Research Unknown best and fairest players

[stemline]

On top of that, in 1926 Frank Murphy was named in the Age best players in 12 games, Fred Finch and Dick Logan 10 times each, Ted Pool, Paddy Burke and Jack Pickford 9 each.

In 1931 Ern Utting and Bert Mills were named in the best players 12 times. Next was Jiggy Harris on 9, George Bennett and Norm Collins on 8.

Of course, if the B&F only gave votes for the best 3 on the ground or something, then this is irrelevant. But if it was just decided at the end of the year on the overall gut feel of the committee, then this might give some indication.

Also, the Age did sometimes name a lot of players in the better players, even when sides got thumped.

 

[stemline]

Found the 1926 Hawthorn AGM - it was held on 28 Feb 1927. Found articles in both the Age and Argus but no reference to awards to players.

If anyone else knows where else to look... please help!

 

[the croucher]

Found the 1926 Hawthorn AGM - it was held on 28 Feb 1927. Found articles in both the Age and Argus but no reference to awards to players.

If anyone else knows where else to look... please help!

Thanks for your efforts so far folks.

Annoying perhaps to our modern take on the footy world and ways of recognising individual performance,
but it could be as simple as - there was no award that year !

 

[Procrastinator35]

Thanks for your efforts so far folks.

Annoying perhaps to our modern take on the footy world and ways of recognizing individual performance,
but it could be as simple as - there was no award that year !

Given the award was stipulated as having been issued both years prior & after to 1926 & 1931, then it's more logical to assume that there was.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Found the 1926 Hawthorn AGM - it was held on 28 Feb 1927. Found articles in both the Age and Argus but no reference to awards to players.

If anyone else knows where else to look... please help!

I doubt the AGM is the best & most logical place to look, time-line wise....Perhaps anywhere upwards of 10 days after the final Home & Away game to around a couple of weeks following the Grand Final play-off.

I've been trawling through the trove & Sporting Globe files that have been released to date, but to no avail.....It's very frustrating work.

 

[stemline]

I've spoken to Peter Haby (Hawks Museum) a few times about this. Basically the Hawthorn story is that it was only officially awarded as Best and Fairest from 1933 onwards.

For 1925-1932 it's been a matter of finding out who was awarded special awards such as 'best all-rounder' and 'most consistent' etc. Per the croucher's post #28 above, you'd like to think the club has been consistent in picking which of these awarded players to describe as Best and Fairest.

With regards to the 1927 award that the croucher above (post #34) has discovered could be a discrepancy, I've spoken to Peter Haby about this and apparently when confirming with the family that Ern Utting had won the 1929 B&F equivalent, they supplied evidence that he had also won it in 1927. Peter is going to have another look into it though. I'll let you know the outcome.

 

[stemline]

Also, I think the AGM does seem the best place to start when looking for award winners. This report on the 1929 AGM confirms Ern Utting was presented with a 'best and fairest' award.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203257530/18957610

Edit: As does every article on AGMs from 1930 to 1936... except 1931

 

[rbartlett]

Given the award was stipulated as having been issued both years prior & after to 1926 & 1931, then it's more logical to assume that there was.

But its not unusual for a year or several years to exist with no major B+F type award.
Remember, each year the trophies were bought and donated by donors, in some cases they waited to see if teams played in finals and donated a trophy just for finals play instead. Other times a donor may choose to donate money to the club rather than an individual trophy.
There wasn't a year in year out lineage of B+F for Richmond (for example). I've seen in a Reserves Minute Book from that area a reference to no trophies are to be presented for this year. It was simply a case by case basis each year

 

[Procrastinator35]

But its not unusual for a year or several years to exist with no major B+F type award.
Remember, each year the trophies were bought and donated by donors, in some cases they waited to see if teams played in finals and donated a trophy just for finals play instead. Other times a donor may choose to donate money to the club rather than an individual trophy.
There wasn't a year in year out lineage of B+F for Richmond (for example). I've seen in a Reserves Minute Book from that area a reference to no trophies are to be presented for this year. It was simply a case by case basis each year

I guess alot of it was during the time of the Great Depression also....So no real money for trophies & donations as such.....Hard times all round.

 

[Gibbsy]

I've just merged in an old thread that talked about whether "club champion" and "B&F" are one and the same. It makes the most sense to be in this same discussion.

On another note, I wish royals1922 would return - does anyone know what happened to him?

 

[the croucher]

possible amendments required to club lists
ESSENDON - 1908 & 1909 - W Busbridge
Where is the evidence that Busbridge received a trophy/award suitably entitled as 'club champion' ?
The only reference to any "presentation" I can find so far is him being one of the players awarded
a "Long Service" certificate at the March 1910 EFC annual meeting:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/196087934

 

[stemline]

possible amendments required to club lists
HAWTHORN - present B&F list has 1925 F Finch, 1927 E Utting
There is a real problem here being lack of consistency in judging who is winner

1925 season - best all-round F Finch, most consistent S McKenzie
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3734914

1927 season - best all-round E Poole, most consistent E Utting
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3896321

If best all-round player is judged club champion above most consistent in a year where both awards are given in the same season,
shouldn't the same rule apply for any other year ?

