The 1960 VFL season was the 64th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 16 April until 24 September, and comprised an 18-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.

1960 VFL premiership season
Teams12
PremiersMelbourne
11th premiership
Minor premiersMelbourne
8th minor premiership
Consolation seriesSouth Melbourne
3rd Consolation series win
Brownlow MedallistJohn Schultz (Footscray)
Coleman MedallistRon Evans (Essendon)
Matches played112
Highest97,457
← 1959
1961 →

The premiership was won by the Melbourne Football Club for the eleventh time and second time consecutively, after it defeated Collingwood by 48 points in the 1960 VFL Grand Final.

Background

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In 1960, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances. Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7. Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1960 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page–McIntyre system.

Round 1 of the 1960 competition was played over Easter long weekend, with three matches on Easter Saturday (16 April) and three matches on Easter Monday (18 April). Round 2 of the competition was also scheduled for a long weekend, with four matches scheduled for the Saturday (23 April) and two for the Monday (Anzac Day, 25 April).

The four matches on Saturday 23 April were postponed because of the extremely wet conditions. Despite pressure from the Victorian Premier, Henry Bolte, the VFL refused to play the four postponed matches on Anzac Day (which, by custom, would have contributed to patriotic funds), and scheduled the postponed matches for the following Saturday (30 April). As a consequence of this delay all of the season's matches from Round 3 to the Grand Final were played a week later than had been originally scheduled.

Home-and-away season

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Round 1

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 12.21 (93) Hawthorn 9.12 (66) Windy Hill 23,000 16 April 1960
Collingwood 11.14 (80) Fitzroy 3.7 (25) Victoria Park 39,927 16 April 1960
South Melbourne 17.12 (114) St Kilda 8.15 (63) Lake Oval 28,100 16 April 1960
Melbourne 14.15 (99) North Melbourne 5.14 (44) MCG 36,966 18 April 1960
Footscray 15.7 (97) Geelong 10.6 (66) Western Oval 24,982 18 April 1960
Carlton 14.14 (98) Richmond 14.14 (98) Princes Park 31,000 18 April 1960

Round 2

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 5.18 (48) Melbourne 10.12 (72) Junction Oval 30,000 25 April 1960
Fitzroy 9.17 (71) Carlton 9.10 (64) Brunswick Street Oval 33,815 25 April 1960
Geelong 20.14 (134) South Melbourne 14.6 (90) Kardinia Park 16,370 30 April 1960
North Melbourne 6.17 (53) Footscray 14.15 (99) Arden Street Oval 20,150 30 April 1960
Richmond 5.15 (45) Essendon 25.20 (170) Punt Road Oval 31,000 30 April 1960
Hawthorn 6.16 (52) Collingwood 7.13 (55) Glenferrie Oval 30,000 30 April 1960

Round 3

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 5.12 (42) Richmond 3.8 (26) Arden Street Oval 9,000 7 May 1960
Melbourne 16.14 (110) South Melbourne 6.10 (46) MCG 23,135 7 May 1960
Fitzroy 5.11 (41) Geelong 8.7 (55) Brunswick Street Oval 13,802 7 May 1960
Hawthorn 6.9 (45) Footscray 6.17 (53) Glenferrie Oval 16,000 7 May 1960
Essendon 11.10 (76) Collingwood 11.8 (74) Windy Hill 30,000 7 May 1960
St Kilda 5.11 (41) Carlton 7.3 (45) Junction Oval 18,700 7 May 1960

Round 4

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 4.14 (38) St Kilda 9.5 (59) Kardinia Park 12,795 14 May 1960
Collingwood 7.13 (55) Melbourne 2.7 (19) Victoria Park 28,263 14 May 1960
Carlton 5.18 (48) Hawthorn 5.7 (37) Princes Park 11,066 14 May 1960
South Melbourne 11.12 (78) North Melbourne 5.8 (38) Lake Oval 7,000 14 May 1960
Richmond 5.6 (36) Fitzroy 6.11 (47) Punt Road Oval 7,500 14 May 1960
Footscray 4.2 (26) Essendon 4.11 (35) Western Oval 24,302 14 May 1960

Round 5

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 7.5 (47) South Melbourne 4.7 (31) Punt Road Oval 12,500 21 May 1960
Hawthorn 5.7 (37) Melbourne 7.15 (57) Glenferrie Oval 12,500 21 May 1960
Fitzroy 11.9 (75) Footscray 5.6 (36) Brunswick Street Oval 17,102 21 May 1960
North Melbourne 10.6 (66) Geelong 7.9 (51) Arden Street Oval 8,500 21 May 1960
St Kilda 5.9 (39) Collingwood 4.13 (37) Junction Oval 28,600 21 May 1960
Essendon 17.13 (115) Carlton 11.14 (80) Windy Hill 26,300 21 May 1960

