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

er who played with

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

and

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

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 ...

, and with Footscray in the

Victorian Football Association 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 ...

(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. It is the second-largest town in the Shire of Campaspe, situated between t ...

, 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 th ...

.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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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''.
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 {{AFL-bio-1890-stub