Edwin Lionel Wilson (E. L Wilson) (28 March 1861 – 24 November 1951), along with Alan Mansfield, was the founder of Collingwood Football Club. Wilson was approached by the newly formed club to be appointed president, which he rejected.[1] He went on to become the first secretary of the Collingwood Football Club and also the first secretary of the Victorian Football League when the VFL was established in 1897.[2] He held the position of secretary of the VFL for 34 years from 1897 to 1929. [1][3]
In 1930, the E. L. Wilson Shield was created to be awarded to each year's premiership-winning team.[4] It was initially discontinued in 1978 when there was no room remaining on the shield,[5] but it was expanded and reintroduced as a perpetual trophy in 2016 after it was rediscovered under a stairwell at AFL House.[6][7]
Media related to Edwin Lionel Wilson at Wikimedia Commons