Thomas Miller "Tammas" McCluskey (31 August 1890 – 4 October 1917) was an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er who played with
Carlton and
Fitzroy in the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
, and with
Footscray in the
Victorian Football Association
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFA).
Family
The son of Thomas Miller McCluskey (1843–1929), and Jessie Blair McCluskey (1855–1897), née Bell, Thomas Miller McCluskey, known to his family as "Tammas", was born in
Kyabram
Kyabram () is a town in north central Victoria, Australia. Kyabram is located in the centre of a rich irrigation district in the Goulburn River Valley, north of Melbourne. The name of the town is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word Kia ...
, on 31 August 1890.
Football
Carlton (VFL)
A half-back flanker, McCluskey was recruited from
Shepparton Football Club
The Shepparton Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bears'', is an Australian rules football and netball club in the Goulburn Valley Football League. The Shepparton Bears, a local football team, play their home games at Deakin Reserve, Sheppa ...
, by the Carlton Secretary,
Arthur Ford, who, having been alerted to the potential of McCluskey, had gone to see a match between Tatura and Shepparton on Wednesday 24 August 1910, and was so impressed that he immediately signed up both Shepparton's McClusky and Tatura's
Archie Wilson.
Wilson and McClusky both made their debut for Carlton
against Richmond, at Princes Park, on the following Saturday, 27 August 1910, and both played for
the Carlton First XVIII that lost to Collingwood in the 1910 Grand Final, which was the last of McCluskey's four senior games for Carlton.
Fitzroy (VFL)
In 1911 he transferred to Fitzroy, where he played 5 senior games.
Footscray (VFA)
In 1912 McCluskey was living and working in Footscray, and on 24 April 1912, he was granted a clearance from Fitzroy to play with Footscray. He played 45 matches in three seasons (1912–1914).
Military
McCluskey served on the Western Front during World War I, being killed by a German artillery shell during the
Battle of Broodseinde
The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of t ...
.
For Empire's Sake: A Shepparton Footballer: How Tom McCluskey Met His Death, ''The Kyabram Guardian'', (Friday, 10 May 1918), p.4.
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See also
*
Footnotes
References
Roll of Honour: Thomas Miller McCluskey (3107), "Australian War Museum"".
World War I Service Record: Thomas McCluskey (3107), ''National Archives of Australia".
Australia's Roll of Honor: 352nd Casualty List: Victoria: Killed in Action, ''The Age'', (Friday, 16 November 1917), p.9.
Tapner, Warren, "The Great Fallen: Thomas McCluskey", ''carltonfc.com'', 21 April 2015.
External links
*
Blueseum: Tom McCluskey Profile
Tom McCluskey, ''australianfootball.com''
Tom 'Tammas' McCluskey, at ''The VFA Project''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCluskey, Tom
1890 births
1917 deaths
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Carlton Football Club players
Fitzroy Football Club players
Footscray Football Club (VFA) players
Shepparton Football Club players
Australian military personnel killed in World War I
20th-century Australian sportsmen