VFL/AFL RESERVES - MEDALLISTS
INTRODUCTION
- GARDINER MEDAL
- GORDON-DOBSON MEDAL
- MURIE CUP
GARDINER MEDAL (1926-99)
First awarded in 1926, two years after the introduction of the Brownlow Medal, the award initially followed the same voting structure as its senior counterpart; one vote to the best-on-ground player would be awarded by the field umpire in each match. With (at least) two ties for the medal in its first five seasons, this method of voting proved ineffective and the Gardiner Medal would follow the Brownlow's lead by adopting a 3-2-1 system from 1931 onwards. This format remained until the award's demise following the conclusion of the AFL reserves competition ahead of the new millennium.
A player winning the award multiple times was rare, such is the nature of the reserves competition that one was likely to be promoted to the seniors if they played well enough on a consistent basis; this also explains the comparatively lower winning vote tallies compared to the Brownlow. Only Hec Davidson (1932 & 1933), Doug Davies (1950 & 1955), Tony Liberatore (1986 & 1988) and Rod Keogh (1990 & 1993) were multiple winners. In Davidson's case, he has still never been officially recognised for either victory due to oversights in the league's historical records.
Keogh, along with Darryl Schimmelbusch and Bob Heard (tied 1977 winners), shares the record for the most votes polled in a season: 23. Essendon's Peter Filandia also polled 23 votes in the 1992 season, seven votes more than the next best, but was ineligible due to suspension. He was the only player ever to top the Gardiner Medal tally but not win the award (other than those that originally lost on a countback).
The Gardiner Medal faded into obscurity during the later years of the AFL Reserves competition and details are scarce. Hard Ball Get now brings to light a wealth of new information that has never before been seen on the internet, returning the recognition to the players who never fully received it.
YEAR |
1ST |
|
2ND |
|
3RD |
|
|
VFL
SECONDS (1926-58) |
|||||||
1926 |
Albert 'Alby' Jacobsen (SM) |
4 |
Frank Murrells (Geel) |
3 |
unknown |
- |
|
Melville L. 'Roy' James (Ess) |
|||||||
1927 |
Sam Jamison (Rich) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
unknown |
- |
|
1928 |
Jim Money (Geel) |
5 |
unknown |
- |
unknown |
- |
|
Norman 'Vince' Driver (Melb) |
|||||||
1929 |
Bob Ross (Coll) |
8 |
Edward 'Teddy' Briggs (NM) |
4 |
Arthur Cooper (SM) |
3 |
|
1930 |
Max Kelly (Geel) |
5 |
unknown |
- |
unknown |
- |
|
E. Selwyn Baker (Rich) |
|||||||
1931 |
George Franke (NM) |
22 |
Hec Davidson (Melb) |
17 |
Mick Comber (Melb) |
13 |
|
1932 |
Albert 'Dick' Logan (Haw) |
13 |
unknown |
- |
unknown |
- |
|
Hec Davidson (Melb)* |
|||||||
1933 |
Ernest 'Tich' Utting (Haw) |
15 |
unknown |
- |
unknown |
- |
|
Bill Findlay (Foots)* |
|||||||
Hec Davidson (Melb)* |
|||||||
1934 |
Richie Saunders (Rich) |
18 |
Percy Streeter (Foots) |
12 |
unknown |
- |
|
Hec Davidson (Melb) |
|||||||
Frank Gibson (Fitz) |
|||||||
1935 |
Joe Kinnear (Melb) |
18 |
Ralph Lancaster (Geel) |
16 |
Jack Aitchison (Haw) |
13 |
|
Jack Cotter (Rich) |
|||||||
1936 |
Marcus Boyall (Coll) |
21 |
Norm Honey (Rich) |
10 |
unknown |
- |
|
Stuart Stewart (Haw) |
|||||||
Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (Melb) |
|||||||
1937 |
Alec Peak (StK) |
tbd |
