An elder brother, Robert Cummings, also played for Fitzroy and their father, Percy, was a Hawthorn player.
[1] The sixth selection of the 1993 AFL Draft, Cummings spent three seasons with Fitzroy and despite making 27 appearances he only played in three wins.
[2] At the end of 1996, the Brisbane Lions were formed and Cummings didn't make their squad, instead secured by the West Coast Eagles with pick 57 in the national draft despite having recently undergone a knee reconstruction.
He played just two games at his new club in 1997 and instead spent most of the year in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) with Peel Thunder.
[3] In 2003, he sued both the Eagles and Subiaco Oval authorities for loss of earning, and received a six-figure settlement.