First Game Played In Richmond Paddock (Yarra Park) 1858

First recorded game played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College on the 7 August 1858.


A letter by Tom Wills was published in Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle on 10 July 1858, called for a football club with a code of laws to keep cricketers fit during winter is widely regarded as the most significant milestone in the organisation of Australian football. It was during 1858 that references to the first football clubs in Melbourne began to appear, including Richmond Cricketers, St Kilda and Melbourne. Wills' letter attracted football players to an experimental match, at the Richmond Paddock (later known as Yarra Park next to the MCG) on 31 July 1858. Not much is known about the match except that Tom Wills both played in and umpired the game.

On 7 August 1858 the first recorded match was between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College began at Richmond Park, which was umpired by Wills and McAdam and also involved Scotch headmaster Thomas H. Smith. A second day of play took place on 21 August and a third, and final, day on 4 September. While the full rules that were used is unknown, the match was played with a round ball, the distance between the goals was approximately half a mile and there were 40 players per side and one goal each side was scored with the game being declared a draw. The two schools have competed annually ever since for the Cordner-Eggleston Cup.