AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Full name
Thomas Banks
Known as
Tom Banks
Born
17 June 1867
Place of birth
Maryborough, VIC (3465)
Died
26 November 1919 (aged 52)
Place of death
Melbourne, VIC (3000)
Occupation
Lands department
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 29y 325d
Last game: 30y 37d
Height and weight
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Senior clubs
Fitzroy
State of origin
VIC
Family links
Albert 'Darky' Banks (Brother)Jack Moriarty (Nephew)Geoff Moriarty (Brother-in-law)
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fitzroy | VFA | 1888-1896 | 162 | 26 | 0.16 | — | — | — | — | — |
Fitzroy | V/AFL | 1897 | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 25% | — | — | — | 0 |
Total | 1888-1897 | 170 | 26 | 0.15 | — | — | — | — | — |
AFL: 10th player to appear, 8,626th most games played, 9,711th most goals kickedFitzroy: 2nd player to appear, 659th most games played, 807th most goals kicked
Thomas Banks was almost certainly the first player of West Indian extraction to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but it was in the sport of Australian football, not cricket, that he excelled. Born in 1867, he made his VFA debut with Fitzroy in 1888, and went on to give the club ten years of solid, occasionally outstanding, service. The Maroons were quite a strong team during Banks' career with them, their five top four finishes during that time including a flag in 1895, and a runner-up spot in 1892, behind the all powerful Essendon combination of Forbes, Thurgood, Vautin et al. By all accounts, Thomas Banks lost very little if anything in comparison with such luminaries, and deserves to be regarded and extolled as one of the most auspicious names in the chequered, but on occasion, not least early on, resonantly memorable history of the Fitzroy Football Club.
Author - John Devaney