1900's
Season by Season Summaries
|
Year |
President |
Treasurer |
Secretary |
Assistant Secretary |
|
1900 |
James Hall |
Alfred Thomas Richardson |
John Gunn |
Billy Barnes |
|
1901 |
James Hall |
John Gunn |
George W. Fleming |
Billy Barnes |
|
1902 |
James Hall |
John Gunn |
George W. Fleming |
Billy Barnes |
|
1903 |
Alex Ramsay |
J.J. Liston |
Martin Joseph Fitzpatrick |
|
|
1904 |
Alex Ramsay |
Alfred Thomas Richardson |
S. Thake |
Billy Barnes |
|
1905 |
Alex Ramsay |
Arthur Johnson snr |
Oscar Jenkins |
Richard Morrison |
|
1906 |
Alex Ramsay |
H.W. Maynard |
Oscar Jenkins |
Billy Barnes |
|
1907 |
Bob Ferguson |
H.W. Maynard |
Oscar Jenkins |
Harry V. Roberts |
|
1908 |
William Henry Treganowan |
Frank Stewart Young |
Arthur Johnson snr |
Billy Barnes |
|
1909 |
William McNeilage |
W.J. Canning |
Arthur Johnson snr |
Billy Barnes |
|
Year |
Coach |
Captain |
Vice-Captain |
Leading Goalkicker |
|
1900 |
|
Dick Houston |
Dick 'Ironsides' Hall |
Edward Staniland (16) |
|
1901 |
|
Walter Warren |
J. Reilly |
Edward Staniland (25) |
|
1902 |
|
Arthur Knox |
|
Edward Staniland (13) |
|
1903 |
|
Tom McKinley |
Fred Houghton |
Edward Prescott (25) |
|
1904 |
|
Tom McKinley |
Bob Caldwell |
Len Mortimer (29) |
|
1905 |
|
Horrie Dick |
George Baker |
Len Mortimer (48) |
|
1906 |
Horrie Dick |
Horrie Dick |
Arthur Britt |
Jimmy Matthews (46) |
|
1907 |
Paddy Noonan |
Paddy Noonan/Ted Alley |
Ted Alley/Wyn Outen |
Bill Lambert (19) |
|
1908 |
|
Wyn Outen |
Percy Garbutt |
Bob Briggs (59) |
|
1909 |
|
Wyn Outen |
Ted Alley |
Jim Addison (26) |
Competition Award Winners
1905 Len Mortimer VFA leading goalkicker 48 goals
The Williamstown team of 1904 which made the finals for the first time the following season.
Len 'Mother' Mortimer, pictured here on a 1906 Sniders & Abrahams trading card, booted 29 goals for the year in 1904, the highest total since Ernie Warren's 30 in 1886, including 6 goals out of 8 against Preston at Williamstown in round 16 in a 34-point victory. Mortimer would become the first Williamstown player to head the VFA goalkicking in 1905 and then go on to play 153 games and kick 289 goals for South Melbourne from 1906-15, including the 1909 VFL premiership and leading South's goalkicking 7 times.
Back Row: (players only) Mathew Outen*, Ernie Jamieson*, Bob Monar*, Dick Bliss, Jim Addison*, Percy Garbutt*, Bob Briggs*, Howard Lewis*
Middle row: (players only) Frank Worroll*, Bert Reitman*, Wyn Outen (vice-captain)*, Bob Ferguson (president), Ted Alley (captain)*, Billy Jones*, Tommy Hall, Percy Pilkington
Front row: (players only) Will O'Shea*, Arthur Caldwell*, Bobby Gibbs jnr*, Bill Lambert, Jim 'Ginger' Caldwell*, Dick McKay*
Absent: R.J. Johnston*
* = played in 1907 grand final v. West Melbourne at East Melbourne on September 28, 1907, with Williamstown victorious 7.10.52 to 3.16.34
The trainer standing next to Howard Lewis is Bobby Weatherhead (far right, third row), who played for 'Town from 1875-87. He played 26 games and kicked one goal from 1884-87 after Williamstown gained 'senior' status but it is unknown how many games he played from 1875-1883. 
