1957 Summary
A solid start to the 1957 season would lay the platform for our first finals appearance since
1952. A 10-4 winning record saw the club sitting second on the ladder after round 14, only half a game behind eventual premiers Melbourne. The club's form then deserted it, losing three of its remaining four home and away games. Two of these losses would be to teams outside of the top 4, the first of which was a 7 goal defeat to eventual wooden spooners Geelong.
The great start to the season allowed the club to remain in the top 4, finishing in 4th place, six points ahead of Collingwood in fifth. Entering the first
Semi Final against Hawthorn out of form, the Blues played like the underdog. The Hawks kicked 5 goals to none in the first quarter, ending the game as a contest, with Carlton only managing six goals for the entire match. Hawthorn went on to win 10.11 (71) to 6.12 (48).
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | For | Against | % |
| 1 | Melbourne | 12 | 1 | 5 | 50 | 218.259.1567 | 154.205.1129 | 138.8 |
| 2 | Essendon | 11 | 0 | 7 | 44 | 196.271.1447 | 170.203.1223 | 118.3 |
| 3 | Hawthorn | 11 | 0 | 7 | 44 | 180.241.1321 | 156.196.1132 | 116.7 |
| 4 | Carlton | 11 | 0 | 7 | 44 | 188.213.1341 | 185.238.1348 | 99.5 |
| 5 | Collingwood | 9 | 1 | 8 | 38 | 193.232.1390 | 190.226.1366 | 101.8 |
| 6 | Footscray | 9 | 1 | 8 | 38 | 175.213.1263 | 175.225.1275 | 99.1 |
| 7 | Richmond | 9 | 0 | 9 | 36 | 215.216.1506 | 220.284.1604 | 93.9 |
| 8 | Nth Melbourne | 8 | 0 | 10 | 32 | 195.234.1404 | 210.217.1477 | 95.1 |
| 9 | St Kilda | 8 | 0 | 10 | 32 | 182.226.1318 | 193.236.1394 | 94.5 |
| 10 | Sth Melbourne | 7 | 0 | 11 | 28 | 185.239.1349 | 211.253.1519 | 88.8 |
| 11 | Fitzroy | 6 | 0 | 12 | 24 | 187.233.1355 | 226.255.1611 | 84.1 |
| 12 | Geelong | 5 | 1 | 12 | 22 | 195.198.1368 | 219.237.1551 | 88.2 |
People of 1957
Coach: Jim Francis
Captain: Ken Hands
Vice Captain: Laurie Kerr
Leading goal scorer: Gerald Burke - 34 goals
Milestones
Debuts: Allan White,
John Nicholls,
Leo Brereton and
Denis Strauch