Coach: Norm Smith
Captain: Denis Cordner
Finishing Position: 6th
Best and Fairest: Geoff McGivern
Leading Goalkicker: Noel Clarke (49)
Best First Year Player: Jim Wilson
| Matches | Ladder | Playing List | Best and Fairest | Seconds | Thirds |
After bombing out from finalists in 1950 to wooden spooners a year later, Norm Smith replaced Allan La Fontaine as coach and the team had an immediate improvement in form which saw them on the edge of the top four.
For the first time in several years the club was able to play all its practice games on the MCG due to the district cricket final being played at the Lake Oval, and the postponement of a Royal Tour which would have occupied the ground.
Melbourne won the Lightning Premiership in May, defeating South Melbourne in the finals.
During the year, Norm Smith was asked by the committee to stop holding intra-club match practice sessions on a Thursday night. This came after Stuart Spencer was knocked out by an errant elbow in one session.
At the end of the season 1948 premiership veterans George Bickford, Geoff Collins, Eddie Jackson and Mike Woods all retired. The end of season trip was to Mt. Buffalo.
Melbourne's VFL delegates were Bill Flintoft and Wally Scott.
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Geelong | LOSS | 97-103 | ||
| 2 | St. Kilda | WIN | 91-89 | ||
| 3 | Hawthorn | LOSS | 60-74 | ||
| 4 | Footscray | WIN | 76-52 | ||
| 5 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 57-71 | ||
| 6 | North Melbourne | WIN | 63-49 | ||
| 7 | Collingwood | WIN | 82-50 | ||
| 8 | Fitzroy | LOSS | 70-90 | ||
| 9 | Essendon | WIN | 75-74 | ||
| 10 | Richmond | WIN | 83-46 | ||
| 11 | Fitzroy | LOSS | 73-83 | ||
| 12 | Carlton | DRAW | 50-50 | ||
| 13 | Geelong | LOSS | 54-110 | ||
| 14 | St. Kilda | WIN | 78-58 | ||
| 15 | Hawthorn | WIN | 85-57 | ||
| 16 | Footscray | WIN | 107-60 | ||
| 17 | South Melbourne | LOSS | 66-74 | ||
| 18 | North Melbourne | LOSS | 82-97 | ||
| 19 | Collingwood | LOSS | 71-92 | ||
Lightning Premiership
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| 1 | Essendon | WIN | 14-8 | ||
| QF | Geelong | WIN | 25-8 | ||
| SF | North Melbourne | WIN | 17-13 | ||
| F | South Melbourne | WIN | 8-1 | ||
Ladder
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Geelong | 16 | 1 | 2 | 134.7 | 66 |
| Collingwood | 14 | 0 | 5 | 144.4 | 56 |
| Fitzroy | 13 | 0 | 6 | 105.4 | 52 |
| Carlton | 11 | 2 | 6 | 112.4 | 48 |
| South Melbourne | 11 | 1 | 7 | 105.5 | 46 |
| Melbourne | 9 | 1 | 9 | 103.0 | 38 |
| North Melbourne | 9 | 0 | 10 | 96.8 | 36 |
| Essendon | 8 | 1 | 10 | 113.6 | 34 |
| Richmond | 8 | 0 | 11 | 92.6 | 32 |
| Footscray | 5 | 0 | 14 | 77.1 | 20 |
| Hawthorn | 5 | 0 | 14 | 69.6 | 20 |
| St. Kilda | 2 | 0 | 17 | 68.1 | 8 |
Playing List
| Number | Player | Games | Goals | ||
| 1 | Denis Cordner | 18 | 6 | ||
| 2 | Bob McKenzie | 18 | 35 | ||
| 3 | Geoff Collins | 14 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Ken Christie | 19 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Ian McLean | 14 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Ken Albiston | 19 | 23 | ||
