1950 VFL Season - Notable Events

Notable Events

• In the early 1950 pre-season, veteran Collingwood coach Jock McHale announced his retirement. Collingwood called for applications for a non-playing coach, and champion ruckman Phonse Kyneimmediately announced his retirement and applied for the job. On 13 April, the Thursday before the last pre-season practice match, the Collingwood committee announced that it had appointed the (then) coach of the Collingwood Second Eighteen team, Bervyn Woods. Woods had been sold to Collingwood (along with Harold Jones) in 1935 by the cash-strapped VFA club Brunswick as coach, by the casting vote of the President Harry Curtis. The announcement was greeted with anger, because it meant that Kyne would have to go elsewhere to realize his coaching ambitions. At Collingwood's final practice match, the crowd continuously booed and jeered Woods, the members of the Collingwood committee that had voted for him were threatened and abused, and Kyne was carried around the ground on the shoulders of the crowd at the end of the match. The following day, Woods withdrew his application and reverted to coaching the Second Eighteen, and Kyne was appointed coach. Within days of Woods' retirement, a special extraordinary meeting of Collingwood Football Club members was held, and those seen to be responsible for the appointment of Woods (Harry Curtis, Frank Wraith, and Bob Rush) were voted out of office.
• In Round 2, St Kilda recorded its first win by 100 points or more, defeating Hawthorn 20.24 (144) to 5.5 (35).
• North Melbourne reached the Grand Final for the first time since joining the VFL in 1925.
• In Round 9, North Melbourne won for the first time at Victoria Park, after having suffered 23 straight defeats at the ground.
• Essendon won the First Eighteen, Second Eighteen, and Third Eighteen premierships in 1950.