Historic Brownlow Medal Auction: AFL Great

Friday, 31 January, 2025: Leski Auctions is proud to offer for sale an extremely rare collection of the highest individual honour won by an Australian football legend.

AFL

To understand the impact of Australian Rules Football on Australian society, it helps to follow the facts.  These are instructive and at times sobering, for a country that routinely punches above its weight (having suffered many head knocks on its journey).

The game, commonly referred to as VFL and AFL (the latter reflecting its national reach from 1970), was first played in 1858, 43 years before Federation and 70 years after the landing of the First Fleet from England.

Indigenous Australians and the 1,300 new immigrants from England, (most of whom were convicts), were prepared to accept many English traditions, such as cricket, the Westminster system of government and the Sunday Roast, but happier still to create their own.  'Footie', as it's known colloquially, was a bastard game that appears to have had many fathers.   That was in keeping with the Australian psyche, as the British have been quick to point out for the better part of 200 years.

For a game played by millions of people over its 167-year history, and increasingly by women, the number who play at the elite level is miniscule.  Smaller still are the players who win the Brownlow Medal, the most coveted prize of any sporting code in Australia.

Within that small cohort is an even more exclusive club: players that have won multiple Brownlow medals during their career.  

Four players have won three medals, and only one of them in the same year that his team won the grand final.

That unique distinction falls to Ian Harlow Stewart, whose medals from 1965 and 1966 (St Kilda) and 1971 (Richmond), will be sold by Leski Auctions on February 13.

Lot 615:  The 1966 Brownlow Medal, 9ct gold, blue enamel; engraved verso 'Victorian Football League - Chas Brownlow Trophy - Season 1966 - Won By Ian Harlow Stewart.'  Pre-sale estimate is $50,000 - $75,000.

"The Brownlow Medal is awarded to the player who is deemed to be the best and fairest in the competition for that year," says lead auctioneer, Charles Leski.  "No matter how good you are, if you fall foul of the disciplinary tribunal and an on-field indiscretion earns you a penalty of at least a one-week suspension, you will forfeit the chance to receive the award."

"It can be a tough outcome for a player whose exceptional talent was acknowledged each week by the field umpires.  But that's what makes this honour even more valuable."

History of the Brownlow
The Brownlow Medal was first presented in 1924.  It was named after the respected administrator of the Geelong Football Club, Charles Brownlow.

As interest and participation in the sporting code grew, so too did the importance of an award that some have likened to an Order of Australia, earned for achievement or meritorious service.  This was especially true after 1970 when the code broke free from its regional status as the Victorian Football League to become the Australian Football League.  

Today, the AFL has at least one team in every mainland State.  In 2028, it will also field a team - the Tasmania Devils - in the southern island State.

Fortuitously, Ian Stewart is a Tasmanian and it would be appropriate and a principled decision for his medals to be permanently located in the new stadium, which is set to open in 2029 at Macquarie Point in Hobart.

Charles Leski says its impact on Australian life transcends politics or religion.  It's fair to say that the recipient of a Brownlow is held in the same esteem as the captain of an Australian Test team.

With each passing year, the number of past and present VFL/AFL players grows.  When viewed through the lens of history, the recipient of a Brownlow Medal becomes even more distinguished, elevated to the status of a sporting deity.  Arguably, Ian Stewart is the player who helped St Kilda win its only premiership in 1966, for which the club and its fans will be eternally grateful.

According to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame: "Ian Stewart was a football genius. A star centreman, his precision passing, ball and evasive skills, spectacular marking, his ability on both sides of his body, and pace made him unstoppable."

The auction will be held on February 12 & 13 from 12.00pm.  Details can be found at www.leski.com.au

About Leski Auctions
Leski Auctions was established in 1973. Today, it is regarded as one of Australia's leading auctioneers of Sporting Memorabilia, Australian Art & Antiques, Collectibles and World Philately.  Among the many significant collections that Leski Auctions has been privileged to sell are those of Shirley Strickland, Ron Clarke, Sir Reginald Ansett and former RSL President, Bruce Ruxton.  It has sold more Brownlow Medals and 'baggy green' caps than any other auction house in the world.

Charles Leski is a registered valuer for the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts' Cultural Gifts Program.  He is also the valuer of the displayed items at the National Sports Museum at the MCG, Melbourne.  

The company is located at 727-729 High Street Armadale, Victoria 3143 Australia.  
Tel +61 3 8539 6150/+61 412 053 692 and www.leski.com.au