| 7 | Eddie Jackson | 16 | 4 | ||
| 8 | Ian Toyne | 1 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Maurie Lehmann | 6 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Max Orr | 5 | 4 | ||
| 10 | Lance Arnold | 17 | 0 | ||
| 11 | Jim Wilson | 15 | 14 | ||
| 12 | Stuart Spencer | 18 | 4 | ||
| 13 | Alan Krause | 6 | 6 | ||
| 14 | Bob Johnston | 10 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Terry Pierce | 2 | 0 | ||
| 16 | George Bickford | 17 | 1 | ||
| 17 | Geoff McGivern | 19 | 14 | ||
| 18 | Harry Lack | 3 | 0 | ||
| 19 | Colin Love | 4 | 0 | ||
| 19 | Keith Carroll | 1 | 0 | ||
| 20 | Tom McLean | 11 | 1 | ||
| 22 | John Ferguson | 6 | 3 | ||
| 23 | George O'Keeffe | 4 | 0 | ||
| 25 | Ron McMahon | 8 | 0 | ||
| 26 | Noel Clarke | 19 | 49 | ||
| 27 | Neil Whitaker | 9 | 1 | ||
| 28 | Bill Smeaton | 6 | 13 | ||
| 29 | Ken McKaige | 3 | 1 | ||
| 30 | John Beckwith | 17 | 8 | ||
| 33 | Jack Thomson | 16 | 8 | ||
| 34 | Ralph Lane | 3 | 0 | ||
| 35 | Noel McMahen | 18 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Mike Woods | 18 | 0 | ||
| Round | Player | Charge | Sanction | ||
| Round 10 | Geoff Collins | Disputing Umpire's Decision | Guilty | ||
| Round 10 | Geoff Collins | Disputing Umpire's Decision | Guilty | ||
Best and Fairest
| Player | |||||
| 1st | Geoff McGivern | ||||
| 2nd | Denis Cordner | ||||
Other Awards
Best Clubman - Stuart Spencer
Most improved - Ian McLean
Outstanding service - Ken Albiston, Bob McKenzie, Eddie Jackson, Noel Clarke
Seconds
1952 Seconds season
Leading Goalkicker - Jack Mueller
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Collingwood | 15 | 0 | 3 | 135.6 | 60 |
| Carlton | 14 | 0 | 4 | 141.9 | 56 |
| Richmond | 14 | 0 | 4 | 137.2 | 56 |
| Essendon | 12 | 0 | 6 | 135.0 | 48 |
| Melbourne | 10 | 0 | 8 | 106.6 | 40 |
| Geelong | 9 | 0 | 9 | 112.4 | 36 |
| South Melbourne | 8 | 0 | 10 | 94.9 | 32 |
| Footscray | 6 | 0 | 12 | 90.1 | 24 |
| North Melbourne | 6 | 0 | 12 | 67.5 | 24 |
| Fitzroy | 6 | 0 | 12 | 73.1 | 24 |
| Hawthorn | 5 | 0 | 13 | 80.7 | 20 |
| St Kilda | 3 | 0 | 15 | 64.7 | 12 |
Thirds
1952 Thirds season
Captain - Noel Shaw
Thirds Best and Fairest - Don Williams
| W | D | L | % | P | |
| Melbourne | 13 | 1 | 2 | 158.5 | 54 |
| Essendon | 12 | 0 | 4 | 171.6 | 48 |
| Footscray | 12 | 0 | 4 | 110.1 | 48 |
| Carlton | 10 | 0 | 5 | 129.3 | 42 |
| Fitzroy | 9 | 0 | 7 | 97.6 | 36 |
| Geelong | 7 | 1 | 7 | 127.3 | 32 |
| Collingwood | 7 | 0 | 8 | 89.2 | 30 |
| North Melbourne | 6 | 0 | 9 | 76.6 | 26 |
| South Melbourne | 6 | 0 | 10 | 110.9 | 24 |
| Richmond | 5 | 0 | 10 | 90.7 | 22 |
| Hawthorn | 3 | 0 | 11 | 67.2 | 16 |
| St Kilda | 1 | 0 | 14 | 36.2 | 6 |
Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood, North Melbourne, Hawthorn (x2), St Kilda and Geelong were all awarded two points for abandoned matches.
Finals
| Round | Opposition | Result | Score | ||
| SF | Essendon | WIN | 78-33 | ||
| GF | Essendon | LOSS | 55-82 | ||
Media
Herald - 18/03/1952
Herald - 22/03/1952
Herald - 10/09/1952
Links
Image courtesy Boyles Football Photos