Essendon will celebrate 140 years of history ahead of tomorrow night’s blockbuster against Carlton at the MCG with a number of exciting celebrations taking place.

Coach James Hird has urged fans to get to the game early to celebrate the significant milestone in the club's history.

"It will be a great night, all Essendon fans get along there early there will be plenty of pre-match celebrations, it is going to be a great night for our club and hopefully the team can perform," Hird said.

Human Statues
Human statues will be outside the ground located between gates 2-5 from 5.30pm until 7.50pm in replica jumpers from the 1890’s, 1920’s, 1980s and the club’s 140th year commemorative guernsey.

Guard of Honour
16 past Essendon players will be forming a guard of honour holding 16 premiership cups as the players run out onto the ground. Players taking part in the guard of honour include Ken Fraser, Ken Fletcher, Matthew Lloyd, Harold Lambert, Hugh Mitchell and Chris Heffernan.

Card Stunt
The bottom row of the Southern Stand will be filled red and black with thousand of fans taking part in a special card stunt to mark the club’s 140 year celebrations. The cards will appear as the players go through the banner and run to the other side of the ground to warm up. Make sure you get to the ground early to witness this special presentation.

Friday, 7 June 2013 is a historic day for the Essendon Football Club.  One hundred and forty years ago to the day, we played our first official game.  We beat Carlton by one goal and began our journey to becoming one of the most storied and successful clubs in Australian sporting history.