Tom Grimshaw was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with South Melbourne

Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Grimshaw was a defender who played 82 games in a row from debut, in the opening round of the 1908 VFL season

1908 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1908.Both Richmond Football Club and University Football Club were admitted to the VFL competition .-Premiership season:...

. He was a member of South Melbourne's 1909 premiership team. Although he never kicked a goal in his league career, he came close in the 1909 VFL Grand Final

1909 VFL Grand Final

The 1909 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 October 1909. It was the 12th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...

 when he hit the post in the third quarter. He had started the match in his usual position on a half-back flank and was knocked unconscious in a collision during the opening quarter. This prompted his move to full-forward.

A knee injury ended his run of games in 1912 and also cost him a spot in the 1912 Grand Final

1912 VFL Grand Final

The 1912 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the South Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 4 October 1912. It was the 15th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...

.

The defender returned to Victorian Football Association side Footscray

Western Bulldogs

The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...

 in 1913, having played his junior football with the club. He participated in a premiership in his first season and then a losing grand final in 1914. His performance in Footscray's 1914 grand final loss to North Melbourne

North Melbourne Football Club

The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...

was called into question and he was one of five players sacked by Footscray, accused of "playing dead".