- 1963 VFL season
Infobox VFL Premiership Season
year = 1963
imagesize =
caption =
teams = 12
premiers = AFL Gee
count =
minor premiers = AFL Haw
mpcount =
matches =
top goal scorer =John Peck (AFL Haw)
brownlow medalist =Gordon Collis (AFL Car)Results and statistics for theVFL/AFL season of 1963.Premiership season
In 1963, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man. A player could be substituted for any reason; however, once substituted, a player could not return to the field of play under any circumstances.
Teams played each other in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds; matches 12 to 18 were the "home-and-way reverse" of matches 1 to 7.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1963 VFL "Premiers" were determined by the specific format and conventions of the "Page-McIntyre system".
Alterations to 1963 match fixtures
Persistent rain throughout the week and further heavy downpours on the Friday (12 July) caused the postponement of all round 11 matches until the following Saturday (20 July), meaning that all remaining home-and-away and finals matches were played a week later than had been scheduled (this was the last time a VFL round has been postponed).
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Ladder
Preliminary Final
Umpire -
Jeff Crouch Awards
* The 1963 VFL Premiership team was Geelong.
* The VFL's leading goalkicker was John Peck of Hawthorn who kicked 75 goals (including 6 goals in the final series).
* The winner of the 1963Brownlow Medal wasBob Skilton of South Melbourne with 20 votes.
* Fitzroy took the "wooden spoon" in 1963.Notable Events
* In round 5, Collingwood is the first team to score at least 100 points against Melbourne since Footscray in the 1954 Grand Final.
Terry Waters kicked 7 goals in Collingwood's 15.10 (100) to 7.10 (52) victory.
* On Saturday 15 June South Australia beat Victoria 12.8 (90) to 10.13 (73) at theMelbourne Cricket Ground in front of 59,260 spectators. In a brutal return match, in Adelaide, a straighter-kicking Victoria beat South Australia 8.6 (54) to 5.12 (42). The match is notorious for a powerful king-hit delivered by Victorian John Peck, who had been included in the team for the return match in order to provide more "grunt" and physical menace, to the point of the jaw of an unsuspectingBrian Sawley . Sawley went some distance in the air before collapsing unconscious in the mud. Peck was reported. Peck's case was heard by the VFL tribunal. He provided the lame excuse (an unlikely assertion for which he provided no evidence of any kind) that Sawley had kicked him, and that he was simply retaliating. The sympathetic VFL, thankful that Victoria had not lost its second match, were most grateful for this "escape clause" that allowed them to "keep face", and suspended Peck for only two weeks on the basis that they believed that there had been extenuating circumstances.References
* Rogers, S. & Brown, A., "Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897-1997 (Sixth Edition)", Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
* Ross, J. (ed), "100 Years of Australian Football 1897-1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported", Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0External links
* [http://stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/1963.html 1963 Season - AFL Tables]
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/the_day_sa_football_came_of_age.htm Full Points Footy: Peter Argent, "1963 Interstate Match: VFL vs. South Australia: The Day South Australian Football Came of Age"]
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