Before 1935 a variety of awards were given out, but it was not until that year that an actual "Best and Fairest" club championship was established.
Best player awards before 1935 include;
| Year | Winner | |||
| 1885 | Billy Carroll | |||
| 1934 | Percy Beames | |||
In 1943 the championship became known as the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Cup in honor of the dual premiership player and fighter pilot who died during World War 2.
Other top five trophies are named after:
2nd - Sid Anderson
3rd - Ron Barassi Sr
4th - Ivor Warne-Smith
5th - Dick Taylor
The cup was later replaced with a medal and has been awarded under various voting systems since it's inception.
Multiple winners
4 - Allan La Fontaine, Jim Stynes
3 - Laurie Fowler, Nathan Jones, Hassa Mann, Clayton Oliver
2 - Stan Alves, Ron Barassi, Denis Cordner, Max Gawn, Alan Johnson, Garry Lyon, James McDonald, Laurie Mithen, Jack Mueller, Norm Smith, Stuart Spencer, John Townsend, Todd Viney, Greg Wells
AFLW
| Year | Winner | Votes | Runner Up | |
| 2017 | Daisy Pearce | 199 | Karen Paxman | 190 |
| 2018 | Daisy Pearce (2) | 175 | Elise O'Dea | 169 |
| 2019 | Karen Paxman | Unknown | Lauren Pearce | Unknown |
| 2020 | Shelley Scott | 46 | Karen Paxman | 44 |
| 2021 | Tyla Hanks Karen Paxman (2) | 64 | ||
Media
Argus - 07/04/1886
Age - 23/09/1955
melbournefc.com.au - 11/09/2015
melbournefc.com.au - 23/09/2020
melbournefc.com.au - 17/12/2021