WHEN Melbourne takes on Brisbane at the Gabba this weekend, there will be an ancient link, reaching all the way back to the start of last century.

This was when Melbourne met Fitzroy - the form side of the day, having won the previous two premierships - in the 1900 Grand Final, after a fascinating and unpredictable season, and emerged triumphant.

The year had got off to a shadowed start, with war in other parts of the world taking young men away and changing the atmosphere at home as Australians enlisted in the Boxer Rebellion and Boer War.

Football, however, was a great outlet and leisure pursuit, and started a week earlier than usual in 1900.  The point of dispute at this stage was the shape of the finals, carrying on from 1899.  There had been two rounds, with the second determining the finals and making the first round effectively meaningless.  However, this system was retained for 1900, and would actually work in Melbourne’s favour.

The red and blue needed some help in 1900, too.  It was a tumultuous season, but not all negative by any means.   There were three newcomers who added positivity to the lineup - Corrie Gardner (who competed in track and field at the 1904 Olympics), Jack Purse and Harry Parkin (originally from Geelong).

The season started off with a loss after appeal to St Kilda, and a brilliant win against Essendon in muddy conditions, with the ever popular Fred McGinis starring - and no doubt recalling the early rejection by the red and black which had taken him to Melbourne.  Then came the rain, with matches rescheduled by the VFL’s Adverse Weather Committee, and a 66 point loss to Geelong.

International events encroached in May, with the news that Baden-Powell had relieved the Northern Cape Town of Mafeking.  This was a major breakthrough in the Boer War.  Celebrations took place around the clocks and steps at Flinders Street Station, and continued through the following weeks, with football as part of the exuberance.

Supporters were very enthusiastic in 1900, with the chant of the season being ‘Tip top football!’  This was definitely the case for Melbourne’s June encounter with Collingwood at the MCG.  Collingwood’s policeman star, William Proudfoot, was absent, and Melbourne had a strong crowd in attendance.  Vic Cumberland dominated up forward, the goals were shared around - Melbourne’s Tommy Ryan was the only multiple goal kicker for the entire game, with two - and the home side ran out triumphant by 29 points, after leading all day.  Even then, a healthy rivalry existed with Collingwood, so there was extra joy in the victory.

The next victims of the Melbourne outfit were St Kilda and Essendon, then Carlton and Geelong.  Characters of the side included Test cricketer Harry Graham, who played one of his two games for the Redlegs, and effervescent Johnny Leith, who kicked the ball onto a nail on the East Melbourne Cricket Ground (EMCG) pavilion roof, puncturing it.  Not much else could be punctured, however.  Club Secretary Amos Norcott was delighted with Melbourne’s month long purple patch between Rounds Eight and 11, wearing his ‘victory smile’, while veteran trainer (effectively coach of the day) Jim Mitchell was fully occupied keeping the players fit in the muddy conditions as they rose and sat at fourth spot on the ladder.

Soon though, absences and injuries started to cut in.  McGinis, McClelland, Wardill, Ryan, Moriarty and Purse were a few of those out of action in the latter half of the season, and losses to Fitzroy, South Melbourne and Collingwood followed.  However, the finals were still alive for the Redlegs after the sectional rounds.  The system in place meant that Fitzroy was at the top of Section ‘A’ - minor premiers and first challengers in the Grand Final.  Melbourne was on top of Section ‘B’ on percentage, and had to play Essendon - leaders of Section ‘A’ - for the right to meet Fitzroy in the Grand Final.

After a tense two point win over Essendon, Melbourne was into the Grand Final.  With the MCG unavailable due to cricket preparations, the game was held at the EMCG.  It should be noted that the MCG was not actually a regular Grand Final venue at this time - the Junction or Lake Ovals were far more likely to be utilised, and it would be a couple of seasons yet before the MCG was the expected stage for the last game of the year.  

Heading for the 1900 Grand Final, around 20,000 - a big crowd back then - travelled to the EMCG in any way they could in those horse-and-cart/walking suburbs days, bits of team coloured ribbon on their lapels, singing and chanting loudly all the way.  The game lived up to their excitement.  Fitzroy held a two point lead at the long break, before Melbourne captain Dick Wardill came good in the third quarter.  He dominated around the ground, while Leith attached relentlessly.  The ruck combination of McGinis, Moodie and Cumberland dominated, and at the end of the third quarter, Melbourne was thirteen points ahead.  Fitzroy had not scored since the second quarter.  The final quarter effectively saw Fitzroy rule themselves out of their third successive premiership, kicking 1.5 to Melbourne’s two behinds.

And so it was Melbourne, Premiers 1900, by four points.

Outside the EMCG, carriages decorated with bunting and streamers that read ‘FITZROY PREMIERS 1900’ had to be driven away as quietly as possible.  Victory celebrations were already in full flow, with Henry Harrison - one of the founding fathers of the game - joining the players in the middle of the ground.  They were stunned, coming to terms with the fact that they had just won the first premiership of the 1900s, and Melbourne’s first VFL flag.  It was so unexpected that no real celebrations had been planned, so the team simply met for a meal in the city afterwards.

The words of ‘Drop Kick’ in the Sportsman still sum up the immediate delight best to this day:

‘Melbourne had not only beaten Fitzroy, but had gained a premiership.  The win was very popular, and the excitement intense.  Thousands rushed into the arena before the players could get clear, and shook the perspiring, pumped heroes by the hand.  The Melbourne men danced with delight, and Wardill, the captain, was seized and flung on to the shoulders of admirers, who chaired him into the dressing room.  Melbourne had shown surprisingly improved form, and the way in which they lasted was a credit to Mitchell, their trainer.  There was not a weak man amongst them, and it is difficult to say who was the best….’

The best - Melbourne, Premiers 1900.