Harry Hickey (Foots) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
|
Albert 'Mick' Price (Carl) |
|||||||
1938 |
Bruce Calverley (Fitz) |
17 |
Ashley Foley (Geel) |
11 |
Kevin Fox (Carl) |
10 |
|
Geoff McNaughton (Melb) |
|||||||
?. Morris (SM) |
|||||||
1939 |
Noel Smith (Ess) |
15 |
Haydn Sharp (Foots) |
14 |
unknown |
- |
|
E. Joe Tucker (Geel) |
|||||||
1940 |
Albert 'Mick' Price (Carl) |
15 |
Reg Farrant (Haw) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
|
1941 |
Pat McNamara (SM) |
15 |
Danny Guinane (Rich) |
13 |
Bert Clay (Fitz) |
12 |
|
Robert 'Bob' Walker (Geel) |
|||||||
1942 |
Fred Taylor (StK) |
tbd |
Tom Ferguson (Melb) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
|
1943 |
Ernie Hart (Melb) |
11 |
Frank Cahill (Foots) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
|
1944 |
Dick Wearmouth (Foots) |
14 |
Jack Henry (Ess) |
12 |
Stan Attenborough (NM) |
11 |
|
1945 |
Harold Arthur (NM) |
tbd |
Noel Smith (Ess) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
|
1946 |
Eric 'Jack' McLeod (Foots) |
15 |
George Hams (Coll) |
10 |
unknown |
- |
|
1947 |
Pat Twomey (Coll) |
17 |
Robert 'Bob' Bradley (Ess) |
16 |
Brian Fitzgerald (Geel) |
13 |
|
Ron Boys (Carl) |
|||||||
1948 |
Joe Ryan (Foots) |
13 |
Roy McConnell (Ess) |
11 |
Harry Mears (SM) |
tbd |
|
unknown |
|||||||
1949 |
Kevin Coghlan (Coll) |
18 |
Jack Hardy (Carl) |
14 |
unknown |
- |
|
1950 |
Doug Davies (Geel) |
12 |
Kevin Coghlan (Coll) |
10 |
unknown |
- |
|
Jack O'Halloran (Ess)* |
Joe Ryan (Foots) |
||||||
1951 |
Neil Doolan (NM) |
14 |
Don Calder (Carl) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
|
Keith McIntosh (Ess) |
|||||||
Doug Davies (Geel) |
|||||||
1952 |
Leo O'Halloran (Geel) |
12 |
Joe Murphy (Fitz) |
10 |
Neville Waller (Coll) |
9 |
|
Ron Robertson (Carl) |
|||||||
Jim Rattray (Haw) |
|||||||
Fred Goldsmith (SM) |
|||||||
1953 |
Col Austen (Rich) |
14 |
Jim Carstairs (Ess) |
10 |
unknown |
- |
|
Brian 'Barney' Jones (Carl) |
|||||||
1954 |
Neil Pearson (Haw) |
16 |
Ken Albiston (Melb) |
12 |
unknown |
- |
|
1955 |
Doug Davies (Geel) |
15 |
Ivan Baumgartner (Melb) |
13 |
Jim McColl (Ess) |
11 |
|
1956 |
Graham Kerr (Melb) |
22 |
Don Howell (Coll) |
tbd |
Howard Hawking (Geel) |
tbd |
|
1957 |
Les Pridham (Ess) |
13 |
Bob Watt (StK) |
10 |
unknown |
- |
|
Ben Crameri (Melb) |
|||||||
Bobby Clark (Foots) |
|||||||
1958 |
John Fisher (Haw) Chris
Pavlou (Carl)* |
10 |
Garry Young (Haw) |
9 |
Graham Fellowes (Coll) |
8 |
|
Ken Bennett (Coll) |
|||||||
Brian Gilmore (Foots) |
|||||||
VFL
RESERVES (1959-89) |
|||||||
1959 |
William 'Bill' Shelton (Haw) |
16 |
Ken Peucker (Ess) |
14 |
Chris Pavlou (Carl) |
13 |
|
1960 |
Neil Trezise (Geel) |
20 |
Ron O’Dwyer (Coll) |
14 |
unknown |
- |
|
1961 |
Jock O'Brien (NM) |
12 |
Bruce McMaster-Smith (Fitz) |
10 |
Graeme Wilkinson (Rich) |
9 |
|
1962 |
Jim Gutterson (Foots) |
13 |
Dennis Jones (Melb) |
11 |
unknown |
- |
|
1963 |
Wally Clark (Fitz) |
19 |
William 'Bill' Ryan (Geel) |
18 |
Bob Andrews (NM) |
15 |
|
1964 |
Gary Arnold (Rich) |
20 |
Bruce McMaster-Smith (Carl) |
17 |
Noel Raitt (Ess) |
11 |
|
Frank Johnson (Foots) |
|||||||
1965 |
Kevin Jackman (Foots) |
13 |
Paul Wadham (Coll) |
12 |
Kevin Egan (Ess) |
11 |
|
Darryl Herrod (Geel) |
|||||||
1966 |
Darryl Herrod (Geel) |
19 |
Ken Mann (StK) |
13 |
David Rogers (NM) |
11 |
|
Glen Parker (SM) |
|||||||
1967 |
Ricky Graham (Geel) |
