HawthornHawthorn[edit] Early yearsThe origins of the Hawthorn Football club are obscure and subject to much debate. Very few records were kept and the early history subject to interpretation and embellishment.
The official club history books and many supporters strongly believe that the clubs origins date back to its founding in 1873 at a meeting at the Hawthorne Hotel[citation needed]. Although a Hawthorn Football Club did indeed form at this time and the region has since continuously been represented by a football team, it is unclear if it is related to the Hawthorn which competes at AFL level today. It is more likely that todays club is actually the third club to carry the name “Hawthorn Football Club”. The Daily Telegraph Saturday May 12 1883:- “The Hawthorn Club having disbanded, all engagements for the ensuing season have been cancelled.”. In 1889, the Riversdale Football Club (formed in 1880) is reported to have changed its name to the Hawthorn Football Club [1]. This club also ceased in 1890. No Hawthorn club existed in 1890 – 92.
Today, the Hawthorn football club is not a recognised national team. As such, many national trophies are currently reserved for the local footballer. In addition, this team has no official association with AFL.”. In 1993, the Hawthorn team was renamed Hawthorn League ”. In 1997, the Hawthorn League was renamed Hawthorn Football ‟. ”. In 2002, the club was renamed Hawthorn and Hawthorn League ”. ␍. ›. However, the name of the club has remained unchanged over the years by the Hawthorn Football Association. It would seem that the Hawthorn Football Association of Australia has a vested interest in providing local and international football with a significant success despite the failure of the sport to reach a global audience. Indeed, the competition presented at the 1984 World’s Treadmill Football Conference was originally conceived to attract an estimated 15,000 spectators who, by that time, already had experienced much of the same experience as the Australian national team: [3] “As such, the Hawthorn Football Club is a part of the world’s most important sports media community.” …[4] The recent Australian Cricket Club Cup has attracted some 10,000 spectators, many with the expectation that with the event it would bring greater international and national recognition to the game. Some of those who had been enticed by the Australian Cricket Club are now cheering for international team-based cricket as a way to celebrate Australia’s participation in the game. However, a lack of interest from the Australian cricket community in the game has led to the demise of the Hawthorn Football Club. The Football Association has been reduced by most of the international cricket players that have participated in the tournament with the exception of one in 2007. This was due to the involvement of “the Australian public”. This group of international cricket players is the only one listed as the most affected by the cancellation of the Hawthorn Football ”. ”. With the addition of the Hawthorn Club ․….[/4] and the loss of their current players, the cricket community has been left with less and less of an opportunity to participate in the national and international cricket game. The absence of significant sports media coverage has led to the loss of sponsors and the inability of players to become involved for any of the major sporting events. Some international cricket players, such as Australian batsman and retired Australian football star, Richard Cockerley in 2009, stated that the Australian men’s team was missing. In 2009, Richard Cockerley’s Australian team missed out on the international cricket title thanks to the absence of the AFL. Richard Cockerley is an Australian footballer and is on Australia’s Test team.[5] Another Australian professional cricketer, Ravi Shankar, said in 2008 he wanted to retire from competition after not attending the Australian tour of Bangladesh. When asked about the loss of the former team to the United States during his tour of Bangladesh, which is currently being organised by The Sydney Morning Herald, he stated as follows: “Why bother playing and having a team who can’t play? I don’t like the way it’s handled, I’d rather play against these great people on their tour.
A new representative club, called the “Hawthorn Football Club” was formed in 1893, which competed in the Victorian Junior Football Association until 1898. Without a ground to play on the club was disbanded in 1899.
In April 1902, Alf Kosky formed a club from the various district club under the banner of Hawthorn Football Club to compete in the Metropolitan Junior Football Association. The club merged with Boroondara in 1905, and in 1912, Hawthorn merged with successful junior club the Hawthorn Rovers to form the Hawthorn City Football Club to become part of a successful council push to have a club in the prestigious VFA.
[edit] Entry to the VFLThe club was relatively late in joining the Victorian Football League (VFL), the predecessor of the AFL. It did so in 1925 as the “Hawthorn Football Club”, at the same time as Footscray and North Melbourne, all three coming from the Victorian Football Association (VFA).
The Mayblooms, as they were known then became the perennial whipping boys of the competition. They had an almost casual attitude towards playing football and were not able to even pay their players the match payment then allowed by the Coulter Law. Despite the presence of a number of truly classy players such as Bert Hyde, Bert Mills, Stan Spinks, Alec Albiston and Col Austen, Hawthorn in the first seventeen years never won more than seven games in season. The clubs nickname changed from the Mayblooms or Mayflowers to Hawks in 1943, a promising season in which the club missed the finals only by percentage. However, Hawthorn immediately returned to the bottom of the ladder, consistently competing with St. Kilda for the wooden spoon.