Recent from talks
1938 VFL grand final
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
1938 VFL grand final
The 1938 VFL grand final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 September 1938. It was the 40th grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1938 VFL season.
The match was won by Carlton by a margin of 15 points, the club's sixth VFL premiership victory. The match was attended by 96,486 spectators, setting a new record for the highest attendance at a football match in Australia which stood until 1956.
Carlton finished on top of the ladder for the 1938 season, having not relinquished first place since winning its first five matches. The club at one stage held an 11–1 record, before late season losses saw a final record of 14–4. Carlton qualified for the grand final by defeating Geelong in the second semi-final by 32 points. It was Carlton's first grand final appearance since 1932, and the club was attempting to win its first premiership since 1915. Carlton was in its first season under captain-coach Brighton Diggins, who had crossed from South Melbourne at the start of the year after having stood out of football in 1937 over a clearance dispute, and the club had flourished under Diggins' training and tactical regimen; the grand final was expected to be Diggins' last game, as he had announced his retirement prior to the semi-final, but he was later convinced to remain for another two years.
Collingwood had looked likely to miss the finals in August, but won its last four home-and-away matches to finish fourth with a 12–6 record, securing its finals berth with a nine-point victory over fifth-placed Melbourne in the final round. Collingwood had comfortable finals wins against Footscray in the first semi-final by 41 points and against Geelong in the preliminary final by 37 points to qualify for the grand final, and was entering on a six-game winning streak. It was the fourth of five consecutive grand final appearances for Collingwood between 1935 and 1939, the club having last won the 1935 and 1936 premierships.
The clubs had faced each other twice during the home-and-away season. In round 5, Carlton 19.16 (130) defeated Collingwood 17.12 (114) at Victoria Park after overcoming a 39-point half-time deficit, which at the time was the VFL record for a half-time deficit successfully overcome; in the aftermath, Collingwood captain Harry Collier was suspended for the rest of the season for striking Carlton's Jack Carney as they were leaving the field. In the return match in round 16, Collingwood 19.12 (126) defeated Carlton 14.17 (101) at Princes Park. Despite their respective ladder positions, Collingwood's better late-season form meant that Collingwood was widely considered favourite to win the grand final.
It was the third grand final between the clubs, the previous two coming in 1910 (won by Collingwood) and 1915 (won by Carlton).
The 1938 grand final was attended by 96,486 spectators (revised down from original reports of 96,834), setting a new record as the largest crowd to have witnessed a VFL match; the gate, also a new record, was £6778/9/3. At the time, the crowd was second only to the 1936 Melbourne Cup as the highest attended sports event in Australia's history. It was the second grand final played after the completion of the Melbourne Cricket Ground's original Southern Stand, and it remained the record for the ground under that configuration of grandstands; the record was broken at the 1956 VFL grand final, the first year after the opening of the Olympic Stand.
The ground was not large enough to accommodate the crowd comfortably – in fact, the health department had advised the maximum attendance at 84,950 after the 1937 record crowd of 88,540. The fence in front of the scoreboard collapsed under the weight of spectators before the game, gashing many spectators' hands, and as many as 5,000 spectators watched the game from inside the arena, mostly between the fence and boundary line but some spilling into the playing area. It was a warm day with a high of 69.6 °F (20.9 °C) and no clouds or rain, and 124 spectators were treated for heat-related illnesses.
Hub AI
1938 VFL grand final AI simulator
(@1938 VFL grand final_simulator)
1938 VFL grand final
The 1938 VFL grand final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 September 1938. It was the 40th grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1938 VFL season.
The match was won by Carlton by a margin of 15 points, the club's sixth VFL premiership victory. The match was attended by 96,486 spectators, setting a new record for the highest attendance at a football match in Australia which stood until 1956.
Carlton finished on top of the ladder for the 1938 season, having not relinquished first place since winning its first five matches. The club at one stage held an 11–1 record, before late season losses saw a final record of 14–4. Carlton qualified for the grand final by defeating Geelong in the second semi-final by 32 points. It was Carlton's first grand final appearance since 1932, and the club was attempting to win its first premiership since 1915. Carlton was in its first season under captain-coach Brighton Diggins, who had crossed from South Melbourne at the start of the year after having stood out of football in 1937 over a clearance dispute, and the club had flourished under Diggins' training and tactical regimen; the grand final was expected to be Diggins' last game, as he had announced his retirement prior to the semi-final, but he was later convinced to remain for another two years.
Collingwood had looked likely to miss the finals in August, but won its last four home-and-away matches to finish fourth with a 12–6 record, securing its finals berth with a nine-point victory over fifth-placed Melbourne in the final round. Collingwood had comfortable finals wins against Footscray in the first semi-final by 41 points and against Geelong in the preliminary final by 37 points to qualify for the grand final, and was entering on a six-game winning streak. It was the fourth of five consecutive grand final appearances for Collingwood between 1935 and 1939, the club having last won the 1935 and 1936 premierships.
The clubs had faced each other twice during the home-and-away season. In round 5, Carlton 19.16 (130) defeated Collingwood 17.12 (114) at Victoria Park after overcoming a 39-point half-time deficit, which at the time was the VFL record for a half-time deficit successfully overcome; in the aftermath, Collingwood captain Harry Collier was suspended for the rest of the season for striking Carlton's Jack Carney as they were leaving the field. In the return match in round 16, Collingwood 19.12 (126) defeated Carlton 14.17 (101) at Princes Park. Despite their respective ladder positions, Collingwood's better late-season form meant that Collingwood was widely considered favourite to win the grand final.
It was the third grand final between the clubs, the previous two coming in 1910 (won by Collingwood) and 1915 (won by Carlton).
The 1938 grand final was attended by 96,486 spectators (revised down from original reports of 96,834), setting a new record as the largest crowd to have witnessed a VFL match; the gate, also a new record, was £6778/9/3. At the time, the crowd was second only to the 1936 Melbourne Cup as the highest attended sports event in Australia's history. It was the second grand final played after the completion of the Melbourne Cricket Ground's original Southern Stand, and it remained the record for the ground under that configuration of grandstands; the record was broken at the 1956 VFL grand final, the first year after the opening of the Olympic Stand.
The ground was not large enough to accommodate the crowd comfortably – in fact, the health department had advised the maximum attendance at 84,950 after the 1937 record crowd of 88,540. The fence in front of the scoreboard collapsed under the weight of spectators before the game, gashing many spectators' hands, and as many as 5,000 spectators watched the game from inside the arena, mostly between the fence and boundary line but some spilling into the playing area. It was a warm day with a high of 69.6 °F (20.9 °C) and no clouds or rain, and 124 spectators were treated for heat-related illnesses.