On Friday 3 October at the Crown Palladium, Collingwood will honour the third best and fairest player with the J.J. Joyce Trophy.
Joyce played only one game for Collingwood but was a central figure in the establishment of the club in 1892.
Depression had reached a climactic point in the 1890s and the residents of Collingwood were struggling to make a living.
A few sporting residents were clamouring for a senior football club that embodied the name and make-up of the district they lived in, in the same way their Fitzroy neighbours had done.
The belief was that a new club would help bring new found optimism to the area.
Joyce was a key influence in ensuring that Collingwood would have a Victorian Football Association (VFA) team.
In the 1880s and 1890s, Joyce played on the Britannia Football Club which was located in the Collingwood and Fitzroy district. Joyce captained the side in 1980-82 and then played three years with Carlton in the VFA. Upon his return to Britannia he was elected vice captain, and was captain in 1888-89.
Britannia was considered a ‘junior’ club with adult players and held aspirations of joining the VFA in the late 1880s. After repeatedly failing to gain acceptance into the league (due to extreme disorganisation), Britannia would soon lose its stability and eventually disband.
Joyce was an entrepreneur who owned a business in hauling leather goods by horses in Collingwood and saw the potential in establishing a Collingwood club. He was able to forecast the downfall of the Britannia club and along with a few teammates, helped rally the community to support a senior football club from the district.
In part due to support from various VFA delegates and the continued efforts from those labelled today as “true believers” the Collingwood Football Club was established in 1892.
The club’s first committee was made up of five members, one of which was Joyce who relied on his organisational skills to conduct the financial and football related affairs. During his time on the committee (1892-1922), Joyce oversaw Collingwood’s success as a club on and off the field.
A man who will forever be known as a “man’s man” in and around the club, Joyce was a main component in the creation and ongoing prosperity of the Collingwood Football Club.
The first J.J.Joyce trophy was awarded to George Hams in 1950.
Notes
In round 13 of the 1892 season, Joyce (32) played his only game for Collingwood. On his retirement in 1922 the Club presented him with a gift of ?100.
Club president Harry Curtis stated after Joyce's death in 1945, “John Joyce, The Only One, was perhaps the best known man in the Melbourne sporting world.
"His inexhaustible fund of humorous stories made him a welcome guest in any company."
Information used to compile this article was sourced from “The Official Collingwood Illustrated Encyclopaedia” which can be purchased at the Collingwood Superstore. A special mention to Peter Furniss from the Collingwood Archives Committee who supplied additional information used in this article.
