Born Subiaco WA
14 May 1950
Graham Moss assured himself of a place in Australian football history when in 1976 he became the first Western Australian to win a Brownlow Medal.
It was ruckman Moss’s crowning individual achievement in a distinguished 343-match career with Claremont (254 games) and Essendon (89).
Moss was only 22 when he joined Essendon in 1973 after four seasons with Claremont, during which he emerged as a ruckman of unlimited potential.
That potential was realized immediately at Essendon where he was an instant success in the testing environment of the Victorian Football League.
In 1973 Moss finished runner-up to North Melbourne wingman Keith Greig for the Brownlow Medal.
He was 10th in 1974 and third in 1975 before his triumph the following year when he beat Hawthorn star Peter Knights for football’s highest individual honour.
In 1977, to the dismay of Essendon and the delight of Claremont, Moss returned to his home club as Australia’s No 1 ruckman to take over as captain and coach.
At Claremont, Moss led magnificently by example. The club climbed from last in 1976 to premiership winners in 1981 and runners-up in 1982 and 1983.
Moss retired as a player at the end of 1983 but continued as coach until the completion of the 1986 season.
As well as being an inspiring player of Claremont, Moss was a great ruckman for WA.
He played 20 times for WA and was a member of the inaugural State-of-Origin team that humbled Victoria by 94 points at Subiaco Oval in 1977.
History will judge Graham Moss as one of the greatest ruckman to play Australian football. His deeds speak for themselves.