The Eastern Suburban Churches Football Association (ESCFA), formerly the Eastern Suburban Protestant Churches Football Association (ESPCFA), was an Australian rules football competition based in the eastern and southern suburbs of Melbourne.
For much of its history it consisted of clubs associated with various Protestant churches in Melbourne's east and south. At its peak it was one of the largest Australian rules football competitions in Australia, with 5 divisions of 10 clubs fielding seniors and reserves.
History The ESPCFA was formed on the March 19, 1923, when representatives of six churches in the Camberwell district met at the Camberwell Methodist School office to discuss the possibility of forming a local competition between the churches. The association expanded to a 12-team competition by 1928, which necessitated the formation of a B-grade competition the following year. C-grade was introduced in 1933. However, it disbanded before the 1936 season following the loss of a number of clubs and would not return until after World War II. D-grade was introduced in 1947.
The competition contracted back to three grades following the 1954 season after a number of clubs folded due to players moving to other local leagues. The 1950s were marked by the domination of Burwood United and Trinity Presbyterian, which won eight A-grade premierships between them from 1952 to 1959. The first reserve grade was introduced in 1959.
In 1971 Donvale United entered the competition, winning two A-grade premierships in their first three seasons in 1972 and 1973. St Marys Church of England achieved the league's first A-grade three-peat between 1978 and 1980. This would be bested by Donvale between 1988 and 1991 when they won four premierships in a row before departing for the Eastern Districts Football League.
As the population of the eastern suburbs aged, many clubs found it hard to field two sides, which led to a number of club mergers and disbandments during the 1970s. The requirement for clubs to be aligned with churches was dropped around the beginning of the 1980s, which allowed for the addition of district clubs to replace the dwindling numbers of church-aligned teams. The ESCFA absorbed a number of clubs from the defunct YCW National Football Association in 1986, which helped keep the number of clubs reasonably stable. However, the loss of eight clubs at the end of the 1989 season, many of them decades-long members of the league, saw E-grade dropped for 1990 and revealed that the competition's days were numbered. A number of prominent clubs left prior to the 1992 season, including the previous years' A-grade premiers Donvale and the oldest member club, St Marys Church of England, leading to the bottom two divisions being combined. The ESCFA merged with the Southern Football League following the 1992 season, with most clubs merging into the ranks of the new league.
Clubs
Final
Division 1 ClubColoursNicknameHome GroundFormer LeagueEst.Years in ESCFAESCFA Senior PremiershipsFateTotalMost recentBentleigh Uniting (1965-86)(1987-95)Bentleigh Reserve, Bentleigh–19651965-199221990Moved to Southern FL in 1993Burwood UnitedWoodsBurwood Reserve, Glen Iris–19301930-1958, 1961-1992121985Moved to Southern FL in 1993Canterbury North BalwynMacleay Park, Balwyn North–19771977-199211986Moved to VAFA in 1993Collingwood DistrictsRamsden Street Oval, Clifton Hill–19861987-199231991Moved to Southern FL in 1993Hampton United (1947-?)(?-1992)HammersPeterson Street Reserve, Highett–19471947-1948, 1959-199251986Played in Methodist FL between 1949-51. Recess between 1952-58. Moved to Southern FL in 1993Oakleigh AmateurKrushersW.A. Scammell Reserve, Oakleigh–199219920 -Moved to VAFA in 1993St Kevins OrmondSaintsKoornang Park, CarnegieYCWFL19461976-19920 -Merged with Gardenvale to form Caulfield Bears in Southern FL following 1992 seasonSt Pauls BentleighBulldogsMcKinnon Reserve, BentleighYCWFL19481980-199221992Moved to Southern FL in 1993Springvale Districts DemonsSpringvale Reserve, SpringvaleYCWFL19591981-199241989Moved to Southern FL in 1993Wattle Park-Bennettswood Bennettswood Reserve North Oval, Burwood–19631963-199241987Absorbed by Doncaster East in Eastern Districts FL following 1992 season
