Norman Brown (6 August 1943 – 1 December 2022) was an

Australian rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

footballer who played with Fitzroy in the VFL.

Football

Fitzroy (VFL)

Brown joined Fitzroy from North Heidelberg in 1962. Known for his size (191 cm), physical strength and courage, he was not particularly pretty to watch. However, playing in an era when Fitzroy sides were not very strong, Brown, along with Kevin Murray, were outstanding players, between them winning all possible 10

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

awards during the 1960s.Brisbane Lions (2008)
''Fitzroy Football Club Honour Board 1897 - 1996''
. Retrieved on 5 May 2008.

Saturday, 6 July 1963

On 6 July 1963, playing as a resting back-pocket ruckman, he was a member of the young and inexperienced Fitzroy team that comprehensively and unexpectedly defeated Geelong, 9.13 (67) to 3.13 (31) in the

1963 Miracle Match The "Miracle Match" is the unofficial title given to the Round 10, 1963 Victorian Football League (VFL) home-and-away match played between Fitzroy and Geelong at Brunswick Street Oval in North Fitzroy on 6 July 1963. The game is most notabl ...

Port Melbourne (VFA)

In 1974, Brown transferred to

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...

in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

as captain-coach. Brown served in this position for four seasons, and led the club to premierships in 1974, 1976 and 1977, plus the 1977 Centenary Cup competition. He retired from playing at the end of 1977, and spent one more season as non-playing coach of Port Melbourne in 1978. He was also the inaugural VFA coach of the 1980s incarnation of the

Moorabbin Football Club The Moorabbin Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, was an Australian rules football club best known for its premiership success in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1950s and 1960s. During their time in the VFA, the club p ...

in 1983.

Career highlights

Playing career: 1962 – 1973 (181 games; 77 goals; 21 Brownlow votes) AFL Stats (2008)
''Fitzroy Players: Norm Brown''
Retrieved on 5 May 2008.

Honours

A 191 cm ruckman, Brown won three successive Fitzroy best and fairest awards and was named in the forward line in their

Team of the Century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 y ...

.Footy Stamps (2006)
''Fitzroy Team of the Century''
Retrieved on 5 May 2008. * Fitzroy

Best and Fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

: 1965, 1966, 1967. * Fitzroy Team of the Century. * Victorian representative: 8 games.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Norm 1943 births 2022 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Fitzroy Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club players Port Melbourne Football Club coaches Mitchell Medal winners North Heidelberg Football Club players