History of the Carlton AFL Football Club
Also called The Blues, Carlton Football Club is an Australian Rules football club in the Australian Football League (AFL). It is also one of the oldest Australian Rules football clubs and also a foundation member of the Victorian Football Association. Along with Essendon, it is the only football club to have bagged 16 premiership titles. While the club itself is named after the Carlton area of city of Melbourne, it derives its nickname from the navy blue color of its uniform.
Formed in July 1864, Carlton Football Club had a very strong supporter base and stood in tough competition against the Melbourne Football Club, as it took part in the Caledonian Challenge Cup. Champion player George Coulthard was a Carlton super player. In the years spanning 1876 and 1882, he kept the audiences enthralled by his stunning play and was noted as the 'The grandest player of the day' in those times. It was in the year 1906 that under the coaching of Jack Worral, Carlton won three premierships in a row for the first time in the history of Australian Football League/ Victoria Football League.
There is little sense writing about Carlton Football Club without taking a look into the relationship it shared with Collingwood. The inter club rivalry which began in 1910 following defeat at the hands of Collingwood, also called the 'Machine,' lasts until this day. 1910 was also a year full of controversies for the Club. It saw the club’s two players including Alex Lang getting banned from at least 99 games or six years of active game play, after they were found guilty of being bribed to play poorly, so that the rival team could win.
Carlton Football Club is one of the most powerful football clubs in AFL history. It has registered remarkable victories over 11 out of a total of 15 other clubs in the AFL that include Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond. Some of the most outstanding victories included its thriller grand final win over Essendon in 1947 and 1968. This was followed by an extraordinary success against Richmond in 1972 whom it defeated by highest number of goals ever made by a club in a Grand Final.
Ever since the formation of AFL Carlton Football Clubs' success rate has been affected as has been the case with the Victorian based clubs. The club faced many difficulties in recruiting players from other parts of Australia who now, in accordance with the changed rules under Draft Pick Process, began to be hired by the local clubs. This put an end, to the age old practice of attracting good players, by offering them big money, and even placing a bar on the amount of money, which could be spent on the salary for the given season. In the 1995 season Carlton Football Club, established a record by winning all the games, except for three, in a single season. After a decade full of turmoil after that, it is now that Carlton has begun to revive and play at its best.