The Cordner–Eggleston Cup is a retrospective award commemorating the historic school football rivalry between Melbourne Grammar School and the Scotch College which has been contested since 1858. Competition between these schools is believed to have been pivotal in the establishment of Australian rules football.

The cup, instituted in 1989 was named after prominent alumni from the respective schools – Dr Don Cordner (Melbourne Grammar) and Mr Michael Eggleston (Scotch College). Prior to the award, the two schools competed for honours and were recorded in the yearbooks and other sports logbooks of the respective schools. Other prominent schools at times also competed in the prestigious tournaments since the 1860s, including Geelong Grammar School.

The first football fixture was played under experimental rules on 7 August 1858 at Yarra Park giving the Cup a claim to being the longest continuously running football competition in the world. It is also of cultural importance to Australia, as it is the best documented early football match in Australia and is believed by many historians to have played a key role in the Origins of Australian football. The first match is commemorated by a bronze statue depicting the game outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The 150th anniversary of the cup was celebrated by the match being played at the MCG, where most notable football matches are played, including the Grand Final of the Australian Football League, the senior competition of Australian Rules.

The "first" match The first game ran for three days, over three consecutive Saturdays, and each team selected an umpire: Melbourne Grammar chose Tom Wills; Scotch chose Dr John Macadam. By the completion of the third day, the match had resulted in a 1–1 draw.

In recent years historians have found evidence of earlier matches between the two schools, and subsequently the origin of the game remains one of the most contested areas of Australian history. Both Melbourne Grammar and Scotch have acknowledged the ongoing research of historians.

The Cup The cup, instituted in 1989, is a retrospective award which was named after prominent alumni from the respective schools – Dr Don Cordner (Melbourne Grammar) and Mr Michael Eggleston (Scotch College). Before the cup the clubs competed for honours and were recorded in the yearbooks and other sports logbooks of the respective schools.

Relationship with Australian football Australian football is the code which the match is played today, however the first match was played under experimental rules.

The AFL Commission officially regards it as the first match of Australian football.

Historians draw a connection to the modern code of Australian football primarily through the involvement of Tom Wills as an organiser and participant as well as the fact that the match was co-ordinated by Thomas H. Smith who was later, along with Wills, one of the founders of the Melbourne Football Club and signatory of the first known Laws of Australian Football.pg 36. Melbourne FC Since 1858 – An Illustrated History Wills is believed to have been involved due to his interest in establishing football in Victoria and experimenting with rules as part of his quest for a "code of laws" by which the game could be organised.

History has been uncovered which, in fact, suggests that Melbourne Grammar School played football against both St. Kilda Grammar School and a number of men from St. Kilda in June and July 1858. It was not until August that the two recognised schools met to play the "first" recorded match.

Tim Shearer of the Old Scotch Collegians Association, and a former AFL umpire, explained to The Age that the College is "careful to say we don't dogmatically claim this was the first game of Australian football and that there are differing views which we respect. But we do like to say that this is the first recorded game by two teams who still exist today."

To celebrate the schools' 150-year-old rivalry, the Cordner–Eggleston Cup in 2008 was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground; the match was won by Melbourne Grammar.

