Thornton Clarke
Fitzroy
AFL career
4 games0 goals
- Debut
- R4 1911 v STK20 May 1911
- Most recent
- R13 1911 v STK15 July 1911
Stats
Bio
Thornton "Tom" Clarke is best remembered as a prolific VFA goal-kicker whose career was tragically cut short by the First World War, though he briefly tested his mettle in the VFL with Fitzroy. Arriving at the Maroons via Mount Lyell in Tasmania, the electrical engineer played four matches in the 1911 season but failed to impact the scoreboard, eventually transferring to the Essendon Association in the VFA. It was there that Clarke found his true calling as a dominant forward, twice topping the VFA goalkicking table (1913 and 1914) and booting over 200 goals for the club. He enlisted in the AIF following his standout 1915 campaign but was killed in action at the Battle of Fromelles the following year, leaving behind a legacy as one of the Association's premier forwards of the era.
Profile
- Born
- 27 Nov 1891
- Died
- 19 July 1916 (aged 24y 235d)
- Birthplace
- Essendon, VIC
- Deathplace
- Fromelles, France
- Height
- 180 cm
- Weight
- 74 kg
Teams
Bio
1 revisionThornton "Tom" Clarke is best remembered as a prolific VFA goal-kicker whose career was tragically cut short by the First World War, though he briefly tested his mettle in the VFL with Fitzroy. Arriving at the Maroons via Mount Lyell in Tasmania, the electrical engineer played four matches in the 1911 season but failed to impact the scoreboard, eventually transferring to the Essendon Association in the VFA. It was there that Clarke found his true calling as a dominant forward, twice topping the VFA goalkicking table (1913 and 1914) and booting over 200 goals for the club. He enlisted in the AIF following his standout 1915 campaign but was killed in action at the Battle of Fromelles the following year, leaving behind a legacy as one of the Association's premier forwards of the era.