George Sayers. He turned Footscray from a VFA also ran into a VFA super power and then into a VFL club. He recruited Vernon Banbury's to the club, kept him in beer tickets and was his best mate. Vernon Banbury is the greatest Footscray player of all time.
As one of the conditions of entry into the competition the VFL refused to allow Sayers remain as president (they thought he was corrupt and they weren't far wrong!). Sayers used to run a lottery called the Footscray lottery every week and unsuprisingly one of his mates usually ended up winning it! Unless one of the players won it.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...30687/26346011
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88798794
Although James Cuming was a name from the early days that keeps bobbing up, he bankrolled those first three premiership teams in 1989-99-1900.