Hall of Fame
Tom Armstrong
Inducted: 2006
Tom Armstrong has worked tirelessly since 1965 to promote croquet in Australia, particularly in South Australia.
After viewing the success of the England MacRobertson Shield side in Australia in 1969, Tom decided to introduce croquet to students at several Adelaide secondary schools. A regular weekly inter-school competition began involving up to 100 teenagers. From this competition, ten new players joined croquet clubs with several continuing on to win various tournaments.
Tom was responsible for players such as Neil Spooner, Barrie Chambers, Mark Prater, Bill Smith and many other state and national representatives joining the ranks of croquet players.
For many years Tom and his wife Jean would travel to Queensland in the winter months to coach and assist with the recruiting of players for Maryborough and Bundaberg.
Tom has given his time freely to anyone who took the slightest interest in the sport of croquet. The folklore at Brighton in Adelaide's southern suburbs says that nobody who stopped to peer over the fence at the local club ever escaped the smooth-talking Tom Armstrong. As far as the number of players introduced to croquet by Tom, the number is well into the thousands. Many were short term players, but many more were to become long-term members at various clubs.