Poole looks to have been hard done by in my opinion.

Finally an update on this. Hawthorn have now officially recognised Ted Pool as the 1927 B&F winner. They do now stipulate that prior to 1929 the club award wasn't called the Best & Fairest upon presentation.

 

[35Daicos]

Finally an update on this. Hawthorn have now officially recognised Ted Pool as the 1927 B&F winner. They do now stipulate that prior to 1929 the club award wasn't called the Best & Fairest upon presentation.

http://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/2018-09-03/the-search-for-missing-bnf-winners

With the adoption of the Fred Phillips Honour Board, it became accepted that the Best & Fairest Award started in 1933. When Bill Utting, the son of Ernest ‘Tich’ Utting, visited the Hawks Museum in mid 2000 with his father’s 1929 Best & Fairest Trophy, he asked why his father’s name did not appear on the Best & Fairest Honour Board. We had no valid answers. Meeting Bill Utting and seeing his father’s trophy from 1929 opened up an on-going search for more information on the Club’s playing awards that continues on.

The Best & Fairest Award has been renamed several times since 1925. We now know that from 1925 to 1928 it was called the Best All-Rounder in keeping with the original title given in 1902. The title of the award was changed to the Best & Fairest Award in 1929 when Ernest ‘Tich’ Utting won the award.

The ongoing search for whomever won the Best All-rounder Award in 1926 and later, the Best & Fairest Award in 1931, produced a welcome correction confirming that Ted Pool was awarded the Best All-round Trophy in 1927. It was previously thought that Ernest ‘Tich’ Utting held this award. But, this new research revealed that he actually won The Most Consistent Player award that year, instead.

Ted Pool was the first player to record 200 games for the club and was consistently named in the Best Players each game. It has long been a puzzle why Pool may not have won a major award. That puzzle has now been solved. He played from 1926 – 1938 and kicked 230 goals, considered one of the best rovers Hawthorn ever had. Pool played for Victoria seven times. He won the Most Consistent Player Award in 1933. He received Hawthorn Life Membership in 1936 and was inducted in the Hawthorn Football Club Hall of Fame in 2005.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Still to unravel the mysteries that are 1926 & 1931.

Ted Pool would be my fav for 1926, but you could choose from 5 different players for 1931: Jim Francis, Ern Utting, Bert Mills, Jack Ryan & Ted Pool

 

[Todman]

In 1931 Ern Utting and Bert Mills were named in the best players 12 times. Next was Jiggy Harris on 9, George Bennett and Norm Collins on 8.

Unfortunately Norm hanged himself in his garage a few years later.

 

[35Daicos]

There's no name to be found in the record books for a 1929 best and fairest winner for Geelong, but this award won by Jack Williams does seem to match that won by Reg Hickey the year before, and he is recognised as the 1928 B&F winner:

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244006654 (6 September 1929)


https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232437686 (23 January 1929)


https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232437061 (18 January 1929)


https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3983933/469108 (24 January 1929)

 

[RogersResults]

Good research. Geelong has long recognised Reg Hickey as its 'best and fairest' for the 1928 season, and the 'Fred Walker ' trophy seems to have had approval of the club. Have you informed Col Hutchinson? (Col.Hutchinson@afl.com.au)

 

[35Daicos]

Good research. Geelong has long recognised Reg Hickey as its 'best and fairest' for the 1928 season, and the 'Fred Walker ' trophy seems to have had approval of the club. Have you informed Col Hutchinson? (Col.Hutchinson@afl.com.au)

I think the 'Fred Walker connection' does make it look very likely that Jack Williams is the missing/unknown 1929 winner.

I sent an email to Col last night. I haven't heard back from him yet, but will post something here when I do.

Edit: Okay, I have now and Col's response was typically low-key!: "Thanks for passing on your observation. I will investigate a few other potential sources of information and keep you informed."

I presume they would really want to find at least one other source that backs up the story, rather than rely on just the one newspaper article.

 

[Cold Sober]

Great stuff by you all.

 

[35Daicos]

There's no name to be found in the record books for a 1929 best and fairest winner for Geelong, but this award won by Jack Williams does seem to match that won by Reg Hickey the year before, and he is recognised as the 1928 B&F winner:

I'm yet to hear anything further on this so I imagine it's still being looked into!

Edit: There's no update on this. Not sure what's going on!

 

[Snidely Whiplash]

Collingwood Archives have done some countback work on pre Copeland Trophy years based on an agreed methodology and discussion amongst the moderators where variances were possible.

The results have been forwarded to the club for official endorsement but no announcements yet.

On SM-T380 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[35Daicos]

It seems the 1929 Geelong B&F has now been credited to Jack Williams: https://www.afl.com.au/news/367994/...ble-story-of-the-grand-final-goal-that-wasn-t