What is the worst team in AFL history?

[Slax]

That line is getting old and we are still around at least - show's how loyal our supporters are.

For me didn't see much but Richmond early 90s were horrendous as well.

Loyalty? As you point out didn't see much of them in the early 90s, so how loyal are you? or are you just another tiger bandwagon member?

 

[JA27]

In the AFL era, Sydney 1993 were the worst. The reason for this over the Fitzroy 1996 side is that the AFl was pumping money into Sydney to try and make them competitive, they'd given them extra draft picks to help, were as the only years in the 90s when the AFL didn't offer priority picks were for the 1994 & 1995 drafts when they were on a drive to get rid of a side to bring in Port and Fitzroy was in the gun.

If Fitzroy got the financial assistance offered to Sydney or even now the likes of Roos, Osborne, Broderick, Gale and co would not of been lost to the club. you can't fight a fair fight when you have one arm tied behind you back.

1994 National Draft
Pick 2 - Sydney Priority Selection
Pick 3 - Sydney Priority Selection
Pick 20 - Sydney Priority Selection
Pick 23 - Sydney Selection transferred to Fitzroy as Compensation
*Fremantle allocated 2 Selections before each round of the draft
*Pre-Draft Foundation & Zone Selections allocated to Fremantle
*Pre-Draft Zone Selections to Sydney
*Pre-Draft Zone Selection to Brisbane

**12 Uncontracted Players selections allocated to Fremantle over 2 years

1995 Pre-Season Draft
Pick 1 - Sydney Priority Selection
***16yo Draft held as compansation for losing uncontracted players to Fremantle

1995 National Draft
Pick 1 - Fremantle Priority Selection
Pick 2 - Fitzroy Priority Selection
Pick 3 - Fremantle Priority Selection
*Pre-Draft Zone Selections to Sydney
*Pre-Draft Zone Selections to Brisbane
*Pre-Draft Zone Selections to Fremantle

**Balance of 12 Uncontracted Players Selections allocated to Fremantle
**2 Uncontracted Players Selections allocated to Sydney

1996 Pre-Season Draft
Pick 1 - Fitzroy Priority Selection
Pick 2 - Melbourne Compensation selection for losing uncontracted player to Sydney
Pick 3 - Richmond Compensation selection for losing uncontracted player to Sydney
***16yo Draft held as compensation for losing uncontracted player to Fremantle

 

[Roysforever]

That line is getting old and we are still around at least - show's how loyal our supporters are.

For me didn't see much but Richmond early 90s were horrendous as well.

The line is actually insulting to both clubs. At the same time the users of it don't even realise the same sentiment holds true from 1979.

 

[Grechy]

Loyalty? As you point out didn't see much of them in the early 90s, so how loyal are you? or are you just another tiger bandwagon member?

I'm 26 so I don't actually remember much but my dad used to take me to every game and I do remember bits and pieces. No bandwagoner here mate. Have seen shit year after shit year after shit year.

 

[LeverPuller]

If not for GWS we would contend too, surely...

 

[forwardflanker]

Potentially Essendon 2013 imo

 

[Pessimistic]

If a side had a good zone and everyone acknowledges that Hawthorn had a great one, it means you start ahead of the pack, you still need the right people running the club, which Hawthron had.

North were the massive losers out of the zone system, St Kilda really didn't fair much better either.

Still one of the best teams for nearly a decade, so out of place in this thread

 

[mianfei]

That line is getting old and we are still around at least - show's how loyal our supporters are.

For me didn't see much but Richmond early 90s were horrendous as well.

The reason as I have been told by insiders, why the league was eager to retain Richmond and dismiss Fitzroy in the early 1990s was that Richmond had wealthy supporters who would invest in the club, which Fitzroy never possessed at any point in its history. Regardless of whether that was fair and that a healthy Richmond would have improved AFL attendances, it is still unjustifiable to help the club when Richmond’s wealthy supporters should have tried to pressure for radical reform of administration themselves. Richmond were spoilt by the wealth they had in the 1970s and early 1980s and tried to buy a premiership to little avail after falling down to tenth in 1983.

collingwood

What need be said is that in the middle 1980s Collingwood were in the same position as Richmond - that is to say reeling from trying to buy premierships when real interest rates were less than zero and money to buy top players could be bought for nothing. However, unlike Richmond, Collingwood were able to reform so well as to win a premiership in 1990.

 

[Mubarak in De Nile]

Hawthorn 2009.

So many memorable highlights to choose from during the year:

Clarko's Cluster being transformed into Clarko's really big Clusterf..k

Getting run over the top of by Geelong in the last quarter with Bartel's point after the siren,

The mini elimination final vs Essendon with Roughy and Buddy looking on from the stands, Beau Dowler looking like a superstar in the first half, and Brad Sewell being ironed out by Harry HighPants.

But my favourite game from that year has to be our amazing effort vs the Western Bulldogs at Docklands mid-season. I remember taking a visiting American friend to the game to experience the "event" of an AFL game. Pre-game I told him about how the Hawks as reigning premiers were destined for an era of sustained success, and how the club was rapidly becoming one of Melbourne's most popular clubs.

Aussie Rules is a curious spectacle for first-time watchers at the best of times. But as the Hawks came off at halftime marginally trailing the Bulldogs 0.4.4 to 13.10.88 and to a torrent of abuse from its apopleptic purple-faced screaming members, I think it's fair to say that the word 'bemused' simply couldn't do justice to the look on my friend's face. He now refers to me as his deluded Aussie mate...