13 |
Edward 'Ted' Hopkins (Carl) |
11 |
Darryl Herrod (Geel) |
9 |
|
Ray Slocum (Fitz) |
|||||||
Ross Warner (Rich) |
|||||||
Bruce Reid (Haw) |
|||||||
Geoff Cayzer (StK) |
|||||||
Kevin Billing (StK) |
|||||||
1968 |
Phil Rhoden (Melb) |
17 |
Ian 'Bluey' Hampshire (Geel) |
14 |
Bruce Waite (Ess) |
13 |
|
Derek King (StK) |
|||||||
Kevin Billing (StK) |
|||||||
1969 |
Ken Emselle (Melb) |
20 |
Greg Brown (Ess) |
13 |
unknown |
- |
|
1970 |
Mike Redenbach (NM) |
16 |
Sid Catlin (SM) |
13 |
Treva McGregor (Fitz) |
11 |
|
Paul Callery (Melb)* |
George McInnes (Rich) |
||||||
1971 |
Bruce Brown (Melb) |
12 |
Robert 'Bob' Heard (Coll) |
11 |
Cec Rheinberger (Fitz) |
10 |
|
Ray Carr (Melb) |
|||||||
Shane Grambeau (StK) |
|||||||
Len Halley (Ess) |
|||||||
1972 |
Mike Pokrovsky (Foots) |
14 |
Charlie Payne (Ess) |
13 |
John Warden (Carl) |
12 |
|
Peter Cloke (Rich) |
|||||||
1973 |
Vin Catoggio (Carl) |
21 |
Trevor O’Hoy (StK) |
13 |
unknown |
- |
|
1974 |
Stephen Clifford (Coll) |
14 |
Vin Catoggio (Carl) |
12 |
Stephen Taubert (Rich) |
11 |
|
Lance Taylor (StK) |
|||||||
Colin Morse (Coll) |
|||||||
1975 |
Neil Chamberlain (Melb) |
18 |
Gerry Lynn (Haw) |
15 |
Neville Roberts (Rich) |
14 |
|
1976 |
Alan Mangels (Carl) |
16 |
Glenn Gingell (Foots) |
15 |
Greg Lambert (SM) |
14 |
|
1977 |
Darryl Schimmelbusch (NM) |
23 |
Peter Munro (Foots) |
22 |
Murray Batt (Coll) |
21 |
|
Robert 'Bob' Heard (Rich)* |
Jeff Gieschen (Foots) |
||||||
1978 |
Alan Goad (Haw) |
22 |
Jeff Geischen (Foots) |
15 |
Robert 'Bob' Heard (Rich) |
14 |
|
Michael Roach (Rich) |
|||||||
1979 |
Colin Boyd (Ess) |
13 |
Brian Wilson (Foots) |
12 |
Peter Johnston (Geel) |
11 |
|
1980 |
Bill Valli (Ess) |
14 |
Justin Madden (Ess) |
12 |
unknown |
- |
|
Trevor Laughlin (Rich) |
|||||||
Kevin Sheehan (Geel) |
|||||||
1981 |
Daryl Vernon (Rich) |
17 |
Peter Keays (Fitz) |
15 |
unknown |
- |
|
Malcolm Reed (Geel)* |
|||||||
1982 |
Roger Merrett (Ess) |
17 |
Bernie Conlen (Swans) |
13 |
Mario Turco (NM) |
12 |
|
1983 |
John Taylor (Foots) |
19 |
Scott Wade (Haw) |
18 |
Doug Smith (NM) |
14 |
|
1984 |
Jim Stephenson (Foots) |
21 |
Adrian Battiston (Melb) |
15 |
Rod Waddell (Geel) |
13 |
|
Anthony Patraglia (NM) |
|||||||
1985 |
Greg Dear (Haw) James
Bennett (Haw) |
15 |
Alex Marcou (Carl) |
14 |
Brad Shine (Carl) |
10 |
|
Neil Gaghan (Carl) |
|||||||
Mil Hanna (Carl) |
|||||||
Ray Sarcevic (Geel) |
|||||||
Daryl Cunningham (StK) |
|||||||
John Favier (Syd) |
|||||||
1986 |
Tony Liberatore (Foots) |
21 |
Peter Banfield (Ess) |
20 |
Neil Cordy (Foots) |
14 |
|
Anthony McTavish (NM) |
|||||||
1987 |
Brad Gotch (StK) |
17 |
James Bennett (Haw) |
13 |
unknown |
- |
|
Simon Atkins (Foots) |
|||||||
1988 |
Tony Liberatore (Foots) |
19 |
Paul Dear (Haw) |
17 |
Mark Cullen (Foots) |
11 |
|
Leon Higgins (Syd) |
|||||||
1989 |
Michael Kol (Geel) |
18 |
John Mrakov (Coll) |
16 |
Tony Liberatore (Foots) |
15 |
|
AFL
RESERVES (1990-91) |
|||||||
1990 |
Rod Keogh (Melb) |
13 |
Luke Beveridge (Melb) |
12 |
Mark Cullen (Foots) |
11 |
|
Paul Hudson (Haw) |
|||||||
1991 |
Stephen Anderson (Coll) |
22 |
Murray Wrensted (Coll) |
13 |
Colin Alexander (Coll) |
12 |
|
|
|||||||
VICTORIAN
STATE FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1992-94) |
|||||||
1992 |
|
23 |
Michael Gallagher (NM) |
14 |
Joe Cormack (Fitz) |
12 |
|
Mick Dwyer (StK) |
16 |
Tony Malakellis (Geel) |
