The role that Wills and others played in pioneering Australian football went largely unrecognised in their lifetimes as the sport had yet to develop a historical perspective.
By the late 1870s, Wills' 1858 letter calling for the organisation and codification of football was recognised as a seminal document.
He wrote at this time that he attempted to promote football in Victoria as early as 1857, "but it was not taken to kindly until the following year".
By 1908, the year of Australian football's jubilee celebrations, H. C. A. Harrison had become known as the "father of football" on account of his substantial reputation on and off the field.
Wills was the next most often recalled pioneer during this period, and Harrison credited him with initiating the sport when he "recommended that we Australians should work out a game of our own."
More recent historiography has shown that while Harrison played a pivotal role over a long period, he did not co-write the first rules in 1859, nor did he play in the 1858 games.
With this correction, a number of historians elevated Wills to a position of pre-eminence, variously calling him the game's founder, father or inventor.
Blainey said of Wills: "It is far too much to say that he founded the game, but it would be too little to say that he was simply one among many founders."

It is often said that, due to his suicide, Wills was written out of the game's history, or at the very least downplayed as an important figure.
De Moore rejects this view, noting that the contributions of Hammersley, Smith, Thompson and other pioneers, rather than those of Wills, were generally overlooked.
In her analysis of early football, Hibbins concludes that Thompson's journalistic ability as a promoter of the game "probably" makes him the most significant pioneer, and that the importance of Wills' role has been over-emphasised.
Echoing Hibbins' arguments, Roy Hay writes that Wills, while a "catalyst" for football, was "much more interested in playing and performing than in organising".
British historian Tony Collins even compared Wills to William Webb Ellis and Abner Doubleday, the apocryphal inventors of rugby and baseball respectively.
In response to Collins' suggestion that Wills "quickly faded from the footballing scene", journalist James Coventry highlighted his seventeen-year playing career (by far the longest of the pioneers), the influence he wielded as captain-coach of various clubs for much of that time, and his administrative work.
He concludes that Collins and other scholars have "perversely" devalued Wills' real contributions "in their rush to discredit [the Marngrook theory]".
The role that Wills and others played in pioneering Australian football went largely unrecognised in their lifetimes as the sport had yet to develop a historical perspective. By the late 1870s, Wills' 1858 letter calling for the organisation and codification of football was recognised as a seminal document. He wrote at this time that he attempted to promote football in Victoria as early as 1857, "but it was not taken to kindly until the following year". By 1908, the year of Australian football's jubilee celebrations, H. C. A. Harrison had become known as the "father of football" on account of his substantial reputation on and off the field. Wills was the next most often recalled pioneer during this period, and Harrison credited him with initiating the sport when he "recommended that we Australians should work out a game of our own." More recent historiography has shown that while Harrison played a pivotal role over a long period, he did not co-write the first rules in 1859, nor did he play in the 1858 games. With this correction, a number of historians elevated Wills to a position of pre-eminence, variously calling him the game's founder, father or inventor. Blainey said of Wills: "It is far too much to say that he founded the game, but it would be too little to say that he was simply one among many founders."
It is often said that, due to his suicide, Wills was written out of the game's history, or at the very least downplayed as an important figure. De Moore rejects this view, noting that the contributions of Hammersley, Smith, Thompson and other pioneers, rather than those of Wills, were generally overlooked. In her analysis of early football, Hibbins concludes that Thompson's journalistic ability as a promoter of the game "probably" makes him the most significant pioneer, and that the importance of Wills' role has been over-emphasised. Echoing Hibbins' arguments, Roy Hay writes that Wills, while a "catalyst" for football, was "much more interested in playing and performing than in organising". British historian Tony Collins even compared Wills to William Webb Ellis and Abner Doubleday, the apocryphal inventors of rugby and baseball respectively. In response to Collins' suggestion that Wills "quickly faded from the footballing scene", journalist James Coventry highlighted his seventeen-year playing career (by far the longest of the pioneers), the influence he wielded as captain-coach of various clubs for much of that time, and his administrative work. He concludes that Collins and other scholars have "perversely" devalued Wills' real contributions "in their rush to discredit [the Marngrook theory]".
Tom Wills