William Robert Thompson (born 2 April 1949) is a former

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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the late 1960s. Nicknamed 'Sherry', Thompson spent three seasons playing with Essendon and was a member of their reserves premiership winning team in 1968. He served in Vietnam after being drafted into the army. The second stage of the half back flanker's career took place in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) and he captained Williamstown in 1975, his fourth and final season at the club. He crossed to Dandenong in 1976 and the following year won the

J. J. Liston Trophy The J. J. Liston Trophy is awarded annually to the best and fairest senior player in the Victorian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football Association). It is named after J.J. Liston, a businessman, civic leader and sports administrato ...

. A VFA representative, Thompson left the league after the 1979 season and continued playing throughout the 1980s with the Frankston Bombers.

References

*Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. *
Bill Thompson's playing statistics
from The VFA Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Bill R. 1949 births Living people Essendon Football Club players Dandenong Football Club players Williamstown Football Club players J. J. Liston Trophy winners Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)