 

[Roddy]

Hawthorn 1925-1957

 

[mianfei]

Hawthorn 1925-1957

More precisely, Hawthorn 1925-1953. They had then won only 111 and drawn three of 522 games and not reached the finals in any grade - a record simply not approached by any other club in a major sports league, but unsurprising given they were located in middle-class suburbs devoid of the industrial and political patronage needed to succeed.

Hawthorn were an amateur club in a league that was officially and in reality anything but amateur even when they were admitted. They and St. Kilda, who had the same problems of no business or political patronage and a limited support base, would have been remembered as the worst failures in top-level sport if the VFL had not introduced revenue sharing to give them the money needed to recruit class players from the country and interstate.

On another level, Hawthorn and St. Kilda in this period were de facto profit-maximising clubs which did not aim to win more than the very small numbers of games they did win, but to minimise or eliminate the financial losses inherent in competing in a top league without any industrial or political patronage. Their tiny win percentage was at large not considered an important issue.

 

[Roddy]

More precisely, Hawthorn 1925-1953. They had then won only 111 and drawn three of 522 games and not reached the finals in any grade - a record simply not approached by any other club in a major sports league, but unsurprising given they were located in middle-class suburbs devoid of the industrial and political patronage needed to succeed.

Hawthorn were an amateur club in a league that was officially and in reality by anything but amateur even when they were admitted. They and St. Kilda, who had the same problems of no business or political patronage and a limited support base, would have been remembered as the worst failures in top-level sport if the VFL had not introduced revenue sharing to give them the money needed to recruit class players from the country and interstate.

On another level, Hawthorn and St. Kilda in this period were de facto profit-maximising clubs which did not aim to win more than the very small numbers of games they did win, but to minimise or eliminate the financial losses inherent in competing in a top league without any industrial or political patronage. Their tiny win percentage was at large not considered an important issue.

So, we 'win'! Not only were we the worst team in VFL/AFL history, we're arguably the worst in major sports history!! WOOHOO!

 

[mianfei]

So, we 'win'! Not only were we the worst team in VFL/AFL history, we're arguably the worst in major sports history!! WOOHOO!

There’s little doubt about that - no team has ever had such a bad record for so long, and it is unlikely the cultural factors that allowed tolerance of winning only three games a season for twenty-nine years will ever be repeated in high-level leagues ever again.

 

[Freomaniac]

Freo dockers

Typical Eagles response. Enjoy Freo getting the wooden spoon in 2013.

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

The reason as I have been told by insiders, why the league was eager to retain Richmond and dismiss Fitzroy in the early 1990s was that Richmond had wealthy supporters who would invest in the club, which Fitzroy never possessed...

Not at all true, I'm afraid.

We had wealthy supporters, but the AFL under Oakley and co really didn't want them coming in and investing in us.

In fact, they were prepared to act deliberately to hinder such investment. A spectacular example of such wilful action being when they prevented Bernie Ahern from loaning money to the club.

 

[Freomaniac]

Not at all true, I'm afraid.

We had wealthy supporters, but the AFL under Oakley and co really didn't want them coming in and investing in us.

In fact, they were prepared to act deliberately to hinder such investment. A spectacular example of such wilful action being when they prevented Bernie Ahern from loaning money to the club.

I know Fitzroy had some famous supporters. Bert Newton is one of them

 

[power09]

Me being a Crows fan has nothing to do with it. Port were horrific that year and were very lucky to avoid the spoon. Who have been worse sides to avoid the spoon?

Yet all we got was pick 6

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Yet all we got was pick 6

It was worth it considering you got Wingard who has been the best performed player from the draft and is looking like a 250-300 game superstar.

 

[1970crow]

Probably already been mentioned but I'd nominate the Adelaide football club board circa 2012/2013.

 

[1970crow]

Closely followed by Melbourne footy club footy ops team 2009-2011.

 

[Spazz Cat]

the 1995/96 teams were the worst.....they just died a slow and painful death.....no personnel at hand....

They actually did really well if you think about it not to finish on the bottom every year considering personnel facilities money etc. Puts some of those other clubs to shame

 

[power09]

It was worth it considering you got Wingard who has been the best performed player from the draft and is looking like a 250-300 game superstar.

haha yeah
But I like to get up in arms about the principle of it

 

[Chewy]

No team will ever stink it up like St Kilda in the VFL's first six years

They lost their first 48 games; enjoyed a one point in Round 1 of 1900; lost their next 27 matches; beat Carlton in Rd 12, 1901 and then lost their next 22.

1897 - 0-14 (28.99%)
1898 - 0-17 (32.67%)
1899 - 0-17 (23.22%)
1900 - 1-16 (37.46%)
1901 - 1-16 (32.14%)
1902 - 0-17 (41.88%)

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

When the Royboys were bad, they were terrible.

 

[mianfei]

Not at all true, I'm afraid.

We had wealthy supporters, but the AFL under Oakley and co really didn't want them coming in and investing in us.

In fact, they were prepared to act deliberately to hinder such investment. A spectacular example of such wilful action being when they prevented Bernie Ahern from loaning money to the club.

That surprises me.

If we look at teams between the 1925 to 1953 Hawthorn and the AFL era, Fitzroy from 1962 to 1968 were clearly the most atrocious. The Lions won only nineteen of one hundred and twenty-eight games, and against the big clubs of Essendon, Geelong, Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond won only two of fifty-seven!

I have always assumed Fitzroy were doomed to extinction even then and that country zoning merely prolonged the agony as its support base was replaced by foreigners who knew only soccer. Are you suggesting the story is not that simple?