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THE SPIRIT OF TWENTY-SIX

Freddy Fuschia
in Melbourne Demons

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Next season sees the centenary of the Melbourne Football Club’s second premiership and its first Grand Final victory on the MCG.

I’m planning on doing a series with Whispering Jack on the season and it might even morph into a book … but we’re a fair bit off that at the moment. We already have some resource material and the like but our memory doesn’t stretch back that far.

So if any of you have any ideas, reference material or know anyone related to the team members, coach or people from that era, please let me know here.

For the record, match details -

1926 VFL GRAND FINAL 

MELBOURNE vs COLLINGWOOD

Saturday 9 October 1926

Venue: MCG

MELBOURNE 4.5.29 7.7.49 14.9.93 17.17.119 

COLLINGWOOD 1.1.7 6.4.40 7.6.48 9.8.62

THE TEAMS

B J. Abernethy H. Coy C. Streeter

HB W. Tymms H. Dunbar E. Thomas

C R. Taylor I. Warne-Smith J. Collins

HF S. Wittman R. Johnson J. Davidson

F H. Moyes D. Duff F. Vine

FOLL A. Chadwick C. Deane H. White

COLLINGWOOD

B Wescott Beasley Poulter

HB Wilson A. Collier Shanahan

C Harris Beveridge Milburn

HF Baker F. Murphy Chesswass

F Tyson G. Coventry H. Collier

FOLL S. Coventry Makeham Libbis

GOALS

MELBOURNE Robert C Johnson 6 Harry Moyes Stan Wittman 3 Dave Duff 2 Col Deane Richard Taylor Francis Vine 

COLLINGWOOD H. Collier 3 G. Coventry 2 Baker A. Collier Libbis Makeham

BEST

MELBOURNE Johnson Abernathy Moyes Streeter Wittman Warne-Smith White 

COLLINGWOOD S. Coventry H. Collier Harris Beasley Beveridge Wilson Shanahan

Attendance: 59,632

WJ is especially interested in information about Stan “Bunny” Wittman who kicked three goals that day. He was made a life member of the club late in his life.

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    2 hours ago, Demonstone said:

    I'm sure that @old dee would be happy to share his recollections of the day.

    Sadly I could not get the day off work to attend!

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    Correct weight on the spelling of twenty-six.

    How Do You Spell?
    No image preview

    Twenty six or Twenty-six ▷ Do you hyphenate Twenty-six?

    Twenty six or twenty-six? Here we discuss the hyphens-in-numbers grammar rule for compound numbers and show you the correct spelling of 26.
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    On 08/12/2025 at 17:30, Freddy Fuschia said:

    … WJ is especially interested in information about Stan “Bunny” Wittman who kicked three goals that day. He was made a life member of the club late in his life.

    Wittman, the last surviving member of the 1926 premiership team, passed away in May 1994. He was granted life membership of the Melbourne Football Club in 1992 and I attended the AGM at which he was given this award. It’s my personal connection with the club’s second flag which also happens to be the first premiership won by Melbourne, then known as the “Fuchsias”, at the MCG. We took out the 1900 flag with a victory over Fitzroy at East Melbourne Cricket Ground which was situated in what is now known as Wellington Parade South. The ground was taken over by Victorian Railways  as part of the electrification of Melbourne's metropolitan rail service. Its final season of use was 1921. 

    Anyone with information about Wittman or who remembers the 1992 AGM, please let us know.

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    The club song that refers to the Spirit of Twenty-six

    THE GRAND OLD FLAG

    It's a grand old fag, it's a high-flying flag,

    It's the emblem for you and for me.

    It's the emblem of the team we love,

    The team of the Red and the Blue.

    Every heart beats true, for the Red and the Blue,

    And we sing this song to you,

    Should old acquaintance be forgot,

    Keep your eye on the Red and the Blue.

    Oh, the team played fine in the year Thirty-nine,

    We're the Demons that no one can lick,

    And you'll find us there at the final bell

    With the spirit of 'Twenty-six.

    Every heart beats true, for the Red and the Blue,

    And we'll sing this song to you,

    Should old acquaintance be forgot,

    Keep your eye on the Red and the Blue.

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    • 3 weeks later...
     
    On 08/12/2025 at 19:30, 3KZ is Football said:

    Was this the Year that "The Premiership Quarter" was first talked about?

    Some quarter of footy after half time.

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