Steven Alessio (Ess) |
||||
1993 |
Rod Keogh (Melb) |
23 |
Tim Powell (Carl) |
18 |
Ilija Grgic (Foots) |
16 |
|
1994 |
David Bain (Fitz) |
17 |
Glen Nugent (Haw) |
14 |
Peter Somerville (Ess) |
13 |
|
Troy Polak (NM) |
Brad Sholl (NM) |
||||||
AFL
RESERVES (1995-99) |
|||||||
1995 |
Simon Crawshay (Haw) |
19 |
Troy Luff (Syd) |
17 |
unknown |
- |
|
Alastair Clarkson (NM) |
|||||||
1996 |
Trent Nichols (NM) |
tbd |
unknown |
- |
unknown |
- |
|
1997 |
Brad Lloyd (Haw) |
18 |
Clinton King (Syd) |
17 |
unknown |
- |
|
Adrian Gleeson (Carl) |
|||||||
1998 |
Simon Arnott (Syd) |
16 |
Simon Minton-Connell (WB) |
14 |
unknown |
- |
|
Darren Kowal (Melb) |
|||||||
Peter Walsh (Melb) |
|||||||
1999 |
Daniel Healy (StK) |
tbd |
Ben Moore (Rich) |
tbd |
Jason Torney (Rich) |
tbd |
|
Matthew Collins (Melb) |
|||||||
Since
2000 the AFL Reserves teams have played in the VFA-VFL competition - players
are eligible for the J.J. Liston Trophy |
RETROSPECTIVE MEDALS
In 1981 Malcolm Reed (Geelong) lost under this system to Darryl Vernon (Richmond). The countback system had been scrapped for the Brownlow Medal in the weeks prior, so the VFL decided to apply the same amendment to the Gardiner and Morrish Medal voting, bringing Best & Fairest voting in all three grades into line. As a result, Reed retrospectively received his Gardiner Medal a week after the count.
In 1985 Hawthorn's Greg Dear tied with teammate James Bennett on 15 votes. Had the pre-1981 system still been in use, Dear (4 best on grounds) would have won the medal and Bennett (2 best on grounds) would have lost on countback.
In 1992 the AFL announced retrospective medals would be presented to all players who originally tallied the same number of votes as the winner but lost on a countback. The following players received their retrospective Gardiner Medals in April, 1992:
1970 - Paul Callery (Melbourne)
1977 - Bob Heard (Richmond)*
1932 - Hec Davidson (Melbourne)
1933 - Bill Findlay (Footscray)
1933 - Hec Davidson (Melbourne)
1958 - Chris Pavlou (Carlton)
Albert Logan (Hawthorn) and Hec Davidson (Melbourne) tied on 13 votes but Logan won on countback on account of playing only 10 reserves games for the year, while Davidson “only missed four”.
In 1933, Findlay and Davidson tied with Hawthorn's Ernest 'Tich' Utting on 15 votes but Utting received the Gardiner Medal because he had four 1st votes compared to Findlay's three and Davidson's one.
John Fisher (Hawthorn) and Chris Pavlou (Carlton) finished equal on 10 votes, but Fisher received the Gardiner Medal because he had three 1st votes compared to Pavlou's two.
GARDINER MEDALLISTS BY CLUB
It was actually for 1977 when he was playing for Richmond - please refer to the Discrepancies section at the base of this page for more info.
SEASON |
MEDALLIST |
NOTES |
CARLTON |
||
1940 |
Albert 'Mick' Price |
|
1958 |
Chris Pavlou* |
*lost on countback,
retrospective medal yet to be awarded |
1973 |
Vin Catoggio |
|
1976 |
Alan Mangels |
|
COLLINGWOOD |
||
1929 |
Bob Ross |
|
1936 |
Marcus Boyall |
|
1947 |
Pat Twomey |
|
1949 |
Kevin Coghlan |
|
1974 |
Stephen Clifford |
|
1991 |
Stephen Anderson |
|
ESSENDON |
||
1926 |
Melville L. 'Roy' James |
|
1939 |
Noel Smith |
|
1950 |
Jack O'Halloran* |
*awarded retrospectively in 1992 |
1957 |
Les Pridham |
|
1979 |
Colin Boyd |
|
1980 |
Bill Valli |
|
1982 |
Roger Merrett |
|
1992 |
|