Ted Alley, pictured here on a 1905 WD&HO Wills trading card, played 160 games and kicked 20 goals for Williamstown from 1905-15 and was captain of the 1907 premiership team, Williamstown's first. He had earlier played 16 games and kicked 2 goals for South Melbourne in 1902-03 after being recruited from Footscray Juniors. He was also 'Town's vice-captain in 1909, captain-coach for part of 1911 and captain in 1915. He served in World War I then played for Hawthorn in 1919-20, being captain-coach for part of 1920.
From Melbourne Leader, 20 June 1908, photo taken at Western/Whitten Oval before the round 9 game against Footscray which the Tricolours won by 25 points, 6.7.43 to 2.6.18.
Back row: Mat Outen, Mick Tyrell, F. Johnston, Bert Reitman, Bob Monar, Tommy Hall, Frank Ellis
Centre row: Percy Garbutt (vice-captain), A. Fairchild, Dick McKay, Wyn Outen (captain), Bobby Gibbs jnr, Ted Alley
Front row: Jim Caldwell, Arthur Caldwell, Bob Briggs, Jim Addison
1905 captain Horrie Dick, pictured here on a 1906 Sniders & Abrahams trading card, was appointed the Club's first coach in 1906. Dick played 96 games and kicked 42 goals for 'Town from 1901-06, before crossing to Essendon's VFL team in 1907 where he played just one senior game before transferring to Footscray in the VFA the same year.
Melbourne Leader, July 3 1909 - team photo taken before the round 10 game at Brighton, won by Williamstown by 12 points, 5.15.45 to 4.9.33
1907 captain-coach Paddy Noonan, pictured here on a 1909 Sniders & Abrahams trading card, sensationally resigned in the week leading up to the 1907 first semi-final against Footscray. It was reported that he had been dropped from the side but he had tendered his resignation before the team was selected and Noonan issued a statement to that effect. He said 'it has been made to appear that I was not chosen to play for Williamstown against Footscray, but I wish to state that such was not the case, as the match committee and I are as one. I resigned for sufficient reasons, which I care not to mention here, but which are well known to the players and supporters of the Williamstown club. Suffice it to say that a large majority of the players were with me and were prepared to stand out of the Footscray match, but at a meeting of players held on the night before the match, at the earnest wish of the president (for whom I have the greatest respect), I exhorted the players to stand together and go out as one man on the morrow and win - which they did.' Apparently Noonan was an interested and gratified witness of Williamstown's great triumph.
It was reported in The Age on September 30 that 'it is understood that his (Noonan's) retirement was due to some unpleasantness arising through remarks made by another prominent member of the team.' This was confirmed in the Leader newspaper on October 5 when it was stated that 'a few weeks back some friction arose between Noonan and another prominent member of the team resulting in the former standing out of the last two matches (the semi-final and grand final) and retiring from the club. Several of the players strongly supported Noonan, and evinced a disposition to also retire, when it was announced that he would not take part in the team's penultimate match against Footscray. It is to Noonan's credit that on the night before the match he exorted the players to go in as one man and win - which they did.'
As a result Ted Alley captained the team for the remainder of the season and Wyn Outen was his deputy. Some players believed that Noonan would be conflicted playing against West Melbourne as he lived in that area but he had played well against West in the home-and-away games and he was a former North Melbourne player and not from West Melbourne. Some also thought that he was too friendly with opposition teams, such as when he was carried back shoulder-high to the Williamstown rooms by the Port Melbourne president and secretary after making a speech to the Port players following the round 18 game at Williamstown, which was won by 44 points. His resignation came in the week following this game.
Noonan played one game in 1908 before crossing to Yarraville in the VJFA as coach during the season. He then became a boundary and later a field umpire in 1909 before returning to North Melbourne as captain in July 1909 before retiring at the end of the year at the age of 34. He filled a number of administrative roles at Arden St. in the ensuing years and later coached North Melbourne in 1929 when the incumbent, Charlie Tyson, was sacked mid-season. He passed away on January 27, 1935, aged 59.