Tom Gorman - Outstanding Player

Tom Gorman played professional rugby for the Toowoomba team in Queensland, Australia in the 1920s. Holding the center three-quarter position, he was recognized for his teamwork and unselfish play. He formed a partnership with teammate E.S. Brown that was known as "the finest center pair the game has seen."

Since 1908 when the New South Wales (NSW) rugby team first played Queensland, NSW had always won. But Queensland was able to rebound between 1922 and 1928, when Tom Gorman and fellow player Duncan Thompson led a group of outstanding players for the team. During that time, Queensland won seventeen out of twenty-four games against NSW.

In another spectacular series of games, Gorman played for the Australian team in ten successive rugby Test matches against Great Britain from 1924 to 1930. Starting in 1928 and for the last seven of the ten games, Gorman was the first Queenslander to captain the Australian team. The Ashes series that played in 1929-30 pitched Gorman's Kangaroos team against England. The series went into a 4th Test to break a tie, following a draw in the 3rd Test. Although Gorman's team eventually lost 3-0, he was regarded as being one of the best players on the Australian team during the Ashes series.

In 1926, Gorman was signed by Brisbane Brothers club for 400 pounds, becoming the club's first paid player. Gorman has held representative honors in the Past Brothers Rugby League Club, also known as the Brethren or Leprechauns. He also held representative honors in the Toowoomba Clydesdales Rugby League Inc.