For the list of winners of the award, see List of Brownlow Medal winners. This is a list of winners of the Brownlow Medal awarded by the Australian Football League to the " Best and fairest " player

The Brownlow Medal

The Chas Brownlow Trophy — better known as the Brownlow Medal because the winner of the trophy is presented with a medal — is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the regular season (i. A medal is usually a Coin -like sculpted object of metal or other material that has been engraved with an Insignia, Portrait or other artistic rendering Best and Fairest (also known as Fairest and Best in some competitions notably the Australian Football League) is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe The Australian Football League (AFL is both the professional Australian national competition in the Sport of Australian Rules Football and its highest e. , not including finals matches) as determined by votes cast by the officiating umpires after each game. It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the AFL.

The medal was first awarded by the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1924. History The Victorian Football Association (VFA was founded in 1877 on 17 May. It was created and named in honour of Charles Brownlow, the Geelong footballer (in Geelong's pre-VFL days in the VFA), long-time Geelong Club secretary (1885-1923), and VFL president (1918-1919), who had died in January 1924 after an extended illness. Charles "Chas" Brownlow, (25 July 1861—23 January 1924 was a legendary Australian rules football administrator in the Victorian Football League.

Although the award is generally spoken of the "best and fairest", the award's specific criterion is "fairest and best", reflecting an emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play (which also explains the decision to have the votes cast by the umpires), as the 1924 somewhat illuminated citation expressly states:

Mr. An illuminated manuscript is a Manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration such as decorated Initials borders and Edward Goodrich Greeves

Geelong Football Club

[VFL EMBLEM]

THE CHARLES BROWNLOW TROPHY

Dear Sir,

On behalf of the Victorian Football League, we desire

to place on permanent record the appreciation of your excellent play

during the Season 1924.

You were selected as the fairest and best player and we have

pleasure in presenting the accompanying Gold Medal in recognition of those

sterling qualities.

Trusting that you will be long spared to interest yourself in the

adancement [sic] of the Game.

We are, yours sincerely

W. Baldwin Spencer (President),

M. Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer KCMG ( 23 June 1860 - 14 July 1929) was a British - Australian biologist E. Green (Treasurer), E. L. Wilson (Secretary)^[1]

But for the change of the monogram from VFL to AFL in 1990, the design, shape and size of the medallion itself has remained virtually unchanged from that of 1924.

Voting Procedure

Under the current procedures, the three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award 3 votes, 2 votes and 1 vote to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best in the match respectively. An umpire is an official in the Sport of Australian rules football. There have been different voting procedures for short periods in the past – votes were the responsibility of the media until the 1930s, and; in 1976 and 1977, the first two years after a second field umpire was added, each umpire individually gave his 3-2-1 – but the prevailing system has been used for the vast majority of Brownlow Medal counts.

On the awards night, the votes over the home and away (regular) season are tallied and the eligible player or players with the highest number of votes is awarded the medal. In the past, only one winner was allowed, and ties were decided on a countback system, which took into account such statistics as matches played. In 1940, Des Fothergill and Herb Matthews tied for the medal and could not be separated on countback, so neither player received the real medal. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Desmond Hugh Fothergill (born 15 July 1920 was an Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL/AFL. Herbie Matthews (20 November 1913 - 8 June 1990 was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. Since 1982, it has been possible for multiple medals to be awarded in the event of a tie, and in 1989, players who had tied on votes but lost on countback were given retrospective medals.

The integrity of the award is upheld by the tight security and secrecy surrounding the votes. Once the umpires make their decision, the votes are locked away and transported by armoured security vehicles. No one except the three umpires knows exactly who has been voted for, and as different umpires vote on different games, no one can be sure of who will win. Unlike most award ceremonies, the votes are not tallied or even opened until they are actually announced on the night, so the drama is maintained until late on the actual night, when the result sometimes comes down to the final round of votes.

The method of selecting the Brownlow has occasionally come under scrutiny. The Brownlow winners contain a preponderance of midfield players and relatively few "key-position" players, with some of the game's greatest players (for instance, Wayne Carey) never coming close to winning a medal despite having high reputations amongst their peers and coaches. Wayne Carey (born 27 May 1971 is a former Australian rules football player who played for North Adelaide in the SANFL, before joining Australian Football The problem is that players who are most valuable to their teams are not necessarily viewed favourably by umpires, and their positions and playing style sometimes means they don't attract enough attention. Several prominent coaches, including Kevin Sheedy and Leigh Matthews (who on 202 votes has the second most Brownlow votes in history and yet never won it), have publicly criticised the selection process, proposing that coaches or players votes be used instead. Kevin John Sheedy AM (born 24 December 1947 was the coach of AFL club Essendon, and a former player for Richmond. Leigh Raymond "Lethal Leigh" Matthews AM (born 1 March 1952 is a former player and coach of Australian rules football. The exclusion of suspended players is also debated, but the AFL's desire to promote a good image for the game makes it unlikely that this aspect of the award will change in the near future.

