The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the fairest and best player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the three officiating field umpires after each game. It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the AFL. It is also widely acknowledged as the highest individual honour in the sport of Australian rules football.
The medal was first awarded by the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was created and named in honour of Charles Brownlow, a former Geelong Football Club footballer (1880–1891) and club secretary (1885–1923), and VFL president (1918–19), who had died in January 1924 after an extended illness.
Fairest and best
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 (this also explains the decision to have the votes cast by the umpires), as the 1924 illuminated facsimile expressly states:
The VFL was the last of the three elite leagues to strike an award for league best and fairest, with the SANFL's Magarey Medal being first awarded in 1898, and the WAFL's Sandover Medal first being awarded since 1921. Over time, all three awards have migrated towards similar rules regarding voting and eligibility.
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.
Criteria for "fairest" and "best"
Voting procedure for "best" To determine the best player, the four field umpires (not the goal umpires or boundary umpires) confer after each home-and-away 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. On the awards night, the votes from each match are tallied, and the player or players with the highest number of votes is awarded the medal (subject to eligibility – see below).
The current voting system has been used for the vast majority of Brownlow Medal counts. There have been different voting systems for short periods in the past: until 1930, only one vote was cast in each game. This was changed to the current 3–2–1 system after the 1930 season saw three players tied on four votes apiece; in 1929, voting was suspended during rounds when the state team was active to avoid disadvantaging the players selected in the team, but this provision was not retained beyond 1929. in 1976, the VFL introduced a second field umpire, and both umpires individually awarded 3–2–1 votes; this voting system was abandoned in 1978, and the two (and later, three) umpires conferred to give a single set of 3–2–1 votes.
Since the rules were changed after the 1980 season, if two or more eligible players score the equal highest number of votes, each wins a Brownlow medal. Up to 1980, if two or more players were tied, a single winner was chosen on a countback: under the initial rules until 1930, the umpiring panel would be called to meet and agree upon a winner among the tied players added to the rules at some stage prior to 1930 (but without removing the previous stipulation – causing confusion in the tied 1930 count), the winner was the player who had the highest percentage of votes polled vs games played; after 1930, the winner was the player who had the most 3-vote games; then, if still tied, the most 2-vote games.
Even with these considerations, these countbacks failed to separate Des Fothergill and Herbie Matthews, who tied for the medal in 1940. The league decided to keep the original medal and award replica medals to the two winners. In 1989, the eight players who since the inception of the award had tied on votes but lost on a countback were awarded retrospective medals.
Ineligibility
The fairest component of the medal is achieved by making ineligible any player who is suspended by the AFL Tribunal during the home-and-away season. An ineligible player cannot win the Brownlow Medal, regardless of the number of votes he has received.
A player remains eligible for the Brownlow Medal under the following circumstances: if he is suspended during the finals or pre-season; if he serves a suspension in the current season which was earned for an offence committed late in the previous season; he receives any sort of club-imposed suspension which is not recognised by the AFL Tribunal; if he is found guilty by the AFL Tribunal of an offence which attracts only a financial penalty.