Ineligible due to suspension, he
would have won by 7 votes |
FITZROY LIONS |
||
1938 |
Bruce Calverley |
|
1963 |
Wally Clark |
|
1994 |
David Bain |
|
FOOTSCRAY
BULLDOGS |
||
1933 |
Bill Findlay* |
*lost on countback,
retrospective medal yet to be awarded |
1944 |
Dick Wearmouth |
|
1946 |
Eric 'Jack' McLeod |
|
1948 |
Joe Ryan |
|
1962 |
Jim Gutterson |
|
1965 |
Kevin Jackman |
|
1972 |
Mike Pokrovsky |
|
1983 |
John Taylor |
|
1984 |
Jim Stephenson |
|
1986 |
Tony Liberatore |
|
1988 |
Tony Liberatore |
|
GEELONG |
||
1928 |
Jim Money |
|
1930 |
Max Kelly |
|
1950 |
Doug Davies |
|
1952 |
Leo O'Halloran |
|
1955 |
Doug Davies |
|
1960 |
Neil Trezise |
|
1966 |
Darryl Herrod |
|
1967 |
Ricky Graham |
|
1981 |
Malcolm Reed* |
*medal awarded a week after the
count (originally lost on countback) |
1989 |
Michael Kol |
|
HAWTHORN |
||
1932 |
Albert 'Dick' Logan |
|
1933 |
Ernest 'Tich'
Utting |
|
1954 |
Neil Pearson |
|
1958 |
John Fisher |
|
1959 |
William 'Bill' Shelton |
|
1978 |
Alan Goad |
|
1985 |
Greg Dear |
Dear and Bennett tied for the
medal. Under the pre-1981 |
James Bennett |
||
1995 |
Simon Crawshay |
|
1997 |
Brad Lloyd |
|
MELBOURNE |
||
1928 |
Norman 'Vince' Driver |
|
1932 |
Hec Davidson* |
*lost on countback,
retrospective medal yet to be awarded |
1933 |
Hec Davidson* |
*lost on countback,
retrospective medal yet to be awarded |
1935 |
Joe Kinnear |
|
1943 |
Ernie Hart |
|
1956 |
Graham Kerr |
|
1968 |
Phil Rhoden |
|
1969 |
Ken Emselle |
|
1970 |
Paul Callery* |
*awarded retrospectively in 1992 |
1971 |
Bruce Brown |
|
1975 |
Neil Chamberlain |
|
1990 |
Rod Keogh |
|
1993 |
Rod Keogh |
|
NORTH
MELBOURNE |
||
1931 |
George Franke |
|
1945 |
Harold Arthur |
|
1951 |
Neil Doolan |
|
1961 |
Jock O'Brien |
|
1970 |
Mike Redenbach |
|
1977 |
Darryl Schimmelbusch |
|
1996 |
Trent Nichols |
|
RICHMOND |
||
1927 |
Sam Jamison |
|
1930 |
Selwyn Baker |
|
1934 |
Richie Saunders |
|
1953 |
Col Austen |
|
1964 |
Gary Arnold |
|
1977 |
Robert 'Bob' Heard* |
*awarded retrospectively in 1992 |
1981 |
Daryl Vernon |
|
SOUTH
MELBOURNE / SYDNEY SWANS |
||
1926 |
Albert 'Alby'
Jacobsen |
|
1941 |
Pat McNamara |
|
1998 |
Simon Arnott |
|
ST
KILDA |
||
1937 |
Alec Peak |
|
1942 |
Fred Taylor |
|
1987 |
Brad Gotch |
|
1992 |
Mick Dwyer |
|
1999 |
Daniel Healy |
|
MULTIPLE WINNERS
The following players have won multiple Gardiner Medals (but only three of them have received their due).
MEDALS |
WINNER |
CLUB |
SEASONS |
NOTES |
|
2 |
Hec Davidson* |
Melbourne |
1932*, 1933* |
Finished equal first in 1932-33 but
lost on a countback both years. |
|
Doug Davies |
Geelong |
1950, 1955 |
Also finished 2nd in 1951 |
||
Tony Liberatore |
Footscray |
1986, 1988 |
Also finished 3rd in the Gardiner
Medal in 1989. |
||
Rod Keogh |
Melbourne |
1990, 1993 |
- |
GARDINER MEDAL + BROWNLOW AND/OR MORRISH
PLAYER |
CLUB |
SEASONS |
MEDAL
WON |
Col Austen |
Hawthorn |
1949 |
Brownlow (Seniors) |
Richmond |
1953 |
Gardiner |
|
Paul Callery |
Melbourne |
1968 |
Morrish (U'19s) |
1970 |
Gardiner |
||
Vin Catoggio |
Carlton |
1972 |
Morrish (U'19s) |
1973 |
Gardiner |
||
Tony Liberatore |
Footscray |
1984 |
Morrish (U'19s) |
1986 |
Gardiner |
||
1988 |
Gardiner |
||
1990 |
Brownlow (Seniors) |
GORDON-DOBSON MEDAL (1931-38)
The medal was donated each season by J. N. Gordon and G. Dobson, who were joint vice-presidents of the League Seconds from 1927 to 1938.
