Tommy Downs (22 May 1901 – 11 August 1981) 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 for

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 ...

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). Downs was a

Woodham Cup 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 ...

winner at Northcote in 1925, having previously played with Preston. One of shortest ever footballers at Carlton, Downs had a poor record at the VFL tribunal. He was suspended for 12 games in 1928 and 19 games the following season, both for striking. The former came in a Semi Final loss to Richmond when he kicked a career best four goals and the latter was in a Preliminary Final. Most famously however he received a 29-game suspension in 1931 when he was reported for kicking Richmond's captain

Maurie Hunter Maurice Harold Hunter (5 March 1904 – 31 October 1987) was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1929 and 1933 for the Richmond Football Club. Football Prior to joining Richmond he play ...

. In a postscript to this incident, in 1954 teammate Frank O'Rourke admitted in a newspaper interview that he kicked Hunter..

References

* *Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. 1901 births Carlton Football Club players Northcote Football Club players Preston Football Club (VFA) players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne 1981 deaths People from Fitzroy, Victoria {{AFL-bio-1901-stub