Flashback: 1950 Grand Final - North Melbourne v Essendon

In a rare find, NMFC.com.au is able to present footage of the club's first ever VFL/AFL Grand Final appearance.
A Waterford Production, the colour broadcast features some of the first North Melbourne players to truly make a name for themselves.
Vision courtesy of Ange Cristoforo

[@harrygoldsmith7551]

Thank you for this amazing footage. A mad keen Essendon fan , just a 14 year old kid from the country , I I remember the day so well ,this was the first time I was at the mighty MCG , and the first VFL game I had seen, and seeing the players win ,I felt I was in Heaven. Now at 87 , as passionate as ever along with my children and grandchildren.

[@afltube]

Harvey was playing on Fletcher in that game

[@aussiesportmania204]

@J G not this soccer crap again! 🙄🙄🙄

[@OzBloke]

🤣

[@OzBloke]

@J G Soccer still sux! 😎

[@Junk_Yogurt]

@@aussiesportmania204 They post that on every afl video. Very insecure person behind it lol

[@darrenjray]

Wonderful discovery. #1 for North is, of course, the great Les Foote, recently selected in North's greatest 10 players. #3 for Essendon is triple Brownlow Medallist Dick Reynolds playing his 319th game and what was supposed to be his last, until he selected himself on the bench for the 1951 Grand Final. #7 for the Dons is the great Billy Hutchison. #10 is John Coleman.

[@jepesshepess2269]

I'm not sure if both of my great grandfathers was playing back then because they were in Essendon. Both them were 25 and 27 now they are 93 and 95 and still alive

[@rogersmith4983]

Why don’t you ask

[@ryana8174]

Pretty sure that's Eddy Maguire commentating too

[@markr6812]

What are their surnames?

[@valian22]

yeah , I think Boomer Harvey was in there somewhere too

[@paulmatters2641]

North had a great man playing that day. Jock McCorkell. Not just a great footballer. An outstanding man. Remembered with deep respect.

[@chrismccorkell4046]

Lovely words, Paul. Many thanks. Jock was my dear dad and yes, a wonderful man. Played on the great JC that day and held his own. Before my time, unfortunately.

[@frankpalermo3882]

This is amazing footage, thank you for posting, I dont even follow these two teams.

[@cskg25]

Thank you NMFC, this was great! (No spoiler)

[@Ozziemick]

Wow amazing clip of 1950. There is a great song by Mike Brady (up there Cazaly) about this legendary greatest Essendon full forward John Coleman. I think it’s called Flying High or Flying High to Glory. It’s a very moving powerful song..which almost brought me to tears.

[@DagrinRDM]

Awesome bit of history!

[@bjd3707]

What a find! Thank you.

[@desmckenzie9341]

GOLD ! Thanks NMFC.

[@TRUTHCORE]

Amazing footage CHeers!

[@DaleHardiman]

I think I saw Dustin Fletcher lol!

[@incrediblegenki8416]

haha

[@rubinsteve1]

imagine sitting round the ground now, security would bash the shit outa you.

[@warrenmaloney]

Love the overcoats

[@ryanbasilio9548]

Geez,the crowd must've been overflowing at the G that day.🙀

[@Glenno1982]

The attendance was 85,869. The maximum capacity of the ground at the time was 84,000 (seated) and 94,000 (standing).

[@mrmarvellous5378]

Great peace of the history of the greatest footy game in the world.

[@markdavey8809]

Yeah man!!

[@qlder0284]

Fascinating to see the crude booklets at the start that were Footy Records and how all the gents are in ties even at the footy. And stone the bloody crows, 4/9 for an adult MCG ticket? (1:36) That's like $15 in today's money!

[@doriankeating1963]

We were ripped! Always getting a raw deal , even to this day. Roos for life

[@goatedafl8259]

Nice

[@CARETAKER89able]

Go Rooosss!!

[@smokeycat4410]

I think my great grandfather's best friend's brother is playing

[@callan2247]

Where’s fletcher? Hardly heard his name called.

[@pauliejay4161]

6:21 - can anyone tell me what the extra circles on the pitch are for?

[@KennyTC63]

I asked my old man, who now is literally an old man and he was saying they used to do it to permanently mark the area in case 'true centre' got churned up during the season. It was common (even up until the early 90's) for grounds to get pretty churned up during the season, particularly if they had really wet Winters.

[@pauliejay4161]

Thank you so much - I have been wanting to know the answer for years now!

[@KennyTC63]

No problem.

[@paulohara8967]

Players today wouldn't know what a muddied jersey was like.

[@darrenjray]

I think I can recall the MCG having these even in the early '70s.

[@hanajinks1044]

How about those cars...and the beautiful old Grandstands

[@axe397]

My great uncle playing in that game i think he was a jj liston trophy winner

[@thedancinghobo6165]

My auntie played in the game

[@TomMarvan]

2:23 Packed like sardines!

[@rubinsteve1]

i wonder if those hot dog and doughnut vans were outside the ground then. LOL

[@rubinsteve1]

just imagine trying to sit around the boundary line nowdays, security guys would beat the shit outa you. !

[@rogersmith4983]

Yep security is the problem at the footy these days that is why I don’t go anymore, 🐕

[@papaproduction]

Did we wear dark blue like Geelong back then?

[@homersamson2635]

No, the North blue of 1950 is similar to what it is now but the film is very degraded and exaggerating contrasts.

[@greypossum1]

Sure that wasn't a very young Joe Daniher at 9:15?

[@petermcculloch4933]

Standing room only, packed in like sardines, no roof top cover.Todays supporters are carrying on the tradition but we are a soft lot in comparison to our predecessors

[@ryana8174]

How's the orchestra😂😂 like and an old Disney movie

[@Mow284]

1 umpire, no centre square, no 6-6-6 , 2 boundary umps. Spectators on the ground. No mass advertising

[@petermcculloch4933]

Sometime in the seventies, or eighties or nineties, footy lost its soul and became a business.

[@tubester4567]

This was great, apart from how North look like they're wearing black and white. Its hilarious how they crammed people in around the boundary line, that would not happen today.

[@paulohara8967]

Yes, the crowd seems massive, like sardines. Drop kick still in vogue.

[@darrenjray]

85, 869 in attendance. And in those days, there was no ticket allocation. People would camp out overnight, the same as they do now outside the MCC.

[@harrygoldsmith7551]

6:23

[@sexobscura]

*When Dinosaurs Walked The Earth*

[@mickwarnie8707]

Yeah and a better game than watching todays nancy boys.

[@philhudson...5017]

@@mickwarnie8707 They were hard bastards don't worry about that...🙈🇳🇿🍺🤟