YEAR |
WINNER |
VOTES |
GAP
TO 1ST |
1926-30 |
not awarded |
- |
- |
1931 |
Hec Davidson (Melb) |
17 |
-5 |
1932 |
Hec Davidson (Melb) |
13 |
countback |
1933 |
Bill Findlay (Foots) |
15 |
countback |
Hec Davidson (Melb) |
|||
1934 |
Percy Streeter (Foots) |
12 |
-6 |
Hec Davidson (Melb) |
12 |
-6 |
|
Frank Gibson (Fitz) |
|||
1935 |
Ralph Lancaster (Geel) |
16 |
-2 |
1936 |
Norm Honey (Rich) |
10 |
-11 |
Stuart Stewart (Haw) |
10 |
-11 |
|
Keith 'Bluey'
Truscott (Melb) |
|||
1937 |
Harry Hickey (Foots) |
tbd |
tbd |
Albert 'Mick' Price (Carl) |
|||
1938 |
Ashley Foley (Geel) |
11 |
-6 |
1936 - Norm Honey (Richmond), Keith 'Bluey' Truscott (Melbourne) and Stuart Stewart (Hawthorn) tied for 2nd but the medal was awarded to Honey on a countback.
MURIE MEDAL / MURIE CUP
1939-1969
Note that between 1939 and 1941 there are numerous reports of this new award being the Murie Medal. The awarding of a cup is confirmed from 1942 onwards.
YEAR |
WINNER |
VOTES |
GAP
TO 1ST |
1939 |
Haydn Sharp (Foots) |
14 |
-1 |
E. 'Joe' Tucker (Geel) |
|||
1940 |
Reg Farrant (Haw) |
tbd |
tbd |
1941 |
Danny Guinane
(Rich) |
13 |
-2 |
1942 |
Tom Ferguson (Melb) |
tbd |
tbd |
1943 |
Frank Cahill (Foots) |
tbd |
tbd |
1944 |
Jack Henry (Ess) |
12 |
-2 |
1945 |
Noel Smith (Ess) |
tbd |
tbd |
1946 |
George Hams (Coll) |
10 |
-5 |
1947 |
Robert 'Bob' Bradley (Ess) |
16 |
-1 |
1948 |
Roy McConnell (Ess) |
11 |
-2 |
1949 |
Jack Hardy (Carl) |
14 |
-4 |
1950 |
Jack O'Halloran (Ess) |
12 |
countback |
1951 |
Don Calder (Carl) |
tbd |
tbd |
Keith McIntosh (Ess) |
|||
Doug Davies (Geel) |
|||
1952 |
Joe Murphy (Fitz) |
10 |
-2 |
1953 |
Jim Carstairs
(Ess) |
10 |
-4 |
Brian 'Barney' Jones (Carl) |
|||
1954 |
Ken Albiston
(Melb) |
12 |
-4 |
1955 |
Ivan Baumgartner (Melb) |
13 |
-2 |
1956 |
Don Howell (Coll) |
tbd |
tbd |
1957 |
Bob Watt (StK) |
10 |
-3 |
Ben Crameri
(Melb) |
|||
Bobby Clark (Foots) |
|||
1958 |
Chris Pavlou
(Carl) |
10 |
countback |
1959 |
Ken Peucker
(Ess) |
14 |
-2 |
1960 |
Ron O’Dwyer
(Coll) |
14 |
-6 |
1961 |
Bruce McMaster-Smith (Fitz) |
10 |
-2 |
1962 |
Dennis Jones (Melb) |
11 |
-2 |
1963 |
William 'Bill' Ryan (Geel) |
18 |
-1 |
1964 |
Bruce McMaster-Smith (Carl) |
17 |
-3 |
1965 |
Paul Wadham (Coll) |
12 |
-1 |
1966 |
Ken Mann (StK) |
13 |
-6 |
1967 |
Edward 'Ted' Hopkins (Carl) |
11 |
-2 |
1968 |
Ian 'Bluey'
Hampshire (Geel) |
14 |
-3 |
1969 |
Greg Brown (Ess) |
13 |
-7 |
1970-1978
The Murie Cup may have continued beyond 1978 (it was still alluded to as a seemingly current award as a crossword answer in the
Round 15, 1979 Football Record), but no further mention of it appears in later editions of the Football Record or VFL Yearbooks.
YEAR |
WINNER |
VOTES |
BROWNLOW |
GARDINER |
MORRISH |
1970 |
Paul Callery (Melb) |
19 |
3 |
16 |
- |
1971 |
Russell Jenkinson (Rich) |
13 |
- |
tbd |
tbd |
1972 |
Garry Crane (Carl) |
13 |
3 |
10 |
- |
1973 |
Jeff Holdsworth
(Rich) |
tbd |
- |
tbd |
19 |
1974 |
Garry Crane (Carl) |
tbd |
8 |
tbd |
- |
1975 |
Neville Roberts (Rich) |
17 |
3 |
14 |
- |
1976 |
Barry Round (SM) |
27 |
17 |
10 |
- |
1977 |
Terry Moore (NM) |
27 |
10 |
17 |
- |
1978 |
Kevin Higgins (Geel) |
tbd |
12 |
tbd |
- |
DISCREPANCIES IN CONTEMPORARY SOURCES & OFFICIAL RECORDS
- Football Record (1926 1st Semi Final edition, p.24) - "The medal given by Mr. F.W. Gardiner... has been awarded to Jacobsen of South Melbourne".
