1897 VFL season

1897 VFL premiership season
Essendon 1897 VFL premiership team
Date	8 May—4 September 1897
Teams	8
Premiers	Essendon 1st premiership
Minor premiers	Geelong 1st minor premiership
Leading goalkicker medallist	Eddy James (Geelong) Jack Leith (Melbourne) 22 goals
Matches played	62
1898 →

The 1897 VFL season was the inaugural season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season ran from 8 May to 4 September, comprising a 14-round home-and-away season followed by a three-week finals series featuring the top four clubs. Eight Victorian Football Association (VFA) clubs – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, South Melbourne and St Kilda – featured in the inaugural season after seceding from the VFA in 1896.

Essendon won the inaugural premiership after winning all three of its finals matches. Geelong won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with an 11–3 win–loss record. Geelong's Eddy James and Melbourne's Jack Leith tied for the leading goalkicker medal as the league's leading goalkickers.