Round 6

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 17.22 (124) Richmond 4.8 (32) MCG 27,249 28 May 1960
Footscray 6.11 (47) St Kilda 10.5 (65) Western Oval 22,126 28 May 1960
North Melbourne 7.6 (48) Hawthorn 9.8 (62) Arden Street Oval 8,600 28 May 1960
Fitzroy 8.7 (55) Essendon 6.14 (50) Brunswick Street Oval 25,632 28 May 1960
South Melbourne 12.8 (80) Collingwood 11.12 (78) Lake Oval 27,000 28 May 1960
Geelong 17.17 (119) Carlton 10.14 (74) Kardinia Park 16,589 28 May 1960

Round 7

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 9.15 (69) Melbourne 10.11 (71) Windy Hill 32,500 4 June 1960
Collingwood 12.16 (88) North Melbourne 16.8 (104) Victoria Park 23,740 4 June 1960
Carlton 11.13 (79) South Melbourne 13.13 (91) Princes Park 24,465 4 June 1960
Hawthorn 14.15 (99) Geelong 14.13 (97) Glenferrie Oval 16,500 4 June 1960
Richmond 6.13 (49) Footscray 11.15 (81) Punt Road Oval 16,000 4 June 1960
St Kilda 13.12 (90) Fitzroy 9.12 (66) Junction Oval 26,250 4 June 1960

Round 8

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 13.12 (90) St Kilda 13.14 (92) Arden Street Oval 17,500 11 June 1960
Hawthorn 13.18 (96) Richmond 11.15 (81) Glenferrie Oval 12,000 11 June 1960
Melbourne 10.15 (75) Footscray 6.8 (44) MCG 35,539 11 June 1960
South Melbourne 13.12 (90) Fitzroy 13.13 (91) Lake Oval 21,500 11 June 1960
Geelong 11.17 (83) Essendon 14.10 (94) Kardinia Park 24,119 11 June 1960
Collingwood 16.14 (110) Carlton 10.13 (73) Victoria Park 29,853 11 June 1960

Round 9

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 10.8 (68) Melbourne 16.14 (110) Brunswick Street Oval 23,233 18 June 1960
Essendon 13.10 (88) South Melbourne 12.15 (87) Windy Hill 21,000 18 June 1960
Carlton 18.12 (120) North Melbourne 8.15 (63) Princes Park 13,897 18 June 1960
St Kilda 7.13 (55) Hawthorn 8.19 (67) Junction Oval 23,900 18 June 1960
Richmond 11.17 (83) Geelong 12.11 (83) Punt Road Oval 13,000 18 June 1960
Footscray 8.19 (67) Collingwood 10.14 (74) Western Oval 28,098 18 June 1960

Round 10

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 6.5 (41) Melbourne 12.11 (83) Kardinia Park 17,934 25 June 1960
Carlton 11.14 (80) Footscray 7.8 (50) Princes Park 26,979 25 June 1960
South Melbourne 11.7 (73) Hawthorn 13.6 (84) Lake Oval 22,300 25 June 1960
Fitzroy 20.10 (130) North Melbourne 15.18 (108) Brunswick Street Oval 15,747 2 July 1960
Essendon 12.4 (76) St Kilda 10.14 (74) Windy Hill 25,700 2 July 1960
Richmond 12.12 (84) Collingwood 14.13 (97) Punt Road Oval 28,000 2 July 1960

Round 11

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 7.12 (54) South Melbourne 8.9 (57) Western Oval 15,322 9 July 1960
Collingwood 13.16 (94) Geelong 10.13 (73) Victoria Park 20,915 9 July 1960
St Kilda 14.15 (99) Richmond 4.18 (42) Junction Oval 16,500 9 July 1960
Hawthorn 10.9 (69) Fitzroy 12.14 (86) Glenferrie Oval 18,000 9 July 1960
North Melbourne 12.11 (83) Essendon 14.14 (98) Arden Street Oval 15,000 9 July 1960
Melbourne 9.17 (71) Carlton 6.22 (58) MCG 29,741 9 July 1960

Round 12

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
St Kilda 11.13 (79) South Melbourne 9.3 (57) Junction Oval 24,700 16 July 1960
North Melbourne 9.19 (73) Melbourne 15.13 (103) Arden Street Oval 9,600 16 July 1960
Geelong 11.13 (79) Footscray 8.4 (52) Kardinia Park 14,388 16 July 1960
Hawthorn 10.13 (73) Essendon 16.11 (107) Glenferrie Oval 23,500 16 July 1960
Fitzroy 17.10 (112) Collingwood 13.18 (96) Brunswick Street Oval 30,080 16 July 1960
Richmond 8.8 (56) Carlton 15.20 (110) Punt Road Oval 13,500 16 July 1960

