Essendon 1965 premiership captain and Australian football hall of famer Ken Fraser heads a group of nine former stars awarded retrospective Crichton Medals.
Prior to 1973, the Bombers best and fairest award was acknowlegded with materail gifts, instead of the medallions players receive today.
Set at the ancestral home, Windy Hill, Fraser, along with John Birt, Darryl Gerlach, Don McKenzie, Barry Davis, Reg Burgess, Jack Clarke, Hugh Mitchell and Neville Fields were all honoured with retrospective medals at the Club's spiritual home.
Family representatives for Davis, Burgess, Clarke and Mitchell were in attendance to receive the honours bestowed upon the former players.
Birt and Davis lead the group with three Crichton Medals, while Burgess and Fraser have a pair each.
Essendon President Andrew Welsh and CEO Craig Vozzo took part in the momentous day, with the latter saying how "moving" the event was.
"Events like these are critical in celebrating our people and it was brilliant to see the nine players and their families honoured with Crichton Medals," Vozzo said.
"Ultimately, while the medallions recognise on-field play, it's really a medal that bonds the winners and their families to our footy club. You could see exactly how deeply meaningful the awards were from the emotional reactions of the presenters, sons, daughters and extended family in the room.
"It was genuinely moving for everyone in the room. We always look to acknowledge and make our past players feel intrinsically connected to our club, and this event was an important way of doing this.
"We congratulate each player and their families and we hope that these medals further pay tribute to each player's enormous contribution to our club."
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