The Champion of the Colony award refers to a list that was most likely compiled in the late 1940s by Australian football historian C.C. (Cecil Clarence) Mullen for the publications "Mullen's Footballers' Australian Almanac 1950",[1] and 1951, plus a History of Australian rules football he wrote in about 1958.[2] The final date for each list used by Mullen varies throughout his works – the 1950 Almanac finishes with 1949, the 1951 edition 1950, and the history book ends with 1940.
A list (date range 1856–1945) claimed to be based on Mullen's work has been used since 2003 in official Australian Football League (AFL) publications as if it were an actual award. The AFL guide claims in recent editions that their version of the list is from Mullen's history book, but that is incorrect. It has been claimed that the award was originally based on votes by club captains and later voting was by Melbourne's leading football journalists.[3]
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The list itself carries errors of fact.
* Player also won the Brownlow Medal that year.
Australian rules football - Early years in Victoria