fullname heightweight death_date death_place years birth_place clubs position statsend originalteam birth_date image article_title name
bertrand john deacon 180 ; kg & nbsp ; cm / 79 & nbsp 3 january 1974 balnarring , victoria 1942 & ndash ; 1951 preston , victoria carlton defender 1951 preston 9 november 1922 bertdeacon.jpg bert deacon
 bert deacon
bert deacon

bert deacon -lrb- 8 november 1922 -- 3 january 1974 -rrb- was an australian rules footballer who played for carlton in the victorian football league -lrb- vfl -rrb- .
he is remembered for being carlton 's first ever brownlow medal winner .
a centre half back , deacon began his league career in 1942 .
he was a premiership player for carlton in 1945 -lrb- after acting as captain-coach of an army stores team that won all ten games in a services competition in darwin -rrb- and 1947 , the latter in a year which he won both a brownlow medal and shared carlton 's best and fairest medal with his captain ern henfry .
the previous season deacon had finished fourth in the brownlow medal count but this time around finished on top , thus becoming carlton 's inaugural winner of the award .
deacon left carlton after the 1951 season and became captain-coach for preston in the victorian football association -lrb- vfa -rrb- , the club where he had played for prior to being recruited by carlton .
he later served as carlton vice-president and club secretary .
he is the centre half back in carlton 's official ` team of the century ' .
off the field , deacon worked for many years for long-serving vfl and carlton president sir kenneth luke .
bertram deacon died of a heart attack on 3 january 1974 while on holiday at balnarring .
deacon was just 51 years of age and died despite the desperate efforts of his preston team-mate , pat foley to revive him .
