Carlton Football Club

Early history , an early champion Carlton footballer in 1880 During a meeting on 17 May 1865 at the University Hotel in Grattan Street Carlton the Carlton Football Club nominated secretary Ben James and president James Linacre respectively. The club formally adopted the Melbourne Football Club rules. and officially celebrates anniversaries based on a foundation date of 1864. It also continues to investigate evidence of an earlier foundation, including the proposed formation of a Carlton Football Club on 21 May 1861 connected to a Carlton Cricket Club. The earliest records of the club playing were from 1865 out of Princes Park in Carlton. In the early days, Carlton became particularly strong competitively and grew a large supporter base. It became a fierce rival to the Melbourne Football Club in early competitions, including the South Yarra Challenge Cup, and the club is recognised as senior Victorian premiers in 1871, 1873, 1874 and 1875. Victorian Football Association and Victorian Football League In 1877, Carlton was one of the foundation clubs of the Victorian Football Association, and was a comfortable winner of the premiership in the competition's inaugural season. Carlton was one of the first clubs to have a player worthy of the superstar tag: champion player George Coulthard, who played for Carlton between 1876 and 1882, and was noted by The Australasian as 'The grandest player of the day'. He died of tuberculosis in 1883, aged 27. The club won one more VFA premiership, in 1887, but after that, particularly during the 1890s, the club went from one of the strongest clubs in the Association to one of the weaker, both on-field and off-field. In spite of this, the club was invited to join the breakaway Victorian Football League competition in 1897. The club continued to struggle in early seasons of the new competition, and finished seventh out of eight teams in each of its first five seasons. Jack Worrall to World War I Carlton's fortunes improved significantly in 1902. The Board elected the highly respected former Fitzroy footballer and Australian test cricketer Jack Worrall, then the secretary of the Carlton Cricket Club, to the same position at the football club. As secretary, Worrall slowly took over the managing of the players, in what is now recognised as the first official coaching role in the VFL. Under Worrall's guidance in the latter part of the 1902 season, Carlton's on-field performances improved, and in 1903 he led Carlton to the finals for the first time. Carlton built a strong reputation and financial position, and was able to convince many great players to shift to the club from other clubs, or even (in the case of Mick Grace) out of retirement. Worrall led the club to its first three VFL premierships, won consecutively, in 1906, 1907 and 1908. Carlton became the first club in the VFL to win three premierships in a row, and its win–loss record of 19–1 in the 1908 season (including finals) was a record which stood for more than ninety years. Following these premierships, Carlton went through a tumultuous period off-field. Some players had become frustrated by low payments and hard training standards, and responded by refusing to train or even play matches. The club removed Worrall from the coaching role (he retained the role of secretary), and after significant changes at board level after the 1909 season, Worrall left the club altogether. Many players who had supported Worrall left the club at the end of the season. Then, in 1910, several players were suspected of having taken bribes to fix matches, with two players (Alex Lang and Doug Fraser) both found guilty and suspended for 99 matches. The drought was broken with the club's sixth VFL premiership in 1938, when former Subiaco and South Melbourne champion Brighton Diggins was recruited by the club to serve as captain-coach. On-field, Carlton's inter-war period was highlighted by two of its greatest goalkickers: in the 1920s, Horrie Clover (396 goals in 147 games), and in the 1930s, Harry "Soapy" Vallence (722 goals in 204 games), both of which were Carlton career records at the time. 1941–64 captained Carlton to victory in the 1945 "Bloodbath" Grand Final. The VFL continued to operate through World War II. With the retirement of Diggins, Carlton secured the services of former coach Percy Bentley, who coached the club for fifteen seasons. Carlton continued to finish in or near the finals without premiership success through the war, before winning the premiership in 1945, one month after peace. In a remarkable season, Carlton languished with a record of 3–6 after nine weeks, but won ten of the remaining eleven home-and-away matches to finish fourth; Carlton then comfortably beat in the first semi-final, overcame a 28-point deficit in the final quarter to beat Collingwood in the preliminary final, then beat South Melbourne in the notoriously brutal and violent Bloodbath Grand Final. Carlton contested two more Grand Finals in the 1940s, both against , winning the 1947 Grand Final by a single point, and being comfortably beaten in 1949. Also contributing to Carlton's success was the strength of the Bendigo Football League, to which Carlton gained recruitment access through the VFL's country zoning arrangements. Under Barassi, Carlton reached three consecutive Grand Finals between 1968 and 1970, resulting in two premierships: 1968 against Essendon and 1970 against traditional rivals Collingwood. The 1970 Grand Final remains one of the most famous matches in football history. Played in front of an enduring record crowd of 121,696, Collingwood dominated early to lead by 44 points at half time, but Carlton kicked seven goals in fifteen minutes after half time to narrow the margin to only three points; after a close final quarter, Carlton won its tenth VFL premiership with a ten-point victory. Carlton won its first and second Championship of Australia titles in 1968 and 1970, beating the SANFL's Sturt Football Club in both seasons. Midfielders Sergio Silvagni and Adrian Gallagher, half-forward Robert Walls, and ruckman Percy Jones were also prominent throughout the Barassi era, and in 1970, Alex Jesaulenko became the first (and to date, only) Carlton forward to kick 100 goals in a season. 1975–82 Carlton continued to play finals through the 1970s without premiership success, and went through several coaches in a short period of time: Nicholls (until 1975), Ian Thorogood (1976–77), Ian Stewart (for only three matches in 1978), and Alex Jesaulenko as playing coach after Stewart's departure. Then, at the end of 2002, it was revealed that Carlton had been systematically cheating the league salary cap during the early 2000s. The scandal resulted in the loss of draft picks and a fine of $930,000, which exacerbated the club's poor on-field and off-field positions. In the immediate fall-out from 2002, president John Elliott was voted out by the members, and was replaced with Docklands Stadium CEO Ian Collins. Under Collins, the club shifted its home stadium from Princes Park to Docklands, with the final match played at Princes Park in 2005. Additionally, coach Wayne Brittain was sacked, and replaced with Kangaroos coach Denis Pagan. On-field performances did not improve under Pagan, and overall the club won three wooden spoons and finished in the bottom two five times between 2002 and 2007. Steven Icke and Collingwood's Greg Swann came to the club as president, general manager of football operations, and CEO respectively; although Pratt's presidency lasted only sixteen months, after which he was replaced by Stephen Kernahan, the new personnel stabilised the club's off-field position. Pagan was sacked as coach mid-season after a string of heavy defeats, and was replaced by former club captain and assistant coach Brett Ratten. Then, prior to the 2008 season, Carlton was able to secure a trade for 's Chris Judd, one of the league's best midfielders, to join the club as captain. The time spent at the bottom of the ladder also allowed Carlton to secure three No. 1 draft picks – Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer – who helped the club's on-field position. Brett Ratten led Carlton to the finals from 2009 until 2011, but was sacked with a year remaining on his contract after the club missed the finals in 2012, and was replaced by former and premiership coach Mick Malthouse. Under Malthouse, the club returned to the finals in 2013, but fell to thirteenth in 2014. Kernahan stepped aside in mid-2014, and was replaced by Mark LoGiudice, who presided over a period of mediocre onfield results. The relationship between Malthouse and the club's quickly and publicly deteriorated; and in early 2015, after giving a radio interview critical of the board, Malthouse was sacked the club going on to finish last. Former Hawthorn assistant coach Brendon Bolton took over as coach from the 2016 season, leading only into his fourth season before he too was sacked after overseeing the team's decline to another wooden spoon in 2018 with a 2–20 record, the worst win–loss record in its VFL/AFL history, followed by an equally weak 1–10 start to the 2019 season. Bolton's replacement, David Teague, helped the club avoid the 2019 wooden spoon, but lasted only two years into a three-year contract without a finals appearance. Voss era (2022–present) LoGiudice handed over the presidency to Luke Sayers in August 2021, and Sayers conducted an extensive independent review of the football department during the second half of that season; Teague was sacked, and Michael Voss was appointed senior coach. As of 2025, Voss has led the club in four seasons, and led the club to finals in his second and third seasons, ending what had become a club-record nine year VFL/AFL finals drought, with his best result a preliminary final defeat in 2023. During this time, Carlton achieved two of its greatest individual successes, with captain Patrick Cripps becoming the club's first dual Brownlow Medallist and full forward Charlie Curnow becoming the club's first back-to-back Coleman Medallist. Sayers stood down as president in early 2025, replaced by Robert Priestly. ==Club symbols==

