1949 VFL season

The 1949 VFL season was the 53rd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria.

The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 16 April until 24 September, and comprised a 19-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top four clubs.

The premiership was won by the Essendon Football Club for the ninth time, after it defeated Carlton by 73 points in the 1949 VFL Grand Final.

In 1949, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man.

Once the 19 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1949 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the Page–McIntyre system.