Round 13

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 6.13 (49) St Kilda 6.9 (45) MCG 42,935 23 July 1960
Footscray 9.10 (64) North Melbourne 9.8 (62) Western Oval 14,133 23 July 1960
Essendon 16.16 (112) Richmond 10.10 (70) Windy Hill 17,000 23 July 1960
Collingwood 7.15 (57) Hawthorn 7.16 (58) Victoria Park 18,637 23 July 1960
Carlton 5.10 (40) Fitzroy 12.12 (84) Princes Park 26,796 23 July 1960
South Melbourne 10.20 (80) Geelong 11.13 (79) Lake Oval 8,350 23 July 1960

Round 14

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 5.9 (39) Hawthorn 9.21 (75) Western Oval 16,794 30 July 1960
Collingwood 9.11 (65) Essendon 6.9 (45) Victoria Park 39,110 30 July 1960
Carlton 10.12 (72) St Kilda 11.17 (83) Princes Park 24,684 30 July 1960
Richmond 9.13 (67) North Melbourne 12.7 (79) Punt Road Oval 8,500 30 July 1960
South Melbourne 10.10 (70) Melbourne 16.13 (109) Lake Oval 18,000 30 July 1960
Geelong 7.11 (53) Fitzroy 14.11 (95) Kardinia Park 15,022 30 July 1960

Round 15

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 14.16 (100) South Melbourne 9.20 (74) Arden Street Oval 10,000 6 August 1960
Fitzroy 13.13 (91) Richmond 10.11 (71) Brunswick Street Oval 14,232 6 August 1960
Essendon 14.11 (95) Footscray 8.10 (58) Windy Hill 21,000 6 August 1960
St Kilda 9.16 (70) Geelong 13.9 (87) Junction Oval 16,300 6 August 1960
Melbourne 16.15 (111) Collingwood 9.11 (65) MCG 81,099 6 August 1960
Hawthorn 13.10 (88) Carlton 9.7 (61) Glenferrie Oval 16,000 6 August 1960

Round 16

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 10.14 (74) North Melbourne 4.10 (34) Kardinia Park 9,445 13 August 1960
Collingwood 8.12 (60) St Kilda 7.7 (49) Victoria Park 22,640 13 August 1960
Carlton 7.15 (57) Essendon 6.8 (44) Princes Park 16,291 13 August 1960
South Melbourne 13.13 (91) Richmond 7.12 (54) Lake Oval 6,109 13 August 1960
Melbourne 9.13 (67) Hawthorn 11.10 (76) MCG 24,646 13 August 1960
Footscray 4.6 (30) Fitzroy 7.11 (53) Western Oval 12,013 13 August 1960

Round 17

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 9.17 (71) North Melbourne 8.4 (52) Glenferrie Oval 13,000 20 August 1960
Essendon 9.7 (61) Fitzroy 10.12 (72) Windy Hill 29,500 20 August 1960
Collingwood 8.3 (51) South Melbourne 5.9 (39) Victoria Park 22,267 20 August 1960
Carlton 9.12 (66) Geelong 5.6 (36) Princes Park 17,100 20 August 1960
Richmond 9.14 (68) Melbourne 8.12 (60) Punt Road Oval 8,000 20 August 1960
St Kilda 9.9 (63) Footscray 6.15 (51) Junction Oval 16,100 20 August 1960

Round 18

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Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Geelong 9.9 (63) Hawthorn 14.12 (96) Kardinia Park 14,857 27 August 1960
Footscray 18.9 (117) Richmond 11.11 (77) Western Oval 12,419 27 August 1960
Fitzroy 9.16 (70) St Kilda 6.9 (45) Brunswick Street Oval 19,507 27 August 1960
Melbourne 10.5 (65) Essendon 10.18 (78) MCG 50,274 27 August 1960
North Melbourne 6.8 (44) Collingwood 11.12 (78) Arden Street Oval 27,000 27 August 1960
South Melbourne 8.8 (56) Carlton 11.9 (75) Lake Oval 11,000 27 August 1960