- The Argus (15-9-1926) - "JACOBSEN BEST AND FAIREST PLAYER: The Gardiner Medal... was won by Jacobsen, of the South Melbourne seconds".
- The Age (16-9-1926) - "The Gardiner Medal... was won by A. Jacobson [sic], of South Melbourne".
- Geelong Advertiser (16-9-1926) - "The winner this year was Jacobsen, of South Melbourne, who secured four votes. F. Murrells, the Geelong forward and wing player, received three votes".
- Record - Emerald Hill (18-9-1926) - "The Gardiner Medal... has been awarded to A. Jacobsen of South Melbourne."
- Referee - Sydney (22-9-1926) - "A. Jacobsen (South Melbourne) has won the Gardiner Medal."
The sole reference to James we have found is an article from the following pre-season that covers the League Seconds' annual meeting:
- The Herald (19-3-1927, p.12) - "A. Jacobsen (South Melbourne) and R. James (Essendon) won medals awarded by the umpires votes to the best and fairest players".
1927 - Jamison was incorrectly referred to as “F. Jamieson” in newspaper reports of the time and the AFL's website continues to list him as Jamieson.
1928 - Driver was also known by “Vince” although that name was not used in any media reports relating to the win. One report incorrectly refers to Driver as a dual winner of the Gardiner Medal.
1929 - There were some discrepancies in published vote tallies. The Argus and The Age reported Ross with 8 votes and Cooper with 3 votes, while The Football Record had Ross on 9 votes with Cooper tying for second on 4 votes. The Football Record only mentions Ross as winner and Briggs as runner-up, hence these are the votes used here. Briggs was incorrectly named as “A. Briggs” in newspaper reports and was usually known as “Edward 'Teddy' Briggs”.
1931 - Franke was incorrectly referred to as “A. Franke” in some media reports and subsequent honour rolls. His actual name was George Allan Lewis Franke (source: his grandaughter).
1932 - Logan is shown as "A. Logan" in VFL-AFL lists and was usually referred to as “R. Logan” or “A. Logan” in news reports. The Football Record (1932 1st Semi-Final edition, p.22) confirms his name was actually Richard 'Dick' Logan.
1936 - Boyall’s 21 votes were supposedly a new record for the most polled in one season, but research shows that 1931 winner George Franke polled 22 votes. Three players tied for the runners-up award, the Gordon-Dobson Medal. It was awarded to Norm Honey on a countback referred to as “preferential voting". Honey was also named incorrectly in some sources as “H. Honey”.
1937 - Peak is shown as "Peake" in VFL-AFL lists and is even referred to as “A. Peat” in one newspaper report! The Argus (1-9-1937) and The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers have the correct spelling of Peak.
1939 - 'Joe' Tucker tied for second and is nearly always referred to in news reports as “E. Tucker”. An article from The Age in 1939 confirms his first name started with the letter "E" but he went by the preferred name of "Joe".
1941 - Robert 'Bob' Walker was often referred to as “R. Walker”.
1942 - Fred Taylor is still shown as "K. Taylor" in VFL-AFL lists: the Football Record (1942 1st Semi Final edition, p.17) incorrectly names him "A. Taylor". The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers confirms his name was Fred.
1944 - Richard 'Dick' Wearmouth was usually referred to as “R. Weymouth” in Football Record reports and some subsequent honour rolls. However, the 1960s VFL Reserves annual reports incorrectly name him"E. Wearmouth". The AFL website today lists him as "R. Wearmouth".
1945 - the 1968 VFL 2nds Annual Report incorrectly lists Harold Arthur as "W. Arthur". The AFL website today correctly refers to him again as "H. Arthur".
1946 - Eric McLeod was also known as “Jack”, so was often referred to in news reports as “J. McLeod”. The AFL website refers to him as "J.McLeod".
1947 - Murie Cup winner Robert 'Bob' Bradley is referred to in various sources as either "R. Bradley" or "B. Bradley".
1948 - Murie Cup winner Roy McConnell is incorrectly referred to in the 1968 VFL 2nds Annual Report as "J.McConnell".
1950 - Jack O'Halloran (Essendon) originally lost on a countback in 1950 but later received a retrospective medal in 1992. The table in the AFL Media/Stats Guide correctly shows him as a joint winner for 1950 but the table on the AFL website shows him as winning in 1951...
The 1950 Preliminary Final Football Record published a list of previous Gardiner Medal winners in response to readers’ requests. Its list of inaccuracies are quite remarkable but it was the publication of this list that helped perpetuate many of the ‘myths’ that persist in official records despite the advent of Trove and other online resources that make it possible for this to be cross-checked.
