1909 Chronology

Position: Eighth
Won 6, Lost 12, For 825, Against 1282.
Captains: Dick Condon, John “Ivor” Lawson
Vice Captains: John “Ivor” Lawson, Billy Schmidt
Coach: Dick Condon
Caretaker Coach: Charles Taylor
Best All-round Player: Not Awarded (ballot papers mislaid)
Leading Goal Kicker: William Bourke (20)
Revenue: 1226pounds 9s. 11d. Credit Balance: 105pounds 8s. 8d.
Membership: 2,000 (approx.)

February
Wed. 3
Bill Lang (Lan Franchi) knocks-out Bill Squires in the 17th round to win the Australian Heavyweight boxing title.

March
Thr. 11
At Richmond’s annual meeting federal Labor Party politician Frank Tudor defeats former player Hector Milne to fill the vacant position of president.

April
Saturday 10
Practice Match: Richmond 16.35.131 def Leopold 7.7.49 at the Richmond Cricket Ground.

Mon. 12
Richmond 7.20.62 def Combined Wednesday League 3.9.27 on Richmond Cricket Ground on Easter Monday.
Players include Bill Tottey (from Melbourne) and Adams (StKilda Wednesday League), Schmidt, Olsen, Mahoney, Heaney, Condon. A strong wind marred play. Goalkickers include Burns, Larkin.

Saturday 17
Practice Match: Richmond 15.21.111 def Beverley 7.1.43 at the Richmond Cricket Ground
Goalkickers include Bourke (2), Condon (2) Schmidt (2), Adams, Bowden, Fairbanks.

Sat 24
Richmond vs South Yarra (premiers of the Metropolitan Association) at Richmond Cricket Ground.
P Bourke, from South Ballarat, plays

Mon 26
Richmond vs Combined Metropolitan Association team at Richmond Cricket Ground.

May
Training: Richmond’s trainers attend to the players on Sunday mornings.

Sat. 1
The Richmond committee are outraged by a number of new members who rush into the ground, without having their tickets punched, and then pass their tickets out to non-members.

Sat. 8
Bill Burns, who had a dream in which he gets injured and yet wins the game for Richmond, is injured and carried off early in the match against University. He refuses to go to hospital, returns to the ground late in the last quarter, and kicks the winning goal. Richmond wins by five points.
The Herald refers to Richmond as the “Yellow jackets” but it seems to be an isolated rhetorical flourish.

Sat. 15
Round 3
Bill Burns breaks a finger while practicing prior to the start of second half against Fitzroy. The finger will become infected but is saved from amputation.
Photos of the game appear in Punch

Tue. 18
Richmond resolves to write to the Richmond Cricket Club and ask them to meet the committee regarding an enlargement of the ground.

Sat. 22
Round 4
Coll 12.13.85 def Rich 7.7.49 at Vic Park
Ivor Lawson is unable to play against Collingwood because of a cut to his head which he received at practice.
Game photo in the Herald
Team Photo taken prior to game
Clearer Team Photo taken prior to game, and named

Tue. 25
The Richmond Progressive League wait on Richmond’s committee. The Progressive League want to improve the City Reserve and have the Richmond Football Club relocate there.

Sat. 29
Round 5
Richmond kicks five goals in the last seven or so minutes to defeat St. Kilda by twenty points, 11-4 (70) to 7-8 (50) at St. Kilda.
Action shots from the game, in The Weekly Times

June
Tue. 1
The committee is advised that the Town Clerk opposes the enlargement of the RCG.

Thr. 3
Dick Condon resigns as captain on the committee’s advice.

Sat. 5
Richmond 10-11 (71) defeats South Melbourne 8-10 (58) before the greatest attendance yet seen at the RCG. The crowd, estimated at 20,000 is so large that the ground’s fence gives way. South will recover to win the 1909 premiership.
Andrew Fisher is at the game just three days after losing the Prime Ministership. He is the guest of fellow Labor MP and Richmond president Frank Tudor.
Bill Burns returns to the team after recovering from the finger injury of May 15.
In the third quarter, part of the fence gives way

(All behinds accounted for: P Bourke 2, Price 4, Ward 1, Condon 1, Bourke 2, Herbert 1)

Mon. 7
Richmond's plays Carlton on a Monday (their second ever Monday match).
It is Richmond's third game in 10 days.

Wed 9
A 'Richmond War Song' is published in Punch.

Sat. 12
Round 8
Richmond 8-15 (63) defeats Essendon 8-7 (55) for the first time ever (Association and League) after 21 losses.
By defeating Essendon Richmond had beaten every other club since it joined the League except Carlton. Carlton will not be defeated by Richmond until 1918.
Action photos from the game, published in The Herald.

Mon. 14
John Asher who was the first assistant secretary of Richmond and a co-founder of the club dies.

Sat. 19
A crowd of 15,000 watches Richmond defeat Geelong by two points at the RCG.

Fri. 25
Bill Burns is presented with twenty sovereigns. It was raised by the club in recognition of his “plucky play” and to in some way compensate him for his recent accidents.

Sat. 26
The Richmond Guardian reports that “strenuous efforts” are being made to get permission to extend the ground on the north side in lieu of permission to increase southwards.

