Des Fothergill (Collingwood) Herbie Matthews (South Melbourne) 32 votes
← 1939 ·
Brownlow Medal
· 1941 →
The 1940 Brownlow Medal was the 17th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Victorian Football League (VFL) home and away season.[1] Des Fothergill of the Collingwood Football Club and Herbie Matthews of the South Melbourne Football Club both won the medal by polling thirty-two votes during the 1940 VFL season.[2]
The count was the first tie since the introduction of the new voting system and tie-break in 1931: both players polled thirty-two votes, comprising seven 3-vote games, four 2-vote games and three 1-vote games.[3] Under the rules at the time, the medal had neither another tie-breaker, nor a provision for more than one winner. One week after the count, the League opted to strike three medals: the true Brownlow Medal to remain in League hands, and Matthews and Fothergill each to receive a replica inscribed with the words "Tied for best and fairest" and "Presented to ... in recognition of being equal first for Brownlow Award in 1940".[4][5]
The 1940 Brownlow Medal count was the only tie for the award which could not be separated by tie-breakers between 1931 and 1980, after which the provision was added for tied players to be considered true joint winners. In 1989, the League elected to award retrospective Brownlow Medals to all players who had previously polled the most votes but failed to win on a tie-breaker; this included Fothergill and Matthews, who were awarded official Brownlow Medals to supersede their replicas.[6][7]
Matthews' and Fothergill's tallies of 32 votes set a new record as the highest under the medal's 3–2–1 voting system. This went on to be a long-standing record, held outright until it was tied by Robert Harvey in 1998, and finally beaten by Dane Swan (34 votes) in 2011.[8]
^Lovett, Michael, ed. (2009). AFL Record Season Guide 2009. Docklands, Victoria: Slattery Media Group. p. 496. ISBN 978-0-9805162-6-5.
^"1940 Brownlow Medal". AFL Tables. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
^"Matthews and Fothergill". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 5 September 1940. p. 12.
^"Awards for players". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 14 September 1940. p. 11.
^"Clubs receive £700 each". The Argus. Melbourne, VIC. 26 October 1940. p. 13.
^Ross (1996), p 332
^"Football Matthews and Fothergill Tie for Medal". The Argus. Melbourne. 5 September 1940. p. 12. Retrieved 30 October 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Brownlow Medal Winners". AFL Tables. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
and 30 Related for: 1940 Brownlow Medal information
The 1940BrownlowMedal was the 17th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Victorian Football League...
The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the BrownlowMedal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the fairest and best player in the Australian...
Brownlow Medal counted under the 3-2-1 voting system, previously set at 32 votes by Herbie Matthews, Des Fothergill (1940) and Robert Harvey (1998 Brownlow Medal)...
The BrownlowMedal (formally the Charles Brownlow Trophy) is an individual award given to the player judged fairest and best in the Australian Football...
The 2023 BrownlowMedal was the 96th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the Australian Football League...
The 2006 BrownlowMedal was the 79th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2015 BrownlowMedal was the 88th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2005 BrownlowMedal was the 78th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2010 BrownlowMedal was the 83rd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2014 BrownlowMedal was the 87th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2017 BrownlowMedal was the 90th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2012 BrownlowMedal was the 85th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2002 BrownlowMedal was the 75th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2004 BrownlowMedal was the 77th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2009 BrownlowMedal was the 82nd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2018 BrownlowMedal was the 91st year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2016 BrownlowMedal was the 89th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2021 BrownlowMedal was the 94th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the Australian Football League...
The 1998 BrownlowMedal was the 71st year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2022 BrownlowMedal was the 95th year the award is presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the Australian Football League...
The 2019 BrownlowMedal was the 92nd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the Australian Football League...
The 1999 BrownlowMedal was the 72nd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2008 BrownlowMedal was the 81st year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2020 BrownlowMedal was the 93rd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the Australian Football League...
The 1997 BrownlowMedal was the 70th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 1996 BrownlowMedal was the 69th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2013 BrownlowMedal was the 86th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2000 BrownlowMedal was the 73rd year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2003 BrownlowMedal was the 76th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...
The 2007 BrownlowMedal was the 80th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League...