Rex Elvyn Garwood was an Australian sportsman who played 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...

 in the Tasmanian Football League

Tasmanian Football League

Tasmanian State League is the highest ranked Australian rules football league in Tasmania, Australia.The league has a long and convoluted history which dates back to its founding on 12 June 1879 Tasmanian State League (TSL) (formerly known as the Tasmanian Football League (TFL), Tasmanian...

 and first-class cricket

First-class cricket

First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 for Tasmania

Tasmanian Tigers

The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...

 during the 1950s.

TFL career

Best known for his exploits on the football field, Garwood is the only person in history to have won three William Leitch Medal

William Leitch Medal

The William Leitch Medal was an annual award which was presented to the Best and Fairest player in the TANFL/TFL Statewide League.At various times prior to 1930 and between 1935 and 1939 the TFL award was known by other names....

s. He was mostly used as a ruck rover but could also play in key positions such as centre half-forward.

Garwood made his league debut in 1950 with New Town

Glenorchy Football Club

The Glenorchy District Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Tasmanian State League and the Southern Football League in Tasmania, Australia.-Origins:...

. He won his first Leitch Medal the following season, topped New Town's goalkicking and played in their 1951 premiership team. In 1953 he was appointed club captain and helped them to another premiership.

He transferred to New Norfolk in 1954 and was immediately given the role of captain-coach. The Tasmanian won his second Leitch Medal in 1955 and at the conclusion of the 1957 season was relieved of his coaching duties. He won another Leitch Medal in 1958 before his retirement in 1960.

State Representative

Garwood was a regular Tasmanian interstate representative. He played for his state in the 1953 Adelaide Carnival

1953 Adelaide Carnival

The 1953 Adelaide Carnival was the 12th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition...

, 1956 Perth Carnival

1956 Perth Carnival

The 1956 Perth Carnival was the 13th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition. It took place from 11 June to 23 June at Subiaco Oval, Perth....

 and the 1958 Melbourne Carnival

1958 Melbourne Carnival

The 1958 Melbourne Carnival was the 14th edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition...

. At the Perth Carnival he was captain-coach and kicked seven goals in a game against the VFA. Garwood also captained Tasmania in interstate matches during 1955 and 1957.

Cricket

Garwood played five first-class matches for Tasmania between the 1952/53 and 1955/56 Australian cricket seasons. He was a top order batsman but didn't manage to score a half century in his career, with a best of 49 which came against Victoria in 1953-54. In all he scored 189 runs at 18.90 and took five wickets at 32.00.

Later years

In his later years Garwood excelled at Bowls and was a winner of several Tasmanian championships. Garwood became the first Tasmanian in 13 years to represent Australia when he appeared for his country in a Test match against New Zealand in 1985. He won a Gold medal in the pairs championship of the 1985 Australia Games.

He was the first person inducted into the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 2004 was named on the interchange bench in the official Tasmanian Football 'Teams of the Century'.