[1][2][3] The club best and fairest award is claimed by some to have been first given in 1897; however, there is no contemporary evidence that it actually existed prior to the late 1920s.
[citation needed] Dick Reynolds was awarded medal on a record-equalling seven occasions between 1934 and 1943.
The medal is awarded annually to the best and fairest player in the competition, currently on the basis of a 3–2–1 match-by-match voting system used by the match umpires.
[5] Full-forward Matthew Lloyd is the club's leading goal-kicker, with 926, ahead of ruckman Simon Madden with 575.
[6] Lloyd was Essendon's leading goal-kicker on a record 12 occasions between 1997 and 2009, kicking 100 goals in a season during 2000 and 2001.