| Carji Greeves | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Carji Greeves | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Edward Goderich Greeves, Junior | ||
| Nickname | Carji | ||
| Born | (1903-11-01)1 November 1903 Warragul, Victoria, Australia | ||
| Died | 15 April 1963(1963-04-15) (aged 59) Ararat, Victoria, Australia | ||
| Original teams | Berrybank,Geelong College | ||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1923–33 | Geelong | 124 (17) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1933. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Edward Goderich "Carji" Greeves Jr. (1 November 1903 – 15 April 1963) was anAustralian rules footballer who played for theGeelong Football Club in theVictorian Football League (VFL), now known as the Australian Football League (AFL). He won the inauguralBrownlow Medal in 1924, awarded to the VFL/AFL player adjudgedfairest and best during the home-and-away season. He is the son ofTed Greeves, who also played with the Geelong Football Club.
Greeves is the namesake of theCarji Greeves Medal, the Geelong Football Club's best and fairest award.
In the 1860s, Greeves' grandmother Julie (née Anderson) was briefly engaged toTom Wills, the famedcricketer and founder of Australian rules football. HistorianCol Hutchinson noted that "If Tom Wills had married Julie, we wouldn't have had Carji Greeves".[1]
Greeves was given the nickname "Carji" as a baby by a friend of the family, the New South Wales golferMichael Scott,[2] most likely after a character inA Country Girl, a popular musical play of the day.[3]
Greeves also attendedThe Geelong College after receiving his early education at the Struan Dam School, South ofLismore, Victoria, where he was a schoolmate of Geelong championReg Hickey.
Greeves played with theGeelong Football Club from 1923 to 1931 and wore jumper number 20.
Greeves was honoured with having theGeelong Football Club'sbest-and-fairest award named after him, theCarji Greeves Medal. In 1996, Greeves was inducted into theAustralian Football Hall of Fame. He also won the first Brownlow Medal, the award given to the player deemed to be the "fairest and best." "Best" refers to the players being voted upon by officials for who was best on ground, and "fairest" means that the player did not serve asuspension during the competition.
Greeves representedVictoria in interstate matches seven times.
Greeves kicking prowess had him head hunted bycollege football clubUCLA in 1928 as a kicking coach and he moved to theUnited States.[4] He would study at Stanford University, where he coached students there in Australian Rules.[5]
From the 1930s, Greeves suffered frompulmonary tuberculosis andemphysema. He died on 15 April 1963 at the age of 59.[6]
Since 2004, The 'Carji' Greeves Club is the name of the Football Parents' Support Club at The Geelong College.[7]
