The final decade of Fitzroy, while not the most successful, was littered with fond memories and fascinating firsts.
In 1987, Fitzroy played in the first ever night game for premiership points at VFL Park (Waverley) when they defeated North Melbourne by 74 points.
Fitzroy also took part in the first ever VFL match played at Carrara, defeating the newly introduced Brisbane Bears by 15 points in front of a record crowd of 22,684 people.
Long serving Fitzroy captain Paul Roos enjoyed a successful era, falling just short of a Brownlow Medal on a couple of occasions. He won multiple EJ Whitten Medals as the best player for Victoria and was listed in the All Australian team five times. He won his fifth club best and fairest in 1994 before moving on to the Sydney Swans.
In 1989, Richard Osborne kicked a Princess Park record 11 goals against Melbourne while team mate Alastair Lynch took the VFL Mark of the Year.
In 1991, The cash-strapped club raised over $800,000 with the ‘Save the Lions’ appeal and temporarily relocated two home matches to North Hobart Oval in Tasmania.
The following year, Fitzroy participated in the final AFL match ever to be played at Moorabbin against St Kilda.
On 27 May 1995, Fitzroy played West Coast in the first and only AFL game at Canberra’s Bruce Stadium. Former Footscray legend Doug Hawkins, in his one and only season with the Lions, played at his 17th AFL venue - the most by any player.
The final season of Fitzroy came in 1996 when the club became one of only three to play in all of the first 100 season of VFL/AFL.
Fitzroy won their last ever AFL game, beating Fremantle 16.11 (107) to 10.16 (76) at the Western Oval.
On 4 July, Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears became the first ever clubs to merge to become the Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club.
The Brisbane Lions Football Club in conjunction with the Fitzroy-Brisbane Lions Historical Society and the Fitzroy-Brisbane Past Players and Officials Association will host one of the largest reunions of VFL/AFL players ever at the Melbourne Convention Centre on Saturday 11 August 2007 from 7pm.
The Kings of the Pride reunion function will acknowledge all current and past players of this great club.
Every person who has played a senior match with Fitzroy, the Brisbane Bears or the Brisbane Lions has been invited to attend this historic dinner.
Now members and supporters are invited to take a trip down memory lane with some of their all-time favourite players and catch up with some of the current Lions stars.
The event will identify the ten best players from each of the club's main eras as voted by the players themselves. These ten players will be decided from the following categories:
1897 - 1926 (Fitzroy) *two players
1927 - 1956 (Fitzroy) *two players
1957 - 1966 (Fitzroy)
1967 - 1976 (Fitzroy)
1977 - 1986 (Fitzroy)
1987 - 1996 (Fitzroy)
1987 - 1996 (Brisbane Bears)
1997 - 2006 (Brisbane Lions)
Each week the Brisbane Lions are offering club members and supporters an opportunity to win a copy of Jim Main's soon-to-be released Fitzroy book.
To enter this week's draw, simply nominate which Fitzroy player you believe should be the King of the Pride for the period between 1987 and 1996 by emailing their names and your contact details to melbourne@lions.com.au. One entrant will be selected each week as the lucky Fitzroy book winner and they will go into the draw to win a free double pass to the Kings of the Pride reunion event which includes fine foods, beverages and a great night's entertainment.
Last week’s winner was Billy Donovan who nominated his best Brisbane Bears player of the 1987 – 1996 period.
We have listed some of Fitzroy’s most notable players from the 1987 – 1996 era to assist your decision-making:
Paul Roos (c) (aa) (bf) – 269 games, 270 goals (1982 – 94)
Alastair Lynch (c) (aa) (p) (g) (bf) – 306 games, 633 goals (1988 – 04)
Brad Boyd (c) (bf) – 70 games, 49 goals (1992 – 99)
Richard Osborne (c) (g) – 187 games, 411 goals (1982 – 92)
Gary Pert (bf) – 163 games, 43 goals (1982 – 1990)
Matthew Armstrong – 132 games, 71 goals (1987 – 94)
(c) = club captain
(aa) = all australian
(bf) = club best and fairest
(g) = leading goalkicker
(p) = premiership player
Supporters ticket: $170pp
Supporters table of 10 people: $1,700
Gold ticket - seated at a front table with two current players: $230pp
Gold table of 8 people - plus two current players: $1,840
Please contact the Victorian office on (03) 8850 5600 to book or for more information. Good luck and Go Lions!!!
