Tommy Town immigrated to Canada, more specifically Brandon, in 1910. He brought with him impressive credentials as a runner, having been a national junior champion in England.

Town’s track career did not miss a stride in Canada. In his first meet in Manitoba, he won the provincial three-mile championship, as well as races at the quarter-mile, half-mile, mile and five-mile distances. That one day performance was just the beginning.

Town won eight Canadian championships between 1919 and 1924 in distances ranging from 880 yards to five miles. In 1919 he was the Canadian 5 mile Champion in Ottawa. In Montreal in 1920 he won both the 5 mile and 5000 metre national titles. He repeated this feat of dual national championships in 1921 in Winnipeg, capturing the 5 and 3 mile events (in the latter, he defeated the legendary Joe Keeper). In 1922 he was the 5 mile national champ in Calgary. He capped off his competitive career in 1924 in Winnipeg, winning the 880 yard and 1 mile Canadian Championships. He also qualified for two Olympic Games, Antwerp in 1920 and Paris in 1924. A gimpy-legged Town (he injured his ankle while training on board the ship carrying the Canadian Olympic team) failed to qualify for medal competitions in the 5,000 metre and cross-country events at Antwerp. Lack of financial support from the Dominion Track and Field Association kept him from competing in the Paris Games.

Following his track career and retirement from work, Town and his wife Roseta moved from Brandon, bringing Brandon Sun Sports Editor H.L. Crawford to write: “Never out of condition, his clean living habits were an example to all athletes. His stamina and pluck kept him in the forefront of the running game for nearly 20 years. He had a trunk full of medals and a shelf of cups, but never once did he boast of his prowess. Modest and retiring, Tommy Town left Brandon as quietly as he came.”