RECKON your knowledge on the Melbourne Football Club is pretty good? Well, why not test yourself and your Melbourne friends over the Christmas break with club historian Lynda Carroll’s two-part trivia series?

Early Days
1 What other sporting administration position did Tom Wills hold apart from his primary role in the shaping of the game? 

2 What administrative organisation took control of the game in 1877? 

3 Who was the umpire in Melbourne’s premiership win over Fitzroy in 1900? 

4 What condition forced Melbourne great Fred McGinis to retire and have a benefit match played in his honour in late 1902? 

5 Which VFL club shared the MCG with Melbourne as its home ground between 1911 and 1914? 

6 To where was the team travelling in 1912 when the ‘Grand Old Flag’ club song received its first airing? 

7  What sombre feature did Melbourne players have added to their uniforms in the Round Eight, 1915 game against Essendon? 

8 What was unusual about Melbourne’s finals appearance against Carlton (a loss to Melbourne) in late 1915? 

9 Which dual Brownlow Medallist made his senior debut for Melbourne in 1919? 

10 How many players played their first senior game for Melbourne in 1919? 

1920s

1 From which Gippsland town did star 1920s player Stan ‘Bunny’ Wittman hail? 

2 Which Melbourne player polled the most votes in the inaugural Brownlow Medal count in 1924? 

3 Bob Johnson Snr made his senior debut in 1926. His son, ‘Big Bob’, followed in his father’s footsteps nearly thirty years later. Which of the two giant Johnsons was the taller? 

4 Which Melbourne player made his senior debut in the 1926 Grand Final? 

5 How many Melbourne players kicked fifty goals or more in the premiership year of 1926? 

6 Ivor Warne-Smith was lured back to the mainland by which other VFL club before it was found that he was actually tied to Melbourne? 

7 From which state did wingman Ray Usher emerge to make his senior debut for Melbourne in 1928? 

8 With what special medal was Albert Chadwick presented following Melbourne’s 1926 premiership win? 

9 With what other sport was Melbourne’s 1920s ruckman, Col Deane, associated? 

10 After 141 games with Melbourne from 1920, Albert Chadwick left to head to Hawthorn in 1929. How many games did he play in his one season with the Mayblooms? 

1930s

1 Half-forward flanker Bill Vanthoff was one of four players to make his senior debut for Melbourne in Round One, 1930. What sports related career did he pursue later in life? 

2 What goal scoring honour did first year player George Margitich achieve in 1930? 

3 Bob Johnson changed guernsey number in his last season - 1933 - after wearing No. 16 his entire career. What number did he finish up in? 

4 The Melbourne Football Club became known as ‘Demons’ from 1933. What had been the Club’s nickname preceding this one? 

5 Throughout how many VFL games was the Barassi name seen wearing the No. 31 guernsey?  

6 Who was Melbourne’s Best First Year Player in 1939? 

7 Which player did Norm Smith replace to make his senior debut against Richmond in Round 15, 1935? 

8 Jack Mueller dominated the game during the 1930s and 1940s, and holds the record for having kicked the most goals in finals of any Melbourne player, with 62. Who is in second place, and how many goals did they kick in finals? 

9 Star Melbourne centreman Dick Taylor returned to the Club in 1935 after two seasons with which other VFL club? 

10 Percy Page was a great Secretary throughout the 1930s, who - like his predecessor, Andrew Manzie - hailed from Richmond. Which legendary Melbourne chairman crossed through the reigns of both Page and Manzie? 

1940s

1 Where did Melbourne finish at the end of the home and away season in 1940? 

2 Norm Smith and Fred Fanning were goal kicking geniuses of the 1930s and 1940s, sharing many achievements and great scoring feats. Which honour did they split exactly between them between 1938 and 1945? 

3 A tragic wartime loss, Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott - after whom the Club’s Best and Fairest is named - played in the first two of the hattrick of Melbourne flags in 1939, 1940 and 1941. How many goals did he kick in these two Grand Finals? 

4 What was the average age of the Melbourne sides across the 1939, 1940 and 1941 premiership victories? 

5 With which branch of the armed services did Denis Cordner serve during World War Two, being called up shortly after making his senior debut for Melbourne in 1943? 

6 How many behinds did Essendon score in their drawn Grand Final with Melbourne in 1948? 

7 What coaching role did Jack Mueller hold in 1948, while also still a player? 

8 To which Victorian country side did Fred Fanning transfer following 1947 and his record breaking goal kicking feat - 18.1 in a game?   

9 What was Melbourne coach ‘Checker’ Hughes’ actual full name? 

10 With which newspaper did Melbourne rover Percy Beames go on to forge a brilliant sports journalism career after his playing days (both football and cricket). 

1950s