Outcome history

Year Played Location Winner 1858 Richmond Paddock 1:1 DrawThe Argus. NEW SOUTH WALES Page 5. 9 Aug 1858 1859 Richmond Paddock Scotch College 2 to 0The Argus Page 4. 13 Jun 1859 1860 0:0 Draw 1869 Melbourne Melbourne Grammar School 2 to 11870Richmond PaddockMelbourne Grammar School (0) def. by Scotch College (2) 1909 Melbourne Cricket Ground Scotch CollegeSCOTCH V. MELBOURNE GRAMMAR. The Argus. Page 2. Thu 17 Jun 1909 1923 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar SchoolPUBLIC SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL The Argus. Page 13. Sat 7 Jul 1923 1924 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar School 10–15–75 to 5–6–36PUBLIC SCHOOLS' MATCH The Argus. Page 26. Sat 12 Jul 1924 1925 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar School 96 to 6–15PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOOTBALL The Argus. Page 4. Fri 7 Aug 1925 1926 Junction Oval Melbourne Grammar School 14-14 to 12–8PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMPETITION The Age. Page 13. Sat 7 Aug 1926 1929 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar School 10–15–71 to 7–8–50PUBLIC SCHOOLS' MATCH The Argus. Page 30. Sat 13 Jul 1929 1930 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar School 8–11-59 to 7–15-57SCOTCH COLLEGE BEATEN The Age. Page 5. Fri 25 Jul 1930 1931 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar School 8–11 to 7–4PUBLIC SCHOOL GAMES The Age. Page 12. Fri 31 Jul 1931 1933 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar School 9–5-59 to 6–19-55PUBLIC SCHOOLS GAMES The Age. Page 6. Fri 30 Jun 1933 1934 Olympic Park Melbourne Grammar School 12–12 to 9–6AMONG THE SCHOOLS The Age. Page 5. Tue 10 Jul 1934 1935 Olympic Park Melbourne Grammar School 14–20 to 13–14GRAMMAR TOO HEAVY The Argus. Page 12. Fri 19 Jul 1935 1936 Olympic Park Melbourne Grammar School 10–15 to 9–14GRAMMAR WINS The Argus. Page 15. Fri 31 Jul 1936 1938 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Grammar School 11–17 to 10–18GRAMMAR WINS Scotch inaccurate The Argus. Page 21. Fri 1 Jul 1938 1939 Scotch College Scotch College 17–11 to 15–13SCOTCH DEFEATS GRAMMAR Exciting Football The Argus. Page 18. Sat 8 Jul 1939 1941 Scotch College Melbourne Grammar 14-16 to 8–14GRAMMAR'S DECISIVE WIN The Argus. Page 8. Mon 4 Aug 1941 1942 Grimwade House Scotch College 20–15 to 12–12Scotch defeats Grammar The Sun News Pictorial. Page 12. Fri 7 Aug 1942 1943 Scotch College Scotch College 15-17 to 12–16SCOTCH WINS GREAT GAME The Argus. Page 9. Sat 3 Jul 1943 1944 Melbourne Grammar Melbourne Grammar 11-24 to 12–10M.G.S. Beats Scotch In P.S. Football The Sun News Pictorial. Page 14. Sat 8 Jul 1944 1946 ? Melbourne Grammar 12-8 to 9–15MELB. GRAMMAR NOW SURE OF PREMIERSHIP The Sun News Pictorial. Page 13. Sat 27 Jul 19461995Scotch CollegeScotch College 1996 ? Scotch College 1997 Scotch College Scotch College 1998 Melbourne Grammar School Scotch College 1999 ? Scotch College 2000 ? Scotch College 2001 MCG Scotch College 2002 ? Scotch College 2003MCG Scotch College 2004Melbourne Grammar SchoolMelbourne Grammar School 2005 Scotch College Scotch College 2006MGS Edwin Flack Park Scotch College 2007 Scotch College Scotch College 2008 MCGMelbourne Grammar School 2009 Scotch College Scotch College 2010MGS Edwin Flack ParkMelbourne Grammar School 2011 Scotch College Scotch College 2012MGS Edwin Flack Park Scotch College 2013 Scotch CollegeMelbourne Grammar School 2014MGS Edwin Flack ParkMelbourne Grammar School 2015 Scotch CollegeMelbourne Grammar School 2016MGS Edwin Flack Park Scotch College 96 to 71 2017 Scotch College Scotch College 12–11–83 to 4–5–29 2018MGS Edwin Flack Park Melbourne Grammar School 2019Scotch College Scotch College 9–3–57 to 6–7–43 2020 & 2021 - No Match (COVID-19 pandemic) 2022 Scotch College Scotch College by 10 points 2023MGS Edwin Flack Park Scotch College 116 to 252024Scotch CollegeMelbourne Grammar School 12-3-75 to 9-19-732025MGS Edwin Flack ParkScotch College 10.9.69 to 9.6.602026Scotch CollegeScotch College 11.10.76 to 8.10.58

References