Brownlow Medal 2015: Gary Dempsey remains the leading vote-getter

THEY were the two sporting certainties of the 1970s, Bart Cummings would be winning Melbourne Cups and Gary Dempsey would poll well in the Brownlow.

Brownlow medallist -GARY DEMPSEY. 1975 Brownlow medallist Gary Demspey at his cattle farm near Colac. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT *Gary didn't have his Brownlow Medal at the property and did'nt want to get on his horse either or do anything really).

THEY were the two sporting certainties of the 1970s, that Bart Cummings would be winning Melbourne Cups and Gary Dempsey would poll well in the Brownlow Medal.

Cummings won the big race four times, and while “Demps” only took home one Brownlow in 1975 but was never out of the top ten of the award between 1970-79.

It’s a remarkable feat for a man who was so badly burned in the Lara bushfires on January 8, 1969, that his life hung in the balance for a week and on eventual recovery he was told playing football was not a remote option due to burns on 50 per cent of his body.

Dempsey, whose father ran a large dairy at Truganina which is now a suburb of Melbourne, tried to outrun the fires and eventually survived courtesy of a neighbour’s en tout cas tennis court and the fact that he was very suntanned, meaning his skin was tougher and more resistant to being burnt.

He returned to play the last two games of 1969 in a much-spoken comeback at the time, even if Dempsey remains dirty on the umpires who officiated in his second game back against Richmond.

Gary Dempsey returns to his family's farm after it was destroyed by 1969 bushfires.

“The only time I was upset for not getting a vote was in the last game of 1969 when I came back after the fires and kicked four goals on Barry Richardson. Didn’t the umpires know that ‘Richo’ had kept Peter Hudson goalless that same year?” laughed Dempsey, 66, who remains the leading votegetter in Brownlow history with 246.

“In those fire we lost everything. We were milking 250 cows which was a huge operation for the time . I was down in the paddock trying to pick a calf up when the wind changed and blew the fire back onto me. I did outrun it and sat on the neighbour’s tennis court until the fire passed. When I walked up to my neighbour he feinted at the sight of me. But I’m lucky and don’t suffer any lingering effects other than my legs can get very dry and naturally I have scars on my arms.”

In his first full year back after the fires, Dempsey polled 21 votes in 1970 to finish second to Peter Bedford, and so began a run that makes stunning reading: 1971, 16 votes, 5th 1972: 12 votes, 8th 1973: 15 votes 9th 1974: 19 votes 4th 1975: 20 votes 1st 1976: 28 votes, 4th 1977: 27 votes, 7th 1978: 16 votes 5th 1979: 16 votes, 5th 1980: 15 votes 9th 1981: 9 votes 1982: 16 votes, 5th 1983: 17 votes 4th

Despite his domination of the Brownlow, Dempsey hasn’t been to a count since Jimmy Bartel won in 2007, explaining his life has moved on: “Football was a big part of my life, for nearly 40 years in different forms, but I have moved on a long way from footy. My wife and I travel a lot and we have a cattle farm in the western district,” said Dempsey.

“And I think the AFL gives the old guys lip service at best. The AFL is interested in the modern day stars, not us. And that’s fine. That’s their call. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud that I’m a Brownlow medallist and I enjoy the fact that I am.

Gary Dempsey in action for Footscray in 1978.

“I do get asked why I was able to regularly poll votes and if it was because I sucked up to the umpires? My consistency helped although it could also be a curse because people expected you to take 12 marks a game, and I’m talking about contested marks as distinct from that crap you see today when they kick backwards to each other.”

Dempsey, who was never reported in 329 games with Footscray (1967-78) and North Melbourne (1979-84) believes the medal should remain for the best and fairest player: “I actually did throw a punch one day because Peter “Crackers” Keenan drove me nuts so I belted him. He lay on the ground holding his jaw, asking me why I did it. I just said ‘shut up Peter, you are driving me mad”.

“But it was a physical era. I got 12 broken noses, two fractured cheekbones and a busted voice. I had a philosophy that if you got me I would get you back eventually. My voice (extremely raspy) happened from a round arm from behind from an opponent I won’t name.”

As for the best player never to win a Brownlow, Dempsey nominates his North Melbourne teammate David Dench: “David Dench is the greatest fullback I have seen. He won four best and fairests but never got near it in a Brownlow. But I don’t the blame umpires. The style of the game has made midfielders the concentration point.”

Originally published as Brownlow Medal 2015: Gary Dempsey remains the leading vote-getter