Some bookmakers offer betting on the winner of the Brownlow. A number of well-publicised "plunges" on unlikely winners has led to increasingly elaborate security measures to ensure the Brownlow votes are kept secret until the vote count.

Ineligibility

Historically, players who are suspended at some time during the season by the AFL's disclipinary tribunal for serious on-field offences (for instance, punching another player) were ineligible for the award. Suspended players have tallied the highest number of votes for the award on two occasions. This first occurred in 1996, when Corey McKernan received the same number of votes as winners James Hird and Michael Voss, but was ineligible due to suspension. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Corey McKernan (born 19 December 1973 is a former Australian rules football player who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Carlton Blues in the James Alan Hird (born 4 February 1973 is a retired Australian rules footballer and the former captain of the Essendon Football Club. Michael Voss (born 7 July 1975 is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions and also a former Australian rules footballer usually playing midfield for Australian (However, McKernan would be named the AFL Players Association MVP in the same year. The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. ) In the following year, Chris Grant of Western Bulldogs had the most votes, but a one-week suspension ruled him out of the Brownlow Medal, which went instead to St. Kilda's Robert Harvey. Christopher Lee Grant (born 13 December 1972 is a former Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League, and a legend of the Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs, formerly referred to as the Footscray Football Club, is an Australian Football League (AFL club based at the Whitten Oval in The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian Football League club based in Melbourne Victoria Australia Robert Jeffrey Harvey (born 21 August 1971 is a former Australian Rules Football player in the Australian Football League.

Since 2005, the criterion for ineligibility is to have 100 base points levied by the Tribunal for an infraction in the season. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This means that it is now possible for a player to be suspended, but still win the Brownlow. As an example, a player carries 93. 75 points from a reprimand from the previous season, and commits an infraction worth 75 base points – this brings his tally to 168. 75, which is enough for a one-week suspension, even with an early plea. Despite the suspension, this player would still be eligible for the prize. Similarly, a player can be ineligible, despite not having been suspended. This most commonly happens when a player is levied 125 base points, but it is reduced to 93. 75 with an early plea – sufficiently low to avoid a suspension. This new system is slightly more confusing and slightly controversial, but also slightly fairer, since a bad tribunal record from previous years will not affect a player's chances of being the fairest and best in a single year.

Publicity

The awards ceremony has become increasingly elaborate, with footballers and their partners gradually becoming more fashion-conscious and this aspect of the night becoming widely reported by gossip columns. A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a Newspaper or Magazine, especially a gossip magazine. The ceremony is held at Crown Casino, Melbourne on the Monday 5 days prior to the AFL Grand Final. Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in In years past, prospective Grand Final players have attended the ceremony in person. However non-Victorian Grand Finalists are refusing to attend the ceremony in Melbourne due to the inconvenience of travel in such an important week. A live video link to Brownlow functions in their home city is done instead.

From 1959 until 1974 radio stations including 3UZ, 3KZ and 3AW broadcast the vote counts. 3UZ is the official callsign of a Medium-wave Radio station in Melbourne, Australia which broadcasts under the name Sport 927 Gold 1043 (call sign 3KKZ) a commercial Radio station in Melbourne, Australia broadcasting on 104 3AW is a Radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 KHz AM. SEN 1116 now covers the count. SEN 1116 ( Callsign 3AK) the acronym standing for Sports Entertainment Network, is a commercial AM radio station based in Melbourne Direct television telecasts began in 1970 at the Dallas Brooks Hall and have occurred every year since.

Venues and TV telecast

Footnotes

1. ^ A photograph of the citation appears at Ross, (1996), p. The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. The Hordern Pavilion is a Building located in Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the grounds of the old Sydney Showground Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia Network Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australia 's three major commercial television networks. Docklands Stadium, known as Telstra Dome, and originally as Victoria Stadium and Colonial Stadium, is a multi purpose sports and entertainment The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia Network Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australia 's three major commercial television networks. Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia Network Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australia 's three major commercial television networks. Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia Network Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australia 's three major commercial television networks. Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a Casino and entertainment precinct on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia 116.

See also

• List of Brownlow Medal winners
• Leigh Matthews Trophy, the "Most Valuable Player" award voted on by the AFL Players Association

References

• Ross, J. This is a list of winners of the Brownlow Medal awarded by the Australian Football League to the " Best and fairest " player The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. The AFL Players' Association or AFLPA is the representative body for all current and past professional Australian Football League players (ed), 100 Years of Australian Football 1897-1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported, Viking, (Ringwood), 1996. ISBN 0-670-86814-0

External links

• Allan Grant, "Saints in World Wars. Legends of the game - Peter Chitty" (St Kilda Football Club Web-site, 9 January, 2006) — An account of the 1943 Changi Brownlow Medal won by Peter Chitty (includes a photograph of the medallion)
• Official Australian Football League website
• Complete Brownlow Medal results
• Photos from 2006 Brownlow Medal night