Guernsey The current Carlton guernsey is navy blue, emblazoned with a white CFC monogram (which stands for "Carlton Football Club") on the front, and white numbers on the back. This guernsey design is specified in the club's constitution. Other than changes to the font of the monogram, this has been Carlton's guernsey continually since 1909. The club has worn navy blue in its uniform since 1871, when colour of the team's caps was changed from orange/yellow. The club's on-and-off field apparel was manufactured by Nike from 1998 until 2019, and by Puma from 2020 until at least 2029. The team wears navy blue shorts in home games, and white shorts in away games. Since the introduction of clash guernseys in 2007, Carlton has had several clash designs which have been mostly white, with navy blue monogram, numbers, trimmings and minor panels in a variety of combinations. Designs in predominantly sky blue (2011–2012) and silver (2018) have also been used. Nickname Carlton's official nickname is the 'Blues'. Since the addition of navy blue to the playing uniform in 1871, the club has been known almost universally in print media as the Blues, Dark Blues or Navy Blues. Other colloquial nicknames include Bluebaggers or 'Baggers. The cockatoo connection derived from the talking cockatoo brought to home matches by club member Bob St. Marr for more than 30 years; intelligent enough to squawk its support for Carlton and loud enough to be heard over the crowd, 'Cocky Marr' had become an unofficial live mascot for the club until the bird's death in 1939. Club song Carlton's club song is We Are the Navy Blues. The lyrics are believed to have been written in around 1930 by cousins Irene McEldrew and Agnes Wright, who ran a boarding house for several club players and the latter of whom was the niece of then-coach Dan Minogue. It is sung to the tune of Lily of Laguna. Home grounds, headquarters, training and administrative base The club's traditional home ground is Princes Park (currently known as Ikon Park), located in North Carlton. After struggling to find a permanent home venue during its time in the VFA, Carlton established Princes Park as its home venue when it joined the VFL in 1897. ==Rivalries==

