It is safe to say that things looked a little different in 1924, the blue and white Hoops might be one of the few things that have remained the same over the past 100 years.  

Rewinding a century, let’s take a look at what the VFL and Geelong looked like in 1924.  

  • Geelong was playing their home games at Corio Oval which was located in the East Geelong gardens, where the Eden Oak Retreat now sits.  
  • In a nine team league, the Cats finished the 1924 season in fifth position, but missed out on the finals series, despite winning six of their eight games at home that year.   
  • Geelong was led by members of their Team of the Century, including the legendary Edward ‘Carji’ Greeves and Cliff Rankin.   
  • 1924 marked the inaugural year of the Brownlow Medal, named after another Geelong icon Charles ‘Chas’ Brownlow who spent 40 years as a player and administrator at the club.  
  • The medal and voting system looked different back then, with only a single vote cast each match from 1924 to 1930.  
  • Fittingly it was Carji Greeves who would win the very first Brownlow Medal in 1924, polling seven votes for the season.  
  • Lloyd Hagger proved to be a handful up forward for the Cats in 1924, leading the team with 42 goals from 14 games.  
  • The VFL competition consisted of just nine teams that would play each other twice in an 18 round season (two byes per team).  
  • 1924 is the only recorded V/AFL season to not finish with a Grand Final, with the league opting for a three week semi-final round robin between the top four teams on the ladder. If the minor premiers from the home and away season finished on top of the finals round robin ladder, no Grand Final was deemed necessary and that is exactly what happened.   
  • This finals format proved to be very unpopular with teams and their supporters, ultimately never being used again from the 1925 season onwards.  
The first Brownlow medal, won in 1924 by Cats' great Edward 'Carji' Greeves has come home to Geelong, with the club securing the prized piece of football history.

Geelong 1924 Season 

  • Ladder position: 5th (8 wins, 8 losses, 107.2%) 
  • Brownlow Medal winner: Edward ‘Carji’ Greeves  
  • Milestones: Lloyd Hagger & Billy McCarter 100 VFL games for Geelong 
  • Cats record second highest score of the season (123 points v St Kilda) 
  • Cats record second biggest winning margin of the season (75 points)