Ladder

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(P) Premiers
Qualified for finals
# Team P W L D PF PA % Pts
1 Melbourne (P) 18 14 4 0 1455 1017 143.1 56
2 Fitzroy 18 14 4 0 1332 1184 112.5 56
3 Essendon 18 13 5 0 1506 1204 125.1 52
4 Collingwood 18 11 7 0 1314 1150 114.3 44
5 Hawthorn 18 11 7 0 1251 1192 104.9 44
6 St Kilda 18 9 9 0 1159 1140 101.7 36
7 Carlton 18 8 9 1 1300 1313 99.0 34
8 South Melbourne 18 7 11 0 1304 1413 92.3 28
9 Geelong 18 6 11 1 1311 1373 95.5 26
10 Footscray 18 6 12 0 1065 1178 90.4 24
11 North Melbourne 18 5 13 0 1183 1474 80.3 20
12 Richmond 18 2 14 2 1086 1628 66.7 12

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 70.7
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

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Semi-finals

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Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
Essendon 2.6 6.9 7.13 7.15 (57)
Collingwood 2.7 5.9 6.12 9.12 (66)
Attendance: 81,209

Second Semi-Final

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Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
Melbourne 3.6 6.12 11.15 14.18 (102)
Fitzroy 1.2 2.6 2.12 4.16 (40)
Attendance: 79,796
Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
Fitzroy 2.2 7.3 8.7 8.12 (60)
Collingwood 2.1 6.4 7.5 9.11 (65)
Attendance: 65,301

Grand final

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Team 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr Final
Melbourne 4.3 5.5 7.12 8.14 (62)
Collingwood 0.0 1.0 2.0 2.2 (14)
Attendance: 97,457

Consolation Night Series Competition

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The night series were held under the floodlights at Lake Oval, South Melbourne, for the teams (5th to 12th on ladder) out of the finals at the end of the season.

Final: South Melbourne 10.12 (70) defeated Hawthorn 8.11 (59)

Season notes

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  • From 1960, the Seconds became known as the VFL Reserves; and, the Thirds became known as the Under 19s.[1]
  • The VFL started fixing the schedule from 1960 such that neither Collingwood and Fitzroy, nor Carlton and North Melbourne played home matches on the same day, due to the heavy transport and labour burden associated with running the two nearby venues at the same time.[2] This practice was already established for two other pairs of teams: St Kilda and South Melbourne, and Melbourne and Richmond.
  • The entire season was plagued by wet weather. This was reflected in the overall low scores of the full-forwards: Ron Evans (Essendon) was the leading goalkicker with only 67 goals in 18 games, and Leo Brereton (Carlton) was second with 44 goals in 18 games.
  • John Kennedy took over as coach of Hawthorn. The flamboyant Hawthorn centreman, Brendan Edwards, at the time a physical education teacher at the junior school of the nearby Swinburne Technical College, introduced circuit training.
  • In the Round 3 match between Hawthorn and Footscray at Glenferrie Oval, Footscray defeated Hawthorn 6.17 (53) to 6.9 (45). The match was so affected by the strong wind conditions and, especially, the defensive play of the Hawthorn back-line – at a time when one could kick the ball out of bounds on the full without penalty – that the prescribed playing time of 100 minutes was extended by an astonishing 32 minutes and 33 seconds of time-on, including 10 minutes 46 seconds in the first quarter alone.
  • In Round 13, Hawthorn defeated Collingwood at Victoria Park for the first time; Hawthorn had lost the previous 28 meetings at Victoria Park. Full forward John Peck marked on the final siren and kicked a goal to give Hawthorn the win by a point.
  • The Brownlow Medal was won by Footscray's ruckman John Schultz. Schultz was the second of the only two amateur players to win the Brownlow Medal; the first had been Melbourne's Don Cordner, also a ruckman, in 1946.
  • Former classmates at Caulfield Grammar School, John Schultz and Ron Evans, won the Brownlow Medal and topped the VFL Goalkicking List respectively in the same VFL season.
  • Melbourne played in its seventh successive Grand Final, thrashing Collingwood 8.14 (62) to 2.2 (14). Collingwood's score was its lowest since Round 5, 1900, and the lowest by any team in a Grand Final since 1927.
  • At the end of the 1960 season, the VFL estimated that the live telecast of the last quarter of three VFL matches each Saturday afternoon had cost at least 245,000 spectators, and the VFL decided to discontinue this practice (which had been introduced in 1957).

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "New name likely for thirds". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 2 April 1960. p. 66.
  2. ^ "Football starts at Easter". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 26 November 1959. p. 64.
  3. ^ "Geelong hangs on to win flag". The Age. Melbourne. 26 September 1960. p. 22.
  • Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897–1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
  • 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. ISBN 0-670-86814-0
  • Ross, J. (ed.), The Australian Football Hall of Fame, HarperCollinsPublishers, (Pymble), 1999. ISBN 0-7322-6426-X

Sources

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