Tue. 30
The Richmond Progressive League holds a meeting before 500 people in the Town Hall. Some Richmond players and officials share the platform but maintain a neutral attitude on the City Reserve proposal.

July
Fri. 2
The Sport reports that Richmond’s committee are “considerably annoyed” at the “stupid and baseless rumour” circulated last week. They insist that the team is united.

Sat. 3
Richmond lose heavily to Melbourne in a very rough game on a sodden MCG and four Richmond players are reported by umpire Drohan.
Bill Burns receives a life disqualification for kicking Melbourne’s James Fitzpatrick who was on the ground. Richmond will continue to support Burns’s innocence. Tom Heaney is disqualified for a total of four weeks after being found guilty of flinging a player and striking another. Bill Mahoney is found not guilty of striking while Ted Ohlsen is reprimanded for “repeated elbowing.”

Sat 17
Beverley 5.18 def University 5.9 in Metropolitan Association match at the Richmond Cricket Ground.
Vic Thorp is listed as one of the best player in defence.

Sat. 24
Bill Mahoney is voted Richmond’s best player in today’s game against Collingwood by his team mates. He is awarded a clock.
Herbert Hill is disqualified for four matches after being found guilty of striking Collinwood’s Bob Nash. Hill claimed that Nash insulted him.

Fri. 30
The Sport states that Richmond has tried to entice Beverley to “play under their wing”. In return for any Bevs player who wishes to play senior football Richmond allegedly offers to finance Beverley, provide the ground free and permit Beverley players to train with them.

Sat. 31
Richmond select their team immediately prior to the game against St. Kilda at Richmond.
At three-quarter time an important match takes place on the ground between a 'horde of youngsters' and 'two or three policeman'. At one point a youngster waves the goal umpires flag after scoring a behind. The 'match' entertains the crowd during the last break.

August
Mon. 2
Herbert Hill chances upon Collingwood’s Bob Nash at a race meeting and challenges him to repeat the insult that led Hill to strike Nash on July 24. Nash obliges and another fight between the two breaks out.

Wed. 4
William Carkeek, a former Richmond footballer touring England with the Australian cricket team, sends a letter and a money order for two pounds to the Richmond Football Club. He intends to buy a trophy for the club’s “best all-round player”.
Five Richmond players, Doug Chapman, Bill Luff, Tom Heaney, Billy Schmidt and Hughie James play with a VFL combination against Boulder City, a visiting Western Australian goldfields club on the MCG.
Bill Luff is injured just before half time. He takes no further part in the match but misses no Richmond games as a result.

Thr. 5
The ladies of the club tender the players a complementary social at the Town Hall.

Sat. 7
Richmond’s players have a weekend off but the committee are active scouting junior talent. In the coming week Richmond’s rooms would be “swarming” with aspirants.

Sat. 14
Richmond suffers its greatest ever loss. South Melbourne defeats Richmond by 93 points.

Tue. 24
Dick Condon is dispensed with as Richmond’s coach. The head trainer Charlie Taylor is entrusted to fill the breach. On August 28 The Richmond Guardian comments that during the year “Condon got the (coach’s) salary but Taylor did the (coach’s) work.”
Tom Heaney and Herbert Hill are expelled from Richmond. Heaney was disqualified for playing for the country team Riddell instead of Richmond and Hill was disqualified for collusion in the matter.

Sat 28
Vic Thorp is listed as one of the best players ini Beverley's 13.30 victory of Oakleigh 2.7 in the Metropolitan Association

September
Sat 4
Vic Thorp is listed as best on ground in Beverley's semi-final victory over Leopold at Carlton Oval.
Beverly 9.12 defeat Leopold 8.5
Jim Lacey, a future Richmond player also plays

Sun. 5
The day after Richmond’s last game of the season Richmond players, officials and prominent supporters picnic in Aspendale.

Sat. 11
Beverley 3-7 (25) is defeated by South Yarra 6-10 (46) in the Metropolitan Amateur FA Grand Final at the MCG.
The game commenced at 1.30pm as a curtain raiser to Essendon v Carlton semi-final.
Jim Lacey and Vic Thorp are listed in the best players for Beverley, although The Argus noted that Thorp 'was not quite in his best form'

Thr. 16
Richmond tenders a “Cinderella” dance to the ladies of the social committee at the Town Hall.

Wed. 20
A Richmond Football Club “Old Boys Reunion” takes place. It was organised independently of the club by George Beachcroft amongst others. Some members will suspect such gatherings are intended to garner votes to overthrow the incumbent committee.

Sat. 25
Richmond official Jack Archer captains Beverley in its end of season game against Healesville.

October
Sat. 9
Bill Luff and Billy Schmidt represent a VFL team against the Western Australian club East Fremantle at the MCG.
The Richmond Guardian reports that George Gibson is leading its plebiscite of Richmond members to determine the winner of Carkeek’s trophy for the “best all-round player”. There is only one week remaining in the ballot but the prize will not be presented. It seems that the ballot papers were mislaid prior to the 1910 annual meeting.

November
Mon. 22
Another Richmond “Boys of the Old Brigade” reunion smoke night takes place at the Town Hall. This time it has the support and involvement of current players and officials of the Richmond Football Club.