It was a rather dubious decision, but a fair few years back the AFL ruled that Richmond (who were knocked out in a semi-final and as the lowest placed semi-final loser finished 4th after the finals) was the wooden spoon "winner" for 1916.INTERESTING WOODEN SPOON STATISTICS:
After the three new teams Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Footscray were admitted in 1925, Hawthorn and North claimed all wooden spoons for eight years, with the Kangaroos finishing last in 1926, 1929, 1930 and 1931 and the Hawks last in 1925, 1927, 1928 and 1932. The streak was broken when Essendon finished on the bottom of the ladder in 1933. Interestingly Footscray would not finish last until 1959.
From 1941 to 1955 inclusive with the exception of 1944 and 1951 where Geelong and Melbourne respectively finished last, all wooden spoons were won by either Hawthorn or St. Kilda. Hawthorn finished 1941, 1942, 1946, 1949, 1950 and 1953 in last position, while St. Kilda were last in 1943, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954 and 1955.
The three 'Melbourne' teams had a firm hold on the wooden spoon from 1968-1975 inclusive. Melbourne were last in 1969 and 1974, North Melbourne took out the 1968, 1970 and 1972 wooden spoons and South Melbourne finished on the bottom of the ladder in 1971, 1973 and 1975.
The mid-late 1980s saw just two wooden spoon teams, with St. Kilda finishing bottom in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988 and Richmond last in 1987 and 1989.
The structure of the AFL/VFL has changed over the years due to teams being added or leaving or sides going into recess during the First and Second World Wars. This is a list of wooden spoons by ladder position - please note that there has never been a competition of 5, 7 or 13 teams so these numbers are not included.
4TH 1916 - Fitzroy (also Premiers)
6TH 1917 - Richmond
8TH 1897-1907, 1918: St Kilda 7 (1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1904), Melbourne 2 (1905, 1906), Essendon 2 (1907, 1918), South Melbourne 1(1903)
9TH 1915, 1919-1924: St. Kilda 2 (1920, 1924), Melbourne 2 (1919, 1923), Geelong 1 (1915), Essendon 1 (1921), South Melbourne 1 (1922)
10TH 1908-1914: University 4 (1911, 1912, 1913, 1914), St Kilda 2 (1909, 1910), Geelong 1 (1908)
11TH 1942-1943: Hawthorn 1 (1942), St Kilda 1 (1943)
12TH 1925-1941, 1944-1986: North Melbourne 13 (1926, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1940, 1956, 1961, 1968, 1970, 1972); St. Kilda 12 (1945, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986); Hawthorn 11 (1925, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1941, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1965); South Melbourne 6 (1938, 1939, 1962, 1971, 1973, 1975); Melbourne 5 (1951, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1981); Fitzroy 5 (1936, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1980); Geelong 3 (1944, 1957, 1958); Footscray/WB 3 (1959, 1967, 1982); Collingwood 1 (1976); Essendon 1 (1933); Richmond 1 (1960)
14TH 1987-1990: Richmond 2 (1987, 1989); St. Kilda 1 (1988); Brisbane Bears 1 (1990)
15TH 1991-1994: Sydney Swans/SM 3 (1992, 1993, 1994); Brisbane Bears 1 (1991)
16TH 1995-2010: Carlton 3 (2002, 2005, 2006); Melbourne 3 (1997, 2008, 2009); Richmond 2 (2004, 2007); Fitzroy 2 (1995, 1996); Brisbane Lions 1 (1998), Collingwood 1 (1999), St. Kilda (2000), Fremantle 1 (2001), WB/Footscray 1 (2003), West Coast Eagles 1 (2010)
17TH 2011 - Gold Coast
18TH 2012-: GWS Giants 2 (2012, 2013), Carlton 2 (2015, 2018); St. Kilda 1 (2014), Essendon 1 (2016), Brisbane Lions 1 (2017)
So, officially Fitzroy and Richmond have 7 wooden spoons each.
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I posted this on the topic earlier in the thread:
I see this topic has had a bit of a run around here in the past, but having given it a brief mention in a post in another thread thought I'd revisit it!
Many would argue that Fitzroy (last with just 2 wins and a draw at end of H&A) deserve to be classed as the 1916 Wooden Spoon "winner", and that for Richmond to be considered the wooden spooner is not fair. I always considered it football's best "fun fact" that Fitzroy were both wooden spooners and premiers in the same season, and it probably should not have been changed!!
Looking at the older AFL Record Season Guides (up to and including 2002) the AFL had Fitzroy as the 1916 Wooden Spoon team, and they included the comment "Only four clubs competed and Fitzroy finally won Premiership. Collingwood won only one match in the "Second Round" when all teams against played each other". In the 2003 book (and no doubt all of them since) Richmond is said to be the Wooden Spoon team for 1916, and no explanation is given regarding the change.
Curiously, there was an article on the AFL website (an edited version of a story published in the round-five edition of the AFL Record) as recently as 2016 which contradicts this:- http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-04-23/fitzroys-remarkable-1916-season
IT’S PROBABLY footy’s most quirky and scarcely believable trivia question. Which team won the wooden spoon and the premiership in the same season? To the uninitiated, it’s an impossible proposition. But we assure you it’s not a trick question.
Fitzroy’s 1916 triumph is the greatest anomaly in Grand Final history.
So for that change to have been made in the AFL Record Season Guide I assume that it was decided "officially" c. 2002 to 'strip' Fitzroy of the 1916 Wooden Spoon and 'award' it to Richmond. Yet if so, why was there that Football Record/AFL website article all those years later that doesn't go along with it?! Confusing!!
I'm also puzzled as to why they bothered to mention Collingwood (in the comment about Fitzroy's 1916 season) at all in the older Season Guides. Maybe I'm missing something but I just don't see that what they got up to is relevant here!
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