The Footscray Tech Old Boys (FTOB), also known simply as Footscray, was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club was formed by former students of Footscray Technical School (FTS).
Footscray Tech competed in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) for most of its existence. The club disbanded in 1992 when Footscray IT merged into the Victoria University of Technology (VUT), with a VUT club competing in the VAFA for several years before it folded at the end of 1996.
The successor university to Footscray IT, Victoria University (VU), is currently represented in the VAFA by the UHS-VU Football Club.
History Footscray Tech Footscray Technical School Old Boys Football Club (Footscray TSOB) was formed in the 1920s and competed in the Footscray District Junior Football League (FDJFL) in 1931. In 1932, the club joined the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA, renamed VAFA in 1933) and entered the competition's D Section.
The club made its first grand final in 1936, but was defeated by Coburg Amateurs by 29 points. After being promoted to C Section for the 1937 season, the club made the grand final again, but was defeated by Coburg Amateurs for the second year in a row.
21 years after it entered the competition, Footscray TSOB won its first VAFA premiership in ES&A Bank by 5 points in the 1953 D Section grand final. A second premiership came in 1959 with a 1-point victory over AJAX.
In its first C Section grand final, the club lost to Kew in 1964. Four years later, the club defeated St Bernard's to win the 1968 C Section grand final. A fifth premiership came against UHSOB in the 1983 F Section grand final.
At the end of the 1992 season, the club disbanded after Footscray IT merged into the Victoria University of Technology (VUT).
VUT Beginning in 1993, a new club − FIT/VUT − competed in the VAFA, entering F2 Section. The club renamed to simply VUT for the 1994 season, where they were defeated by Fitzroy Reds in the G Section reserves grand final.
In 1995, VUT was set to compete in the E Central section, but withdrew before the first game "due to insufficient [player] numbers", instead solely competing in the Club XVIII South competition. The club remained in Club XVIII South in 1996, but just four of its 15 games and folded at the end of the season.
Club name The club was formed as Footscray TSOB, but Footscray Technical School renamed to Footscray Technical College (FTC) in 1958. As a result, the club changed its name to Footscray Technical College Old Boys (FTCOB).
FTC then renamed to Footscray Institute Of Technology Old Boys (Footscray IT, FITOB or FIT) in 1968, a change that come into effect for the club at the end of the 1968 season. However, some VAFA records show the "FTCOB" name still being used in the 1970s. The new "FITOB" name is seen in The Amateur Footballer as early as 1972.
Despite this, some sources − including the VAFA − claim the club was only renamed to FITOB in 1989.
Seasons PremiersGrand FinalistMinor premiersFinals appearanceWooden spoonDivision leading goalkickerDivision best and fairest Seniors YearLeagueDivisionCoachCaptainBest and fairestLeading goalkickerGoals 1931 FDJFL 1932 MAFA 1933 VAFA 1934 VAFA 1935 VAFA 1936 VAFA 1937 VAFA 1938 VAFA 1939 VAFA 1940 VAFA 1941 VAFA 1942 VAFA (No season) 1943 VAFA (No season) 1944 VAFA (No season) 1945 VAFA (No season) 1946 VAFA 1947 VAFA 1948 VAFA 1949 VAFA 1950 VAFA 1951 VAFA 1952 VAFA 1953 VAFA 1954 VAFA 1955 VAFA 1956 VAFA 1957 VAFA 1958 VAFA 1959 VAFA 1960 VAFA 1961 VAFA 1962 VAFA 1963 VAFA 1964 VAFA 1965 VAFA 1966 VAFA 1967 VAFA 1968 VAFA 1969 VAFA 1970 VAFA 1971 VAFA 1972 VAFA 1973 VAFA 1974 VAFA 1975 VAFA 1976 VAFA 1977 VAFA 1978 VAFA 1979 VAFA 1980 VAFA F Section 7th 8 10 0 1981 VAFA 1982 VAFA 1983 VAFA F Section 1st 13 5 0 1984 VAFA E Section 7th 8 10 0 1985 VAFA E Section 9th 3 14 1 1986 VAFA F Section 8th 3 14 0 Fred Cook 1987 VAFA F Section 10th 2 16 0 R. Boef S. Baird 1988 VAFA 1989 VAFA 1990 VAFA 1991 VAFA 1992 VAFA
Grand finals PremiersRunners-upDrawn Year League Division Grade Opponent Score Venue Date Report 1936 VAFA Seniors Coburg Amateurs 18.19 (127) d. 15.8 (98) 1937 VAFA C Section Seniors 1953 VAFA D Section Seniors ES&A Bank 5.7 (37) d. 3.14 (32) 1959 VAFA D Section Seniors AJAX 8.13 (60) d. 7.18 (60) 1964 VAFA D Section Seniors Kew 14.9 (93) d. 7.4 (46) 1968 VAFA C Section Seniors St Bernard's 11.6 (72) d. 7.9 (51) 1983 VAFA F Section Seniors UHSOB 12.10 (82) d. 12.7 (79)
Notable players A number of Footscray Teach players later joined clubs in the Victorian Football League (VFL), now known as the Australian Football League (AFL), including several who joined the Footscray Football Club.
Harry Chalmers − and Dick Eason − and Ian Fleming − Jim Greenham − Max Isaac − Rod O'Connor − Arthur Olliver −
Additionally, Fred Cook − who did play for after leaving Footscray Tech − later went onto play 300 games in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
References