Tom Gleeson (rugby league)

Thomas Patrick Gleeson (1889-1931) was an Australian rugby league footballer from the 1910s.

Tom Gleeson

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Patrick Gleeson
Born	1889 Kempsey, New South Wales
Died	27 Jun 1931 drowned at La Perouse, New South Wales
Playing information
Position	Wing, Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1911–12 Glebe 28 17 0 0 51 1914–22 Huddersfield 1923 Glebe 1 1 0 0 3 Total 29 18 0 0 54 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1912 New South Wales 3 5 0 0 15 1912 Metropolis 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Former Glebe centre Tom Gleeson also had a long career with Huddersfield Giants in England where he partnered the legendary Albert Rosenfeld. "Australian Tommy Gleeson, signed in November 1912 from the Glebe club in Sydney, just three months before protests from the New South Wales Rugby League resulted in a ban on overseas players - a ban which was effective for fourteen years."^[2]

He did not return to Australia until after the first world war and played one final season with Glebe in 1923.^[3][4]

Tragic death

Tom Gleeson died in very tragic circumstances when he dived in the ocean from rocks near La Perouse, New South Wales to save his son Martin (aged 12) who had already been washed off the rocks while fishing. Tom Gleeson drowned soon after, and his son also drowned .^[5][6][7]