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Still snarling 140 years on
2023 marks the Western Bulldogs' 140th year as an official organisation.
By Andrew Gigacz
The year 1883 was a significant one for the young Melbourne suburb of Footscray.
The township's first newspaper, the Independent, was established and the newly reformed Victorian Junior Football Association (the 'junior' here referring to the competition's status as opposed to the age of the players) admitted the Footscray Football Club into its ranks, setting the club on a path to being the top-tier AFL club that today plays under the name the Western Bulldogs.
Footscray also issued its first membership tickets in 1883, initiating a connection between fans and players that is now, 140 years later, as strong as it's ever been.
Three years later, in 1886, the club took two more significant steps.
First, it moved its home ground and headquarters from 'Lower Footscray' (near the Maribyrnong River), via a stint at the Market Reserve (also known as Northern reserve) to the Western Reserve – now known as Whitten Oval – in Barkly Street, 'Upper Footscray'.
Second, the club joined the Victorian Football Association, then the premier football competition in the state, if not country.
Within a dozen years, Footscray became a VFA powerhouse, winning a hat-trick premierships in 1898-1900, and further flags in 1908, 1913, 1919-20 and 1923-24.
The last of those was followed by a 'Championship of Victoria' win over the 1924 VFL premiers Essendon, and the following year the Bulldogs joined the VFL, by now recognised as the elite competition of the land.
The rest, as they say, is history. The Western Bulldogs today are a strong club in the nation's strongest league, a testament to the 140 years of hard work and support of many thousands of loyal players, administrators and fans since the Footscray Football Club joined the Victorian Junior Football Association in 1883.
Throughout the year the Bulldogs will celebrate their 140-year anniversary year through a variety of digital and fan activation opportunities.
2023 marks the Western Bulldogs' 140th year as an official organisation.
By Andrew Gigacz
The year 1883 was a significant one for the young Melbourne suburb of Footscray.
The township's first newspaper, the Independent, was established and the newly reformed Victorian Junior Football Association (the 'junior' here referring to the competition's status as opposed to the age of the players) admitted the Footscray Football Club into its ranks, setting the club on a path to being the top-tier AFL club that today plays under the name the Western Bulldogs.
Footscray also issued its first membership tickets in 1883, initiating a connection between fans and players that is now, 140 years later, as strong as it's ever been.
Three years later, in 1886, the club took two more significant steps.
First, it moved its home ground and headquarters from 'Lower Footscray' (near the Maribyrnong River), via a stint at the Market Reserve (also known as Northern reserve) to the Western Reserve – now known as Whitten Oval – in Barkly Street, 'Upper Footscray'.
Second, the club joined the Victorian Football Association, then the premier football competition in the state, if not country.
Within a dozen years, Footscray became a VFA powerhouse, winning a hat-trick premierships in 1898-1900, and further flags in 1908, 1913, 1919-20 and 1923-24.
The last of those was followed by a 'Championship of Victoria' win over the 1924 VFL premiers Essendon, and the following year the Bulldogs joined the VFL, by now recognised as the elite competition of the land.
The rest, as they say, is history. The Western Bulldogs today are a strong club in the nation's strongest league, a testament to the 140 years of hard work and support of many thousands of loyal players, administrators and fans since the Footscray Football Club joined the Victorian Junior Football Association in 1883.
Throughout the year the Bulldogs will celebrate their 140-year anniversary year through a variety of digital and fan activation opportunities.
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