Collingwood Carlton possesses a long and bitter rivalry with , with the rivalry considered to be one of the most historic and significant in Australian sport, dating back to their spiteful 1910 Grand Final. They have met six times in Grand Finals, with Carlton successful in all bar the first. Carlton home matches between the club contest the Richard Pratt Cup, and Collingwood home matches are designated as the Peter Mac Cup. They also share the same amount of premierships, at 16. Essendon Carlton also has rivalry with Essendon. With 16 premierships apiece, the two teams, along with Collingwood, are the joint most successful teams in the VFL/AFL history. Richmond Carlton has a rivalry with Richmond, with this rivalry based on geographical proximity and large supporter bases. The two teams contested four grand finals between 1969 and 1982, and since 2008 have met annually on a Thursday night in round 1 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, usually as the opening game of the season. ==Club honours==

Carlton Team of the Century Four emergencies were also named: (1) Laurie Kerr, (2) Bob Chitty, (3) Horrie Clover and (4) Rod McGregor. The five players with an asterisk(*) are also members of the AFL Team of the Century – the largest number of any AFL club. ==Hall of Fame==

The Carlton Football Club established its Hall of Fame in 1987, with nine inaugural inductees. Each year between 1988 and 2001 an additional three to five people were inducted into the Carlton Hall of Fame. After a five-year break, an additional ten people were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. As of May 2016, there have been 77 inductees. A year after the AFL added a Legends category to the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Carlton added a Legends category to its hall of fame in 1997. As of 2023, there are 16 Legends in the Hall of Fame: Craig Bradley, Bert Deacon, Bruce Doull, Alex Jesaulenko, Wayne Johnston, Stephen Kernahan, John Nicholls, Stephen Silvagni and Harry Vallence (all elevated in 1997); Ken Hands (2006); Robert Walls (2011); Geoff Southby (2013); Sergio Silvagni (2016); David McKay (2021); and Horrie Clover and Ian Collins (2023). ==Individual awards==

John Nicholls Medallists Known as "Robert Reynolds Trophy" until 2003 Brownlow Medallists League leading goalkickers VFL/AFL except where noted. Awarded the Coleman Medal since 1955. Norm Smith Medallists Mark of the Year winners Goal of the Year winners Leigh Matthews Trophy winners Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Twenty-five people have been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame for their services to football for careers which were either partially or entirely served with the Carlton Football Club. Of those, three have Legend status in the Hall of Fame. ;Legends Ron Barassi, Alex Jesaulenko, John Nicholls ;Players Peter Bedford, Craig Bradley, Horrie Clover, George Coulthard, Bruce Doull, Ken Hands, Ern Henfry, Ken Hunter, Wayne Johnston, Chris Judd, Stephen Kernahan, Anthony Koutoufides, Rod McGregor, Peter McKenna, Stephen Silvagni, Geoff Southby, Harry Vallence, Robert Walls, Greg Williams. ;Coaches Mick Malthouse, David Parkin, Jack Worrall ;Administrators Mike Fitzpatrick, Sir Kenneth Luke ==Current playing squad==

