The 1900 MJFA season, also known as the 1900 MFA season, was the 9th season of the
Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA).
Leopold won the
MJFA premiership for the first time, defeating
South Melbourne Juniors in the
1900 MJFA Grand Final. This was the first time a grand final had been held in the MJFA, as prior to this season it was not necessary.
Association name
On 27 March 1900, the MJFA decided on a change of name to the Metropolitan Football Association (MFA). MJFA president
Lawrence Adamson
Lawrence Arthur Adamson, CMG, (20 April 1860 – 14 December 1932) was a schoolmaster of Wesley College, Melbourne, Australia, and is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential in the nation's educational history. Upon his reti ...
believed that his association was now a senior competition and the "junior" label no longer applied.
Adamson brokered a deal that the existing MFA (of 1899) became the MJFA, giving his MJFA (of 1892) the "Metropolitan Football Association" name.
Despite this, various newspaper reports from 1900 until 1912 still use the MJFA (or simply "Metropolitan Junior Association") name when referring to Adamson's competition. Most consensus is that "MJFA" in this time period refers to the now-VAFA, and the VAFA's official history continues to use the MJFA name until 1912.
Association membership
Like the
previous season in 1899, a total of nine teams competed in the MJFA.
St Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...
and
South St Kilda both disbanded during the 1899 season, while
Parkville left at the end of the season.
Three new clubs −
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
,
South Melbourne Juniors and
St Ignatius − entered the association. South Melbourne Juniors was formed by the
South Melbourne Football Club on 29 March 1900, acting as the junior (
reserves) team for the senior club.
In April 1900, ''
The Argus'' reported
Alberton,
Scotch Collegians (both last competed in
1895
Events January
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...
),
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...
(last competed in
1898
Events
January
* January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...
) and
South St Kilda were interested in re-joining the MJFA. However, none returned for the 1900 season.
Ladder
St Ignatius won a game over
Caulfield on protest.
Grand Final
At the time, the MJFA premiership was decided by the best overall record for the season. In the event of a tie, a playoff match would have been held.
1900 was the first time in MJFA history that such a match was required, with and
South Melbourne Juniors finishing with 60 premiership points each.
References
{{Victorian Amateur Football Association seasons
Victorian Amateur Football Association seasons
MJFA
1900s in Victoria (state)