This site focuses on the Photographs of Charles Boyles who worked roughly between the period of 1928-61. For ease of the reader, the naming conventions used during this period are used throughout the site.

This page attempts to provide a summary of the leagues and teams associated with Boyles football photos.

Interstate Competition

Interstate competition is outside the focus of this website.
A good starting place is
FullpointsFooty - Pandora Version - Interstate Football
FullpointsFooty - Pandora Version - Extracurricular Matches

Victorian First Tier Competitions

Australian Rules Football does not have a concept of 'first class games' as exists in other sports such as cricket. If such a concept existed across Australia, Victoria would provide two top tier competitions. The VFL (later AFL) has been Victoria's top competition since its creation in 1897 by a breakaway from the VFA of some of the strongest and wealthiest clubs. The VFA was Victoria's first football competition and continued after the VFL breakaway. The quality of the competition has varied, and for many years it's top clubs would be competitive with the low ranked (sometimes mid level) VFL teams of the day.

Reference_ First Class Cricketers who played First Tier Football
Reference_ Sporting Life Magazine - Team of the Year 1947-1955

Victorian Football League (VFL)

Teams the existed during Boyles working life are:
Carlton (VFL) 1897-
Collingwood (VFL) 1897-
Essendon (VFL) 1897-
Fitzroy (VFL) 1897-
Footscray (VFL) 1925-
Geelong (VFL) 1897-
Hawthorn (VFL) 1925-
Melbourne (VFL) 1897-
North Melbourne (VFL) 1925-
Richmond (VFL) 1908-
South Melbourne (VFL) 1897-
St. Kilda (VFL) 1897-

Victorian Football Association (VFA)

1930s Teams are:
Brighton (VFA) 1908-
Brunswick (VFA) 1897-
Camberwell (VFA) 1926-
Coburg (VFA) 1925-
Northcote (VFA) 1908-
Oakleigh (VFA) 1929-
Port Melbourne (VFA) 1886-
Prahran (VFA) 1898-
Preston (VFA) 1926-
Sandringham (VFA) 1929-
Williamstown (VFA) 1884 -
Yarraville (VFA) 1928-

Melbourne Inter-Workplace Competitions

During the 1920's and 1930's Workplace teams competed in what could be described as a second tier competition. These teams would often feature current VFL and VFA players and were popular with the public and well reported in the newspapers. The teams in the competitions varied from season to season and were not as consistent as the first tier competitions. inter-Workplace competitions continue after the Second World War, but the 1920s and thirties saw a height in popularity,

Saturday Morning Industrial League (SMIL)

Examples of Teams include:
Dunlop (SMIL)
Laygols (SMIL)
Victoria Brewery (SMIL)
Havelock (SMIL)
General Motors Holden (SMIL)

Wednesday League ( -1934)

1931 Teams include:
Railway F.C. (Wednesday League)
Fire Brigade F.C. (Wednesday League) - Essendon FC Links
Waterside Workers (Wednesday League)
Yellow Cabs (Wednesday League) Based in Richmond
Post and Telegraph (Wednesday League)
Press (Wednesday League) 1930-
Victoria Markets F.C. (Wednesday League) 1931-
Telephone Exchange (Wednesday League)

Other Melbourne Inter-Workplace Competititons

During the 1930's the Police, Fire Department and Railways played in an Allied Services League, but this did not achieve the popularity of the other competitions. One aspect of the Inter-Services League is that there was no restrictions on the number of VFL/VFA players that could be fielded, as had happened in the other workplace competitions.

Melbourne Workplace Competitions

A number of workplaces maintained (and some still maintain) their own internal competitions. During the Second World War, the influx of VFA and VFA players into the Armed Services meant that the Inter-Services and RAAF competitions in Melbourne were very strong.

For many years Tramways, Railways, Police and Bank Worker competitions existed. These workplace competitions were popular and hard fought and often featured the odd VFL or VFA player. In addition to workplaces, interschool competitions provided a 'workplace' competiton for the under 19's.

World War Two Services (WW2 Services)

• RAAF Competition
• 1942 Interservices Competititon
• Charity Matches

Police League

1935 Teams included:
Southern Suburbs (Police League) - White and Red - South Melbourne Style
Motor Cycle and Traffic Branch (Police League)
North and West Suburbs (Police League) - Probably Footscray Style
Russell Street (Police League) - Black and Yellow - Richmond Style

Schoolboys

Inter-collegiate games between Melbourne's private schools have regularly been reported in the papers. Inter-schools games were sometimes played as curtain raisers to League matches, especially before the introduction of the Thirds (Under 19s) in the 1940's. Inter-School competitions were popular and there are a number of Boyles photos of Schoolboy teams.

Other Melbourne Workplace Competitions

The Tramways and Railways also ran large workplace competitons. At present no Boyles photos have been identified from these competitions.

Melbourne Regional Competitions

Football has always been a sport with a high participation level. There has always been a number of regional competitions in Melbourne.

Victorian Sub District League (VSDL)

Prior to 1925 also known as Melbourne Districts Association
FOOTBALL. (1925, March 13). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956), p. 5. Retrieved January 30, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2060658

VFL Teams sponsoring competition
FOOTBALL SUB-DISTRICT LEAGUE MAY BE STRONGER. (1936, January 24). Sunshine Advocate (Vic. : 1924 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved January 30, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75193051

1930's Regular's include:
Alphington (VSDL)
Auburn (VSDL)
East Brunswick (VSDL)
Kew (VSDL)
Fairfield (VSDL)
Richmond District (VSDL)
South Melbourne District (VSDL)
Sunshine (VSDL)

Other Melbourne Regional Competitions

There have been a wide range of regional competitions in Melbourne. Some of these include:

• Sunday League (1950s)
• Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA)
• Church Competitions

Victorian Amateur Football Association - Historical Names
1892 Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA) begins
1912 MJFA becomes Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA)
1933 MAFA becomes Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA)
Source: a_brief_history.pdf VAFA website


Federal Football League - Historical Names
- 1890s Commonwealth Association (Not the same League)
1909 Federal Association (affiliated with VFA)
1931 Victorian Football League-Federal District (affiliated with VFL) - Federal District League
Source: Moorabbin News, Golden Jubilee Edition, March 30, 1950. http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/220.htm

Victorian Country Competitions

Victorian Country Football League (VCFL)

According to the VCFL website, the Victorian Country Football League was founded in 1927. Eight Districts named: Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland, Gippsland South, Goulburn Valley, Ovens & Murray, Western and Wimmera.
1941-1945: VCFL in recess due to World War II.

Colour Photos of some of the Teams are available in the 1928 and 1929 Weekly Times. Black and White photos in the 1934 Weeekly Times.
1928 Weekly Times Team Photos
1929 Weekly Times Team Photos Series
1934 Weekly Times Photo Series