Bill Twomey Jr. (28 September 1927 – 1 October 1996) was an
Australian rules footballer, who played in the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
(VFL).
Often described as an "enigma", Twomey was, for a time, considered the best centreman in the game. He combined freakish natural talent with exceptional speed, a vice-like grip and spectacular leap. His often perplexing career can be summed up by a three-week stretch during the latter part of the
1948 season. Twomey, having gone unsighted during the first half of Collingwood's semi-final clash versus
Footscray, kicked 8 goals in the second half to single-handedly win the match for the Magpies. Such was his impact the Sporting Globe declared Twomey "their greatest match-winning forward since
Ron Todd". Two weeks later the star Magpie had little to no influence in Collingwood's Preliminary final loss to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
Twomey played 189 games for the Magpies over 14 seasons in a career that spanned a
Copeland Trophy
The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged best and fairest for Collingwood during the year.
The Copeland Shield, as it was formerly known, was donated by Ern Cope ...
in 1956, Premiership glory in
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...
, captaincy in 1957 and regular selection for
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. His time as a Magpie however was ultimately dogged by niggling injuries as well as personal setbacks, during an era when little thought was given to the mental welfare of footballers.
Bill's brother
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
played 157 games for the Woods between 1951 and 1961, while
Pat had two brief stints with the club which amounted to 55 games. The three brothers' nephew
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
– the son of a fourth brother, Peter Twomey
Gossip from League Club-Rooms, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 7 April 1954), p.25
Youngest Twomey injured, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Wednesday, 30 June 1954), p.4.
/ref> – later played with the Magpies. Bill's father Bill Twomey Sr.
William Patrick Twomey Sr. (14 May 1899 - 25 March 1977) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood and Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family
The son of Michael Twomey and Annie Twomey, née Carey, Willi ...
had also played with them during the 1920s.
References
External links
*
*
Bio at Collingwood Forever
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
Collingwood Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club Premiership players
Copeland Trophy winners
1927 births
1996 deaths
One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players
{{AFL-bio-1920s-stub