Australian Rules Football
AFL Brownlow Medal
The Brownlow Medal (official title: Charles Brownlow Trophy) is awarded to the 'fairest and best' player in the AFL during the regular season (i.e. does not include finals matches). The Medal was named after Charles Brownlow, a Geelong player and long-serving administrator from the early days of the VFL (Victorian Football League).
For the first 10 years that the Medal was awarded, the votes were decided by the media. The voting is currently decided upon by the field umpires. There have been a couple of different voting systems. From 1924-1930 only one vote was awarded per game. From 1931 to the present, there are six votes awarded per game: 3, 2 and 1 for the top three players. However, in 1976 and 77 there were 12 votes per game: 3, 2 and 1 from each of the two field umpires.
Players who are suspended at some time during the season are ineligible for the award, though their votes are still counted. There have been several occasions where a suspended player has scored the highest number of votes - Corey McKernan of North Melbourne in 1996 and Chris Grant of Western Bulldogs in 1997.
The first winner, in 1924, was Edward Greeves of Geelong.