Division 2 ClubColoursNicknameHome GroundFormer LeagueEst.Years in ESCFAESCFA Senior PremiershipsFateTotalYearsBalwyn CombinedDemonsMacleay Park, Balwyn North–19451945-199221985Moved to VAFA in 1993Box Hill Pioneers-St Peters Pioneers, Pies Box Hill North–19541954-199261986Moved to Southern FL in 1993Cheltenham Assumption Red RoostersLe Page Park, Cheltenham–1967-19922 1976Moved to Southern FL in 1993Dandenong SouthAndrews Reserve, DandenongYCWFL1987-199211987Folded after 1992 seasonEast CamberwellLynden Park, CamberwellCYMSFA19461973-199221990Moved to Southern FL in 1993FairfieldBloodsFairfield Park Oval, FairfieldVAFA18911975-19920 -Moved to Southern FL in 1993Lower Plenty (1980s)(?-1992)HawksMontmorency Park, MontmorencyMCFL, PHFL19621971-1982, 1986-199231991Played in Panton Hill FL between 1983-85. Moved to Southern FL in 1993Richmond Amateurs RosellasKevin Bartlett Reserve, BurnleyYCWFL1978, 1987-199211992Moved to Southern FL in 1993South Yarra Lions, Glen Iris–19671967-199221988Moved to Southern FL in 1993Syndal-Tally HoSynners, DemonsJordan Reserve, Chadstone–19801980-199231987Moved to Southern FL in 1993
Division 3 ClubColoursNicknameHome GroundFormer LeagueEst.Years in ESCFAESCFA Senior PremiershipsFateTotalYearsAshburton-ChadstoneToffee ApplesWatson Park, Ashburton–19861986-19920 -Moved to Southern FL in 1993Box Hill AdelphianElgar Park, Box Hill North–19361936-199231980Moved to Southern FL in 1993Box Hill NorthElgar Park, Box Hill North–19831983-199211991Moved to Southern FL in 1993BellfieldMud and BloodsFord Park, BellfieldVAFA, PDJFL1950s1966-1977, 1979-19920 -Played in Preston District Junior FL in 1978. Moved to Melbourne North FL in 1993Black RockJetsDonald MacDonald Reserve, Black RockYCWFL, SESFL19081980-1985, 199221984Moved to Southern FL in 1986 and 1993CarnegieDemonsEast Caulfield Reserve, Caulfield EastSESFLc.1920s1991-19920 -Returned to Southern FL in 1993Dandenong WestBlues, WesternersGreaves Reserve, DandenongSESFL19631987-19920 -Returned to Southern FL in 1993East BentleighMackie Road Reserve, Bentleigh EastYCWFL1979-1980, 1982-199211986Recess in 1981. Moved to Southern FL in 1993Eley ParkSharksEley Park, Blackburn South–199219920 -Moved to Southern FL in 1993Gardenvale EaglesPrinces Park, Caulfield South–19461946-19920 -Merged with St Kevins Ormond to form Caulfield Bears in Southern FL following 1992 seasonHeathertonTunnersHeatherton Recreation Reserve, HeathertonVAFA19131990-199211992Moved to Southern FL in 1993LyndalePumasBarry Powell Reserve, Noble Park NorthSESFL19611990-19920 -Returned to Southern FL in 1993Moorabbin WestKangaroosA.W Oliver Reserve, Hampton EastYCWFL19781986-19920 -Moved to Southern FL in 1993Mount Waverley Catholics(1979)(1990s)Mountain LionsMayfield Park, Mount WaverleyYCWFL19741975-199211978Moved to Southern FL in 1993North Blackburn EaglesKoonung Park, Blackburn North–19671967-199221989Moved to Southern FL in 1993
Former Due to a lack of records on the league, particularly prior to 1970, only known participation years are listed. Additionally, many clubs merged and changed names frequently in the first few decades of competition so some separately-listed entities may actually be continuations of other clubs.