Australian Football

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Key Facts

Full name
Thomas Joseph Fitzmaurice

Known as
Tom Fitzmaurice

Born
7 July 1898

Died
25 December 1977 (aged 79)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 19y 315d
Last game: 36y 343d

Height and weight
Height: 192 cm
Weight: 96 kg

Senior clubs
Essendon; Geelong; Yarraville; North Melbourne

Jumper numbers
Essendon: 3, 6, 29
Geelong: 23
North Melbourne: 30

Recruited from
Essendon (1921); North Shore (1922); Essendon (1925); Terang Mortlake (1930); Yarraville (1932)

Tom Fitzmaurice

Advanced stats
Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
EssendonV/AFL1918-1920, 1922-192485300.3556%———1
North ShoreNSWAFL1921————————
GeelongV/AFL1925-192849200.4171%———1
MortlakeWDFL1929————————
YarravilleVFA1930-1931————————
North MelbourneV/AFL1932-1935541963.6326%9.75—3.003
V/AFL1918-1920, 1922-1928, 1932-19351882461.3152%9.75—3.005
NSWAFL1921————————
WDFL1929————————
VFA1930-1931————————
Total1918-19351882461.31—————

Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only

AFL: 2,342nd player to appear, 788th most games played, 288th most goals kickedEssendon: 287th player to appear, 208th most games played, 257th most goals kickedGeelong: 317th player to appear, 345th most games played, 290th most goals kickedNorth Melbourne: 156th player to appear, 264th most games played, 30th most goals kicked

After beginning his league career with Essendon in 1918 as a high-flying ruckman, Tom Fitzmaurice was forced to reinvent himself after sustaining a leg injury while playing for North Shore in Sydney in 1921. The following year he returned to Essendon and quickly developed into the best centre-half back in the VFL, helping steer the side to back to back flags in 1923 and 1924. 

His time with the Dons came to an end in acrimonious circumstances, however: at the end of the 1924 season, a charity challenge match was arranged between Essendon and VFA premier Footscray, ostensibly for the 'championship of Victoria'; after Footscray scored a surprise win, Fitzmaurice publicly denounced certain teammates for 'playing dead', and walked out on the club.

The 1925 season saw Fitzmaurice at Geelong, where he had the satisfaction of playing in a third successive premiership team. After four years with the Cats, he clambered aboard the football merry-go-round, with the remaining ten seasons of his illustrious career taking in spells at Mortlake, Yarraville, North Melbourne, Brunswick and Manuka. During his time with North, he showed that he was still as potent a force as ever by topping the club's goal kicking list for three consecutive seasons.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Full Points Footy Publications

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Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.