The list of inaccuracies is as follows: 1927 – “S. Jamison” spelt incorrectly as “Jamieson”; 1931 – winner listed as “A. Logan” when it should be “G. Franke”; 1932 – winner listed as “A. Franke” when it should be “A. (Dick) Logan”; 1937 – “A. Peak” spelt incorrectly as “Peake”; 1942 – winner listed as “K. Taylor” when it should be “F. Taylor”; 1944 – winner listed as “E. Weymouth” when it should be “R. Wearmouth”; 1945 – winner listed as “W. Arthur” when it should be “H. Arthur”.
1951 - The Football Record's Gardiner Medal report incorrectly refers to second-place getter Keith McIntosh as “Neil McIntosh”.
1952 - The infamous list of previous winners got another run in the 1952 Preliminary Final Football Record and apart from the correction of Dick Wearmouth’s surname, everything else that was inaccurate the first time around, remained that way.
1953 - The Preliminary Final Football Record again published the list of previous winners with no change from the 1952 iteration, save for the addition of the latest winner, Col Austen.
1954 - The semi-final Football Record published the same list of winners from 1952 (including the most recent winners), but strangely omitted all results before 1929.
1957 - Footscray's Bobby Clark finished in a tie for second. The Football Record report misspells his surname as “Clarke”.
1958 - Garry Young of Hawthorn was awarded the Murie Cup as runner-up. His first name was misspelled as “Gary” in a Football Record report. The list of winners returned once again, this time reinstating the winners from 1926 to 1928 and including a full tally of winners. However, all previous errors remained from the last iteration of the list.
1959 - William 'Bill' Shelton won the Gardiner Medal. Some sources list him as "W. Shelton", others as "B. Shelton".
1962 - Murie Cup winner Dennis Jones was incorrectly referred to as “Denis Jones” in some Football Record reports.
1963 - William 'Bill' Ryan won the Murie Cup. Some sources list him as "W. Ryan", others as "B. Ryan".
1967 - Edward 'Ted' Hopkins won the Murie Cup. Some sources list him as "E. Hopkins", others as "T. Hopkins".
1973 - the 1973 Grand Final Football Record featured an interesting and unsurprisingly inaccurate list of notable past Gardiner Medal and Murie Cup winners:
- For 1939 the winner Noel Smith (Essendon) is incorrectly named as Norm Smith (Melbourne).
- For 1943 the winner Ernie Hart (Fitzroy), is incorrectly named as “Eddie Hart”.
- Noel Smith again gets forgotten when it is suggested once again that the Melbourne great, Norm Smith won the 1945 Murie Cup.
- Finally, 1958 runner-up and Murie Cup winner Chris Pavlou is named as “Con Pavlou”, who was in fact Chris’ older brother.
BOB HEARD - 1971 or 1977?
- 1971 - Heard (Collingwood) finished second, a vote behind the winner (Football Record, 1971 First Semi-Final edition, p.23).
- 1977 - Heard (now playing for Richmond) finished equal with Darryl Schimmelbusch but lost on a countback (Football Record, 1977 EF/QF edition, p.29)
- 1992 - he received a retrospective Gardiner Medal for the 1977 loss on countback.
Somehow this information has become twisted into Heard (Collingwood) receiving a retrospective medal for 1971...
- The AFL Media/Stats guide says that Heard (Richmond) was awarded a retrospective medal after losing on countback in 1971.
- The AFL website says that Heard (Collingwood) was awarded a retrospective medal after losing on countback in 1971.
This has led to Collingwood's records showing 7 Gardiner Medallists instead of six, and Richmond with 6 instead of seven.
A week after the vote count he was announced as a joint winner when VFL directors decided to bring the Gardiner and Morrish Medals into line with the Brownlow, which had no countbacks from 1981 onwards (The Age 10-9-1981). The AFL sources make no mention of this or of Reed receiving a retrospective medal a week after the countback.
1983 - The 1983 qualifying final Football Record originally reported Footscray’s Andrew Taylor as the winner. This was corrected in the following week’s edition when it was confirmed it was actually John Taylor, also of Footscray, who won the award. Newspaper reports backed up John Taylor’s victory.
1984 - Footscray's Jim Stephenson wins the Gardiner Medal. However, VFL-AFL lists: the Football Record (1984 April 21/23 edition, p.33) and The Age (4-9-1984) continually refer to him as "Stevenson".
A new ‘winners list’ was published in the 1984 Football Record for the first time in many years, this time only going back to 1960. Interestingly, joint winner in 1981 Malcolm Reed was not included on the list.
1991 - A new winners list is included in finals editions of the Football Record, starting from the 1978 winner. This list does include Malcolm Reed as 1981 co-winner, but later lists continue to omit him.
1992 - Essendon's Peter Filandia was a runaway winner but was ruled ineligible due to “a suspension during the season”. The only ineligible player to have "won" the Gardiner Medal in the award's history. No mention is made of this in any subsequent winners lists and this important detail appears to have been lost in time.
Written/researched by Matt Gibbs and David Eastman
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First published: 26/10/2019
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