For the biography award of the same name, see Magarey Medal for biography. For a list of winners, see List of Magarey Medallists.
The Magarey Medal is an
Australian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the
South Australian National Football LeagueThe South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
(SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by William Ashley Magarey, then chairman of the league.
After each match, the three field umpires (those umpires who control the flow of the game) confer and award 3, 2 and 1 points to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best during the match. Players suspended for a reportable offence during the season are ineligible to win the award.
History
William Magarey was born in
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
,
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. A lawyer by vocation, he had an enduring interest in sports, although he did not play football. He was, however, an active sports administrator who, in 1897, became the inaugeral Chairman of the South Australian Football Association (later renamed the SANFL). The sport at that time was known for often rough play, and Magarey wanted to help combat this, and help gain more respect for umpires.
In 1898 Magarey presented the first Medal to South Australia’s "fairest and most brilliant player" of that season. Similar
Best and FairestBest and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
player awards followed in other state-based competitions, notably the
Sandover MedalThe Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League...
in
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
from 1921 and
Brownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
in Victoria from 1924.
The Magarey Medal has been awarded in every year of SANFL competition since 1898, with the exception of 1900, 1904 (no record being extant), when the competition was suspended due to war 1916-1918, and when a restricted competition was held during the war period of 1942-1944.
In the 1990s the awarding of the medal was changed so that players tied on the most number of votes would share the medal. Prior to this, a "countback" system was used, whereby the player with the most "best on ground" performances would be awarded the medal. In 1998, ten players who had finished runner-up over prior years owing to the countback rule were retrospectively awarded the Magarey Medal.
Recipients
The first recipient of the Magarey Medal was
Norwood’sNorwood Football Club, nicknamed, Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club belonging to the South Australian National Football League in the state of South Australia...
Alby GreenAlbert 'Alby' Green was an Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood in the SAFA and first-class cricketer who played for South Australia....
in 1898. The following players have been multiple recipients of the medal.
| Years | Player | Team |
| Quadruple winners |
| 1971, 1974, 1976, 1980 |
R F Ebert Russell Ebert is acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the long history of Australian rules football.Born in Berri, South Australia, Ebert debuted for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League as an 18 year old in 1968 and immediately made an...
|
Port Adelaide |
| Triple winners |
| 1902, 1905, 1906 |
T D MacKenzie Tom D. MacKenzie was an Australian rules footballer in the South Australian Football Association /South Australian Football League ....
|
West Torrens / North Adelaide |
| 1921, 1924, 1930 |
W Scott Walter "Wacka" or "Wat" Scott was a former Australian rules footballer in the South Australian National Football League in the early 20th century...
|
Norwood |
| 1919, 1920, 1921 |
D Moriarty |
South Adelaide |
| 1952, 1954, 1959 |
L C Fitzgerald Len Fitzgerald was a former Australian rules footballer of exceptional talent in the VFL and SANFL. At various time he played in the key positions of centre half-forward, centre half-back and ruck-rover.- VFL career :...
|
Sturt |
| 1955, 1958, 1963 |
L H Head Lindsay Hudson Head MBE is a former Australian rules footballer in the South Australian National Football League . His consummate skills were acknowledged by being awarded three Magarey Medals during his career.- SANFL :...
|
West Torrens |
| 1968, 1970, 1973 |
B C Robran Barrie Charles Robran MBE is a former Australian rules footballer in the South Australian National Football League , widely acknowledged as a champion in his sport....
|
North Adelaide |
| 2007, 2010, 2011 |
J Allan |
North Adelaide |
| Dual winners |
| 1910, 1915 |
S Hosking Sampson 'Shine' Hosking was an Australian rules footballer who played with and coached Port Adelaide in the SAFL.Sampson started his league career in 1907 with Port Adelaide and by the time he retired in 1921 he had played 161 games and was a dual Magarey Medalist...
|
Port Adelaide |
| 1926, 1927 |
H B McGregor Harry Bruce McGregor was an Australian rules footballer who played with West Adelaide and South Adelaide in the SANFL. His son Ken also played for West Adelaide and was a successful tennis player....
|
West Adelaide |
| 1938, 1945 |
R B Quinn Robert Berrima Quinn MM was a champion Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and war hero.-Biography:...
|
Port Adelaide |
| 1946, 1947 |
R W Hank Robert W. "Bob" Hank is a former Australian rules footballer in the South Australian National Football League .Hank actually began his senior playing career with the wartime combination of West Torrens-Port Adelaide in 1944. He stepped smoothly in the West Torrens senior side next year when the...
|
West Torrens |
| 1948, 1949 |
H R Phillips Ron Phillips is a former Australian rules footballer who played with North Adelaide in the SANFL. He won back to back Magarey Medals in 1948 and 1949, the only other North Adelaide player to achieve this feat is Tommy MacKenzie....
|
North Adelaide |
| 1953, 1957 |
J Deane Jim Deane was a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the VFL and South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League ....
|
South Adelaide |
| 1994, 1995 |
G McIntosh Garry McIntosh is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Norwood in the South Australian Football League during the 1980s and 90s. He won back to back Magarey Medals in 1994 and 1995....
|
Norwood |
| 1987, 1997 |
A N Jarman Andrew Newton Jarman is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Adelaide in the Australian Football League...
|
North Adelaide / Norwood |
| 1999, 2000 |
D Squire Damian Squire is a former Australian rules footballer who played with in the Australian Football League and both North Adelaide and Sturt in the South Australian National Football League...
|
Sturt |
Malcolm BlightMalcolm Jack Blight AM is a former champion Australian rules football player and coach, and current television commentator. During the 1970s and 1980s Blight played for the Woodville Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and the North Melbourne Football Club in the...
(1972),
John PlattenJohn Patrick "The Rat" Platten is a former Australian rules footballer. With his unruly tangle of curls he was a distinctive figure on the field with tremendous tenacity and the ability to accumulate possessions week after week.-Career:Platten began his career with the Central District Bulldogs...
(1984) and
Nathan BuckleyNathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
(1992) are Magarey Medallists who subsequently won a
Brownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
as best and fairest players in
AFL/VFLThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
competition.
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