Who was Thomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills?
Q: Who was Thomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills?
A: Thomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills was an Australian all-round sportsman who helped invent Australian Football and wrote the Laws of Australian Football.
Q: Where was he born?
A: He was born in south-east New South Wales, Australia either near Gundagai or Queanbeyan.
Q: What did he do while at school?
A: While at school, he played both rugby football and cricket very well. By his final year in England, he was captain of the Rugby XI and listed in Bells Sporting Life as one of the most promising young cricketers in England.
Q: What game did Wills create?
A: Wills created a set of football rules that were like a cross between rugby, soccer and Gaelic football for cricketers to keep in shape during the off-season (winter). This game is now known as Australian Rules Football.
Q: Was there any influence from Indigenous Australians on this game?
A: Yes, it has been suggested that Australian Rules Football is based in part on Marn Grook, an Aboriginal game with some similar rules to Australian Rules Football. Because the indigenous people Wills played with as a child would have played Marn Grook, it is likely that this influenced him when creating the rules for Australian Rules Football.
Q: How did Tom Willis die?
A: Tom Willis died by suicide by stabbing himself in the heart.
