Full name Carl Bleackley Willis | Name Carl Willis | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1893-03-23)23 March 1893 Date of death 12 May 1930(1930-05-12) (aged 37) Place of death Berrigan, New South Wales Original team(s) Wesley College, Melbourne | ||
Place of birth Daylesford, Victoria | ||
Carl Willis (23 March 1893 – 12 May 1930) was an Australian sportsman who played Australian rules football with South Melbourne and University in the Victorian Football League (VFL) as well as first-class cricket for Victoria.
Life and career
Willis was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, and the University of Melbourne. He was a regular player for University in his first season, however he was suspended for four weeks after being reported by a steward. A dentist by profession, he captained South Melbourne in the 1921 season.
He enlisted in November 1915 and served as a dentist with the Australian Army Medical Corps Dental Detail, rising to the rank of captain in July 1918.
His cricket career, which began in 1913-14, continued after he retired as a footballer. Willis represented both the Australian Imperial Forces and Victorian cricket teams for 15 years. He was selected to tour New Zealand in 1920-21 with the Australian team but was unavailable.
He practised dentistry in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern until 1929, when he moved to Numurkah in northern Victoria and then to Tocumwal in New South Wales. He died of pneumonia in May 1930 in Berrigan, New South Wales.