As North Melbourne prepares to award the Syd Barker Medal to its best and fairest player of 2019, North Media takes a look back at the history of the distinguished award.

Syd Barker

Syd Barker was one of North’s favourite sons in its early VAFA days, captaining the club for six seasons during his playing spell from 1909-1921. 

As a player, Barker was a superb ruckman, and was recognised as a brilliant and fearless leader.

With North now in the VFL, Barker returned to the club in 1927 as captain-coach for one last season

The medal

Just three years later, Barker died suddenly at age 42, and North paid the ultimate tribute to one of its early champions, naming the “Syd Barker Memorial Trophy” (now the Syd Barker Medal) after him. 

The first Syd Barker Medal was awarded to Charles Cameron in 1929, and has been bestowed upon North’s best and fairest player every year since 1935 (there was no medal awarded in 1930-31, and 1933-34).

Stream the Syd Barker Club Champion Dinner LIVE

Records 

• There have been 60 different winners of the Syd Barker Medal, with 18 winning multiple medals.
• Brent Harvey holds the record for the most Syd Barker Medals, with five. Noel Teasdale, David Dench and Wayne Carey each have won four.
• There have been ties on five occasions, with the first being between George Kennedy and Bill Findlay, and the most recent between Scott Thompson and Daniel Wells in 2013.
• There are four Syd Barker Medallists on the current list (Shaun Higgins, Robbie Tarrant, Todd Goldstein and Ben Cunnington). Higgins leads the way with two medals.
• Higgins will be aiming to be just the third Roo to win three consecutive Syd Barker Medals. Noel Teasdale’s four in a row from 1963-1966 is the current record.

Past winners