==Corporate and administration==

Since 1978 the club has operated as the incorporated company Carlton Football Club Limited. Board of directors President – Robert Priestley Board members – David Campbell, Patty Kinnersly, Greg Williams, Lahra Carey, Helen Kurincic, Michael Burn and Christopher Townshend. Chief Executive Officers CEOs since 1980. Sponsorship AFL AFL Women's Individual records Most career goals Most career games VFL/AFL match records • Most goals in a game: 13 by Horrie Clover vs. in 1921 • Highest score: 30.30 (210) vs. Hawthorn on 12 April 1969 • Lowest score: 0.6 (6) vs. Collingwood on 4 June 1898 • Greatest winning margin: 140 points vs. St Kilda on 8 April 1985 • Greatest losing margin: 138 points vs. Hawthorn on 24 July 2015 • Highest losing score: 22.13 (145) v North Melbourne on 15 April 1985 • Lowest winning score: 3.6 (24) v South Melbourne on 24 June 1899 • Record attendance (home and away game): 91,571, 21 July 2000 at MCG v Essendon • Record attendance (finals match): 121,696, Grand Final, 26 September 1970 v Collingwood. ==Reserves team==

Carlton's seconds/reserves team was established in 1919; it operated semi-independently of the senior club until 1936, when the senior club's committee fully took over its operations. From 1919 to 1991 the VFL/AFL operated a reserves competition, and from 1992 to 1999 a de facto AFL reserves competition was run by the Victorian State Football League. The Carlton Football Club fielded a reserves team in both of these competitions, allowing players who were not selected for the senior team to play for Carlton in the lower grade. During that time, the Carlton reserves team won eight premierships (1926, 1927, 1928, 1951, 1953, 1986, 1987, 1990). Following the demise of the AFL reserves competition, the Carlton reserves team competed in the new Victorian Football League for three seasons from 2000 until 2002. The reserves team was dissolved at the end of 2002, and Carlton entered a reserves affiliation with existing VFL club, the Northern Bullants. Under the affiliation, reserves players for Carlton played VFL football with the Northern Bullants. The partnership between the two clubs was strengthened in 2012, when the Northern Bullants were renamed the Northern Blues and they adopted Carlton's navy blue colours, and the club split its home games between the VFL club's traditional home, the Preston City Oval; and Carlton's traditional home, Ikon Park. Carlton terminated the affiliation with the Northern Blues in early 2020, as a cost saving measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and re-established a dedicated reserves team in the VFL for the 2021 season. Development systems Under the AFL's 2016 plan to establish club-branded Next Generation Academies across Australia to give all AFL clubs a more active role in junior development, Carlton was allocated the northern metropolitan zone of Melbourne. The academy is linked to the Preston-based Northern Knights in the statewide under-18s system. Since 2019, the club has operated the Carlton College of Sports, a higher education institution in partnership with La Trobe University, which offers sports education diplomas and is operated out of the redeveloped grandstands at Ikon Park. ==Women's teams==

The Carlton Football Club operates two senior women's teams: one team in the national AFL Women's competition, which it has fielded since the 2017 AFLW season; and one team in the state VFL Women's competition, which has been fielded since the 2018 VFLW season. History Carlton was a key cog in the establishment of Women's football in the state of Victoria. In August 1933 the club hosted the first ever VFL sanctioned match between women's teams, with sides representing Carlton and Richmond. Though Richmond's side was not associated directly with the VFL club of the same name, the Carlton side was picked and trained by the club with VFL players Mickey Crisp and Ray Brew as coaches. The match, played at Carlton's home Princes Park drew an estimated crowd of 10,000 and raised funds as part of a VFL bye-week carnival for The Royal Melbourne Hospital. The club next fielded a women's team more than a decade later when it competed in a 1947 charity exhibition series raising funds in support of food shortages in post-war Commonwealth countries. The club's team played multiple matches in multiple series that season including a match against Footscray in July and a subsequent series against , South Melbourne, and Footscray in August 1947. AFL Women's team In June 2016, Carlton was granted a licence to establish and field a team in the eight team AFL Women's league, which was set to stage its inaugural season in February–March 2017. The team is run and fully integrated within the Carlton Football Club, with football operation initially overseen by existing Head of Football Andrew McKay. and the club's existing Female Football Ambassador, Lauren Arnell, served as the inaugural captain; she, along with Marquee players and Darcy Vescio and Brianna Davey were the club's inaugural marquee signings. In 2018, the Western Bulldogs and Carlton women's teams held the first Pride game in the AFLW, to celebrate gender diversity, promote inclusion for LGBTIQA+ players, and to help stamp out homophobia. After being joined by other clubs, in 2020, the first full AFLW Pride Round was held in 2021, supported by all 18 clubs in the league. In its history, the team has played in one grand final, which it lost against Adelaide in 2019. ;Current squad VFL Women's team Prior the 2018 season, Carlton was granted a licence to field a team in the VFL Women's competition. The VFLW team originally operated under a separate program to the club's AFLW team, however in 2021 the VFLW was formally aligned with the AFLW competition, similar to the men's AFL/VFL system. ==See also==