During the 1960's, Tom battled with his football business, and could envisage that the future profitability of the company was solely based on its production output. If he was to double the production, he could then absorb the running costs of the business and still remain profitable. To achieve this Tom was faced with a dilemma. A business that had operated for almost 100 years had to grow. Without growth, T.W. Sherrin Pty.Ltd. would stagnate, and he could not see a bright future for the next generation of the family.

Tom had many friends and colleagues within the sportsgoods industry, and discussed the possibility of selling the business with one of his good friends, Jack May.

Jack was the General Manager of Spalding Australia and Tom was impressed by his business acumen and his future direction as to where the industry was heading. After much discussion, Tom finally agreed to sell the business to Spalding in 1972.

Tom would stay on as manager of the Sherrin division of Spalding, a position he held until his tragic death in 1978. The Sherrin takeover by Spalding appeared on the front page of every major newspaper in Australia, making news bulletins in Europe and America, and was widely reported in sportsgoods journals throughout the world.