ladder

* Qualified for finals
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
| 1 | Fitzroy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 73 | 172.6 | 12 |
| 2 | Collingwood | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 114 | 87 | 131.0 | 8 |
| 3 | Carlton | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 98 | 95 | 103.2 | 4 |
| 4 | Melbourne | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 126 | 34.1 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Source: AFL Tables

#### Section B ladder

* Qualified for finals
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
| 1 | South Melbourne | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 151 | 63 | 239.7 | 12 |
| 2 | Geelong | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 247 | 81 | 304.9 | 8 |
| 3 | Essendon | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 172 | 97 | 177.3 | 4 |
| 4 | St Kilda | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 364 | 9.6 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Source: AFL Tables

### Grand final

| Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 16 September, Junction Oval | 16 September, Junction Oval | 16 September, Junction Oval |
| A1 | Fitzroy | 3.9 (27) |
| B1 | South Melbourne | 3.8 (26) |
Starting time is local time. Source: AFL Tables
| | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final | |
| Saturday, 16 September (2:50 pm) | Fitzroy 3.9 (27) | def. | South Melbourne 3.8 (26) | Junction Oval (crowd: 4,823) |

## 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 ladder | Finals series | Finals series | Finals series | Finals series | Finals series |
| 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 ladder | Sectional rounds | Sectional rounds | Sectional rounds | Sectional ladders | GF |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Home- and-away ladder | S1 | S2 | S3 | Sectional ladders | GF |
| Carlton | SM -55 | GEE -25 | MEL -26 | ESS -39 | COL -31 | STK +2 | FIT -32 | SM +19 | GEE -30 | MEL -32 | ESS -31 | COL -16 | STK +39 | FIT -23 | 7 (3–11–0) | FIT -1 | COL -21 | MEL +25 | A3 (1–2–0) | |
| Collingwood | GEE -27 | MEL -27 | STK +69 | SM +7 | CAR +31 | FIT -22 | ESS +20 | GEE -41 | MEL +8 | STK +83 | SM +3 | CAR +16 | FIT +12 | ESS +22 | 3 (10–4–0) | MEL +20 | CAR +21 | FIT -14 | A2 (2–1–0) | |
| Essendon | FIT -38 | STK +46 | SM +6 | CAR +39 | GEE -4 | MEL +14 | COL -20 | FIT -12 | STK +79 | SM +16 | CAR +31 | GEE +24 | MEL +13 | COL -22 | 4 (9–5–0) | STK +98 | GEE -8 | SM -15 | B3 (1–2–0) | |
| Fitzroy | ESS +38 | SM +4 | GEE +24 | STK +23 | MEL -11 | COL +22 | CAR +32 | ESS +12 | SM +33 | GEE -35 | STK +54 | MEL +8 | COL -12 | CAR +23 | 1 (11–3–0) | CAR +1 | MEL +38 | COL +14 | A1 (3–0–0) | SM +1 |
| Geelong | COL +27 | CAR +25 | FIT -24 | MEL -5 | ESS +4 | SM -16 | STK +47 | COL +41 | CAR +30 | FIT +35 | MEL +14 | ESS -24 | SM +27 | STK +117 | 2 (10–4–0) | SM -3 | ESS +8 | STK +161 | B2 (2–1–0) | |
| Melbourne | STK +93 | COL +27 | CAR +26 | GEE +5 | FIT +11 | ESS -14 | SM +7 | STK +17 | COL -8 | CAR +32 | GEE -14 | FIT -8 | ESS -13 | SM -7 | 5 (8–6–0) | COL -20 | FIT -38 | CAR -25 | A4 (0–3–0) | |
| South Melbourne | CAR +55 | FIT -4 | ESS -6 | COL -7 | STK +37 | GEE +16 | MEL -7 | CAR -19 | FIT -33 | ESS -16 | COL -3 | STK +33 | GEE -27 | MEL +7 | 6 (5–9–0) | GEE +3 | STK +70 | ESS +15 | B1 (3–0–0) | FIT -1 |
| St Kilda | MEL -93 | ESS -46 | COL -69 | FIT -23 | SM -37 | CAR -2 | GEE -47 | MEL -17 | ESS -79 | COL -83 | FIT -54 | SM -33 | CAR -39 | GEE -117 | 8 (0–14–0) | ESS -98 | SM -70 | GEE -161 | B4 (0–3–0) | |
Source: AFL Tables

## Season notes

* The VFL reduced the size of its teams from 20 to 18 on-the-field players, with no "reserves". In doing this, the number of followers was reduced from five (four rucks and a rover) to three (two rucks and a rover).
* The first seven kicks of the round 14 game between Carlton and Fitzroy were free kicks awarded by the umpire.
* In the third sectional round, Geelong set records for the highest score in a game, scoring 23.24 (162), and the highest winning margin of 161 points, against St Kilda. These records both stood for twelve years and twenty years respectively.
* St Kilda's score of 0.1 (1) in the same match set the record for the lowest score in a VFL/AFL game, which has neither been matched nor broken since. Notably, St Kilda's solitary behind was actually the first score of the match.
* Geelong's Jim McShane kicked 11 goals in the same match against St Kilda, a VFL record that was not equalled until Collingwood's Dick Lee's 11 goals in 1914 and not broken until 1922.
* At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for The Argus ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition: Backs: Maurie Collins (Essendon), Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong); Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne); Centres: Fred Leach (Collingwood), Firth McCallum (Geelong), Harry Wright (Essendon); Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood), Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy), Herb Howson (South Melbourne); Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon), Eddy James (Geelong), Charlie Colgan (South Melbourne); Ruck: Mick Pleass (South Melbourne), Frank Hailwood (Collingwood), Joe McShane (Geelong); Rovers: Dick Condon (Collingwood), Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy), Teddy Rankin (Geelong). From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — he selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season. ('Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p.6).

## Awards

* The 1899 VFL Premiership team was Fitzroy.
* The VFL's leading goalkicker was Eddy James of Geelong with 31 goals.
* The Argus newspaper's "Player of the Year" was Fitzroy's Pat Hickey.