Victorian Soccer League

This article is about the league the ran from 1912 to 1957. For the current first division that ran as the first division of this league, see National Premier Leagues Victoria. For the divisions that ran from the second divisions onwards, see Victorian State League.

The Victorian Soccer League was an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 1912 and administered by Football Victoria. It consisted of up to four divisions, through multiple structure changes to the league.^[1] The league folded in 1957 after the introduction of the Victorian State League, which currently serves as Victoria's top-flight league now named the National Premier Leagues Victoria.

Victorian Soccer League

Founded	1912; 113 years ago (1912)[note 1]
Folded	1957; 68 years ago (1957)
Country	Australia
State	Victoria
Level on pyramid	1 to 4
Domestic cup(s)	Dockerty Cup

History

After the Victorian Amateur League and Victorian Junior League folded after its first three league seasons of soccer in Victoria, in 1912 two divisions were introduced under the Victorian Soccer League following the formation of five new clubs in the state; Birmingham Victoria, Footscray United, Moorabbin, Melbourne Thistle, Sunshine.^[2] Williamstown were the inaugural champions of the league in 1912^[3] and went back-to-back as renamed Yarraville in 1913. In 1914, the second division was split into two groups.

Champions

Season	Division 1		Division 2		Division 3		Division 4
1912	Williamstown		Preston		—		—
1913	Yarraville		Preston
Season	Division 1		Division 2A	Division 2B	Division 3		Division 4
1914	Melbourne Thistle		Sandringham	Footscray Thistle	—		—
Season	Division 1A	Division 1B	Division 2		Division 3		Division 4
1915	Albert Park	Melbourne Thistle	Spotswood A		—		—
Season	Division 1		Division 2		Division 3		Division 4
1916–1918	No competition played due to World War I
1919–1920	Not played
1921	Windsor		Brunswick		—		—
1922	Northumberland & Durham United		Sandringham
1923	St Kilda		Spotswood
Season	Division 1		Division 2A	Division 2B	Division 3		Division 4
1924	Footscray Thistle		Naval Depot	Melbourne Welsh	—		—
Season	Division 1		Division 2		Division 3		Division 4
1925	Melbourne Thistle		Northumberland & Durham United		Essendon City		Box Hill
1926	Footscray Thistle		Albert Park		Box Hill		Heidelberg
1927–1928	Not played
1929	Footscray Thistle		Royal Caledonians		Coburg		Albert Park
1930	Footscray Thistle		Collingwood		South Yarra		Middle Park
1931	Brunswick		Box Hill United		Melbourne Hakoah		Spotswood B
1932	Footscray Thistle		Melbourne Hakoah		Heidelberg		Windsor
1933	Royal Caledonians		St Kilda		Footscray United		—
1934	Melbourne Hakoah		South Melbourne		Navy
1935	Melbourne Hakoah		Moreland		Nettlefolds
1936	Moreland		Nobels		Melbourne Manx
1937	Moreland		Nobels		—
1938	Melbourne Hakoah		Footscray Thistle
1939	Prahran City		South Melbourne United
1940	Nobels		South Yarra
1941	Moreland		Navy
1942	Prahran City		—
1943	Moreland-Hakoah
1944	Prahran City
1945	Prahran City
Season	Division 1		Division 2 North	Division 2 South	Division 3		Division 4
1946	Moreland-Hakoah		Coburg	Park Rangers	—		—
Season	Division 1		Division 2		Division 3		Division 4
1947	Sunshine United		—		—		—
1948	Box Hill		Bradford Cotton Mills		University of Melbourne
1949	Brighton		Sandringham City		George Cross
Season	Division 1		Division 2		Division 3 North	Division 3 South	Division 4
1950	Sunshine United		Western Suburbs		Fifers	J.U.S.T.	—
Season	Division 1		Division 2		Division 3		Division 4
1951	Yallourn		J.U.S.T.		International Harvester		Polonia
1952	Juventus		Moreland		Polonia		Maccabi
1953	Juventus		South Yarra		Maccabi		Slavia
1954	Juventus		George Cross		Slavia		Wilhelmina
1955	Juventus		Slavia		Wilhelmina		—
1956	Juventus		Wilhelmina		Preston
1957	J.U.S.T.		George Cross		Yarra Park

Notes

1. The first division was founded in 1909 as Victoria Amateur League, before it formed the Victorian Soccer League in 1912.