Norman Ware

Norman Ware (5 March 1911 – 26 August 2003 ) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

A ruckman for Footscray, Ware is the only person to have won the Brownlow Medal while being both captain and coach. He is likely to remain so indefinitely, as it would be highly unlikely for a captain of an AFL team to act as a coach today, due to salary cap regulations implemented in 1987 in order to prevent wealthier clubs from circumventing the restrictions of the salary cap and salary floor. Additionally, while captain-coaches used to be relatively common in earlier years of the game, the practice has been phased out, with the last captain-coach of an AFL team being Alex Jesaulenko in 1979 and the last player-coach being Malcolm Blight in 1981.

He was recruited from Sale. His brother Wally played for Hawthorn.

In 2001 Ware was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

Career highlights Brownlow Medal: 1941 Footscray Best and Fairest: 1934, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942 Footscray captain: 1940 Victorian representative (10 games, 6 goals) Footscray Team of the Century (2002) Footscray-Western Bulldogs Hall of Fame: Legend (2018) Australian Football Hall of Fame (2001)