The 1898 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held in Melbourne on 24 September 1898. The match was played to determine the premiers for the 1898 VFL season. Fitzroy won the match by 15 points. The game was played under atrocious ground conditions in front of 16,538 people at the Junction Oval.
The Junction Oval, venue for the match
Fitzroy, winning team.
The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), before becoming a foundation member of the breakaway Victorian Football League (VFL/AFL) in 1897.
In 1895 Tom Banks captained Fitzroy to its first and only VFA premiership. He was also one of the first footballers of African descent to play in the VFL.
1901 portrait of Geoff Moriarty, who played in two VFL premierships for Fitzroy before going on to become the club's first official coach in 1911. His son Jack also played for Fitzroy.
Haydn Bunton Sr., three-time Brownlow Medal winner
