Charles "Chas" Brownlow (25 July 1861 – 23 January 1924) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

administrator in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL), known for his forty-year association with the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

. The

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

is named in his honour.

Early life

He was born in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, Victoria, and went to

The Geelong College , motto_translation = Thus one goes to the stars , established = , type = Independent, co-educational, day and boarding, Christian school , denomination = in association with the Uniting ...

for his schooling.

Football career

Brownlow played football with the

in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFA), before the formation of the VFL, beginning his career in

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

and playing regularly until

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...

, with occasional games thereafter. He captained the club in

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

, leading it to a premiership in that season. Following his playing career, Brownlow spent many years as an administrator. He was the Geelong Football Club secretary from 1885 to 1923, a year before his death. He served as Geelong's delegate on the

board from 1902 until 1922, and in that capacity as the VFL's vice-president and delegate to the

Australasian Football Council The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...

from 1911 until 1916, and as chairman of the permit and umpires committee from 1911 until 1922. In addition to this, he was caretaker president of the VFL in 1918 and 1919. He became president of the Australasian Football Council in 1919, and served in that position until his death. Brownlow married Matilda Jane Barber, and they had four children: Daisy, Ruby, Elsie, and Charles Junior. He primarily earned his living as a watchmaker, operating a store in Geelong.

Brownlow Medal

He is known for having the

named in his honour. It was first awarded in 1924, the season immediately following his death, and is still awarded in today's

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

to the player judged by

umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

to be the

fairest and best In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

player throughout the year. The Medal is engraved: "Chas Brownlow Trophy".

Honours

In 1997, Brownlow was inducted as an administrator into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

Other

Brownlow was also secretary of the

Geelong Cricket Association The Geelong Cricket Association is the main cricket organisation in the Geelong area. It is affiliate with Cricket Victoria Cricket Victoria (CV) is the governing body for the sport of cricket in the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed ...

from 1896/97 to 1912/13, and treasurer from 1899/1900 to 1912/13.

References

External links

Details of Charles Brownlow's career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brownlow, Charles Geelong Football Club (VFA) players 1924 deaths 1861 births Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees VFL/AFL administrators Geelong Football Club administrators People educated at Geelong College Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Brownlow family