A fine ruckman known for his strong marking, Dempsey won the Brownlow Medal in 1975 and had a total of thirteen top-10 finishes in the vote count.
In 1969, he spent six weeks in hospital after being badly burnt by a bushfire near his home in Truganina and was told he would never play football again.
Although he had won a number of individual awards, Dempsey yearned for team success and signed with North Melbourne in 1979, winning the club best-and-fairest in his first year there.
He revealed that he had begun thinking about retirement midway through the last quarter: "I was playing at fullback and I realised I was not helping North.
[2] Gary Dempsey then moved north in 1986 and played two seasons for Southport, winning his first ever senior premiership with the Sharks in 1987.