Richard "Ritchie" Thomas (13 July 1915 – 30 July 1988) 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 East Perth

East Perth Football Club

The East Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Royals, is an Australian rules football club that is a member of the West Australian Football League...

 in the Western Australian National Football League

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

 and for Essendon

Essendon Football Club

The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 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).

Thomas was the son of William 'Digger' Thomas

William 'Digger' Thomas

William 'Digger' Thomas was an Australian rules footballer who played with East Perth and Subiaco in the WAFL. He is always mentioned in football records with his nickname Digger as there was another William Thomas who appeared for East Perth and won a Sandover Medal just six years after Digger...

, the 1923 Sandover Medal

Sandover Medal

The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League...

ist who also played with East Perth.

He played his football across half back and was on a flank in East Perth's 1936 premiership side. The defender shared the "Best and Fairest" award at East Perth in 1939 and then won it outright in 1940.

In 1941, Thomas attended a physical training course at an an army school in Frankston, Victoria

Frankston, Victoria

Frankston is a suburb within the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area in Victoria, Australia. It is located 40 km southeast of the state capital Melbourne at the southernmost edge of Greater Melbourne, near the beginnings of the Mornington Peninsula...

. While in Victoria he made four appearances for Essendon, all of which they won, including a semi final against Richmond

Richmond Football Club

The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...

. He missed out on participating any deeper in the finals series as he had to return home. Essendon went on to make the 1941 VFL Grand Final

1941 VFL Grand Final

The 1941 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1941. It was the 45th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...

, but lost to Carlton

Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...

. During the war he served with the 13 Field Company of the Australian Army

Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...

.

He resumed playing with East Perth after the war and represented Western Australia

Western Australia Australian rules football team

The Sandgropers is the representative side of Western Australia in the sport of Australian rules football. The team is currently the representative team of the West Australian Football League and West Australian under-age footballers.-History:...

in two interstate matches against South Australia in 1946. This brought his interstate tally to four, having played twice against Victoria before the war.