1920 VFL season explained

Year:	1920
Date:	1 May—2 October 1920
Teams:	9
Premcount:	1
Mpcount:	1
Leadinggoalkicker:	George Bayliss
Goals:	62
Matches:	76

The 1920 VFL season was the 24th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured nine clubs and ran from 1 May to 2 October, comprising a 16-match home-and-away season followed by a four-week finals series featuring the top four clubs.

won the premiership, defeating by 17 points in the 1920 VFL grand final; it was Richmond's first VFL premiership. Richmond also won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with a 14–2 win–loss record. Richmond's George Bayliss won the leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkicker.

Background

In 1920, the VFL competition consisted of nine 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 18 rounds (i.e., 16 matches and 2 byes).

Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1920 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".

Home-and-away season

Round 1

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Venue| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 9.13 (67)| | 8.7 (55)| MCG| 1 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 8.11 (59)| | 11.13 (79)| Brunswick Street Oval| 1 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 5.6 (36)| | 7.12 (54)| Victoria Park| 1 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 10.10 (70)| | 5.11 (41)| Princes Park| 1 May 1920

Round 2

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Venue| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 9.11 (65)| | 12.8 (80)| EMCG| 8 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 6.13 (49)| | 12.7 (79)| Lake Oval| 8 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 7.8 (50)| | 7.13 (55)| Corio Oval| 8 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 14.13 (97)| | 9.14 (68)| Punt Road Oval| 8 May 1920

Round 3

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Venue| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 7.13 (55)| | 9.9 (63)| EMCG| 15 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 4.20 (44)| | 3.5 (23)| Victoria Park| 15 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 3.11 (29)| | 5.8 (38)| Princes Park| 15 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 11.12 (78)| | 8.8 (56)| Junction Oval| 15 May 1920

Round 4

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Venue| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 11.15 (81)| | 5.11 (41)| MCG| 22 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 10.4 (64)| | 9.19 (73)| Corio Oval| 22 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 9.7 (61)| | 7.11 (53)| Brunswick Street Oval| 22 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 7.13 (55)| | 14.17 (101)| EMCG| 22 May 1920

Round 5

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Venue| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 13.18 (96)| | 8.8 (56)| Brunswick Street Oval| 26 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 8.6 (54)| | 8.15 (63)| Junction Oval| 26 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 11.12 (78)| | 10.11 (71)| Punt Road Oval| 26 May 1920|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| | 8.10 (58)| | 4.15 (39)| Lake Oval| 26 May 1920

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Ladder

(P)	Premiers
bgcolor=FFFFBB		Qualified for finals

|- style=background:#FFFFBB| 1 || align=left | (P) || 16 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1353 || 924 || 146.4 || 56|- style=background:#FFFFBB| 2 || align=left | || 16 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1272 || 888 || 143.2 || 56|- style=background:#FFFFBB| 3 || align=left | || 16 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 1189 || 924 || 128.7 || 40|- style=background:#FFFFBB| 4 || align=left | || 16 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 1085 || 966 || 112.3 || 40|-| 5 || align=left | || 16 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 1099 || 1012 || 108.6 || 28|-| 6 || align=left | || 16 || 5 || 11 || 0 || 1022 || 1164 || 87.8 || 20|-| 7 || align=left | || 16 || 5 || 11 || 0 || 1098 || 1301 || 84.4 || 20|-| 8 || align=left | || 16 || 5 || 11 || 0 || 940 || 1266 || 74.2 || 20|-| 9 || align=left | || 16 || 2 || 14 || 0 || 819 || 1432 || 57.2 || 8|}

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 68.6
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

All of the 1920 finals were played at the MCG so the home team in the semi-finals and preliminary final is purely the higher ranked team from the ladder but in the Grand Final the home team was the team that won the preliminary final.

Semi-finals

Preliminary final

Grand final

See main article: article and 1920 VFL Grand Final.

Season notes

All Round 5 games were played on Wednesday, 26 May, to coincide with a visit by the Prince of Wales.^[1]
After only three VFL games, Carlton's half-forward Horrie Clover was selected in the Victorian team that narrowly beat South Australia 10.11 (71) to 9.12 (66) in a match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of the Prince of Wales.
Richmond's recruit from Kyabram, Billy James, aged 20, played his first senior game in the Grand Final, and kicked the final goal of the match (his only goal) in the last quarter. He badly injured his foot in a rabbit shooting accident before the start of the 1921 season, and never played again.
At the end of the season, tired with the constant internal dissent at St Kilda, Roy Cazaly was granted a clearance to South Melbourne.
Vic Cumberland, after four years away from football (he had been wounded three times in World War I), played 10 senior games for St Kilda in 1920, aged 43, making him the oldest player in VFL/AFL history.
In Round 17, in the process of kicking 8.25 (73) in its 3-point loss to Geelong, South Melbourne hit the post nine times.
Unable to tolerate the increasing levels of assaults, thrown projectiles, and ground invasions, umpires threatened to go on strike unless given stronger police protection.

Awards

The 1920 VFL Premiership team was Richmond.
The VFL's leading goalkicker was George Bayliss of Richmond with 63 goals.
St Kilda took the "wooden spoon" in 1920.
The Victorian Junior League premiership, which is today recognised as the reserves premiership, was won by for the second straight year (see: 1920 VJFL season).

References

Hogan, P., The Tigers of Old, The Richmond Football Club, (Richmond), 1996.
Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998.
Ross, J. (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

Sources

1920 VFL season at AFL Tables
1920 VFL season at Australian Football

Notes and References

Book: Fine, Mark. The Book of Footy Lists. 2011. Slattery Media Group. Australia. 9781921778308. 300.