12 Facts About Bert Deacon

Bertrand John Deacon was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League.

Bert Deacon is remembered for being Carlton's first ever Brownlow Medal winner.

Bert Deacon joined the army during World War II, and from 1942 until 1945 played most of his football for services teams, including acting as captain-coach of an Army stores team that won all ten games in a 1945 services competition in Darwin.

Bert Deacon played a few games for Preston, then was cleared to and Carlton and played there permanently for the next seven years.

Bert Deacon was a premiership player for Carlton in 1945 and 1947, and in the latter in a year which he won the Brownlow Medal and shared Carlton's best and fairest medal with his captain Ern Henfry.

Bert Deacon was the first Carlton player to win the award.

Bert Deacon was held in extremely high regard throughout the league for his quality key position play in the years immediately following the war.

Bert Deacon struggled with injuries in his last couple of years with Carlton.

Bert Deacon left Carlton after the 1951 season, Deacon returned to Preston as captain-coach.

Bert Deacon retired as a player after 1953, and continued as non-playing coach until the end of 1956.

Bert Deacon later served as Carlton vice-president and club secretary.

Bert Deacon died of a heart attack at age 51 on 3 January 1974 while on holiday at Balnarring despite the desperate efforts of his Preston team-mate, Pat Foley, to revive him.