Coburg Football Club - Club Records

Club Records

VFA/VFL Premierships – 1st Division

• 6 (1926, 1927, 1928, 1979, 1988, 1989)

VFA Premierships – 2nd Division

• 2 (1970, 1974)

The club were runners-up to the Northcote Football Club in three successive seasons from 1932 to 1934. They were also runners-up in 1941, 1959, 1980 and 1986.

Coburg had prolific goal kickers such as Bob Pratt and Lance Collins during the 1930s. Collins in his first official season (he was injured in 1935 and played one game), kicked 16, 12, 11 and 10 goals in separate games. He kicked 116 goals for the 1936 season and in 98 games for Coburg Football Club (VFA) his tally was 432 goals. Collins played in the 1945 Carlton (VFL) Premiership side. Bob Pratt kicked 183 goals in the 1941 VFA season for Coburg, which was the highest number of goals kicked in a VFA season until Ron Todd of Williamstown (VFA) beat that record and kicked 188 goals in 1945. Pratt and Collins have kicked the most goals by two players in a season :they kicked a total of 256 goals in 1941. Pratt kicked 22 goals in a match against Sandringham Football Club: a club record. Apart from Bob Pratt (183) and Lance Collins (73), Coburg also had N. Glenister who kicked 37 goals, giving the three players a total of 293 goals which is the highest total goals score in the VFA or senior competition of Australian rules football by three players in a season.

The only J.J.Liston trophy winner for Coburg was Jim Sullivan in 1967. Prior to 1943 the Best and Fairest Award in the VFA was the 'Recorder Cup'. Coburg VFA winners were Peter Reville (ex-South Melbourne VFL) who was the equal winner in 1936 and E. "Snowy" Martin in 1927.

Jim Sullivan was credited by club statistics to have amassed 54 kicks in a match in 1969, which is the second highest recorded in senior football competition and the highest in the VFA competition. Coburg has the second highest number of reported players in a VFA match, which occurred in the 1933 Grand final against Northcote Football Club.

After many years in the doldrums, the club enjoyed somewhat of a rebirth in the late 1970s, with a continued period of success until the 1990. During that time, the club won three flags, and finished runner-up another two times.

Superstar and VFA legend Phil Cleary was a member of all these games, as either a player or a coach.

Dave Starbuck holds the club record for games, with 219, played mostly in the 1950s. He is closely followed by cult figure, Vin "The Tank" Taranto, who played during the 1980s and the dark days of the 1990s, when the club was at its lowest and almost folded. Third on the games list, on 205 games, is Cleary.