Tommy Thompson (footballer, born 1928)

Thomas Thompson (10 November 1928 – 15 September 2015) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Barrow, Newcastle United, Preston North End and Stoke City as well as the England national team.[1]

Tommy Thompson
Personal information
Full name Thomas Thompson[1]
Date of birth (1928-11-10)10 November 1928
Place of birth Fencehouses, Houghton-le-Spring, England
Date of death 15 September 2015(2015-09-15) (aged 86)
Position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1947–1950 Newcastle United 20 (6)
1950–1955 Aston Villa 149 (67)
1955–1961 Preston North End 189 (116)
1961–1963 Stoke City 42 (17)
1963–1964 Barrow 44 (16)
Total 444 (222)
International career
1951–1957 England 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Tommy "Topper" Thompson was born in Fencehouses, Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham in 1928.[1] He played for Lumley YMCA at junior level and while only 17 he was signed by Newcastle United in January 1946.[2] He made his league debut in the 1947-48 promotion season at Coventry City and scored twice in his four second division appearances. Over the next two seasons he played only 16 games, scoring 4 goals.[3] When manager George Martin left Tyneside in 1950, Thompson soon followed Martin to Aston Villa for £12,500. He made his debut against Blackpool in September of that year, the first of 149 league games for Villa, in which he scored 67 goals.[2] Whilst at Villa Park he earned himself an England cap. He played for England in the 1-1 draw with Wales in Cardiff on 20 October, 1951.[4] He reached double figures in all but one of his five seasons, managing only 9 in the 1952-53 season.[3] At the end of the 1954-55 season Aston Villa announced they would sell Thompson, but only for the right price. On top of his league record he scored 9 goals in 16 FA Cup appearances, to total 76 goals in 165 matches.

Thompson was sold to Preston North End in August 1955 for £27,000, after their initial offer of £20,000 was rejected. New signing Thompson scored after two minutes on his debut, a 4–0 away win at Everton. In quick time he and Tom Finney created a formidable partnership. Thompson finished his first season with 23 goals with Finney netting 18. The following season Thompson scored 26, his contribution in a 57 goal partnership with Finney. His third season saw him score 34 goals in 41 league games, setting a club record for most goals in a top flight season that still stands today.[5] He also won his second England cap, six years after his first, as England beat Scotland 2-1 at Wembley on 6 April, 1957.[4] The next two seasons saw him play only 34 times, scoring 14 goals. After six seasons at Deepdale he ended his Preston career after scoring 129 goals in 212 matches.[6]

He joined Stoke City in August 1961 and scored on his debut against Rotherham United, as he top scored for the Potters with 16 league goals.[7] He played five more times for Stoke, scoring once more the following season, before leaving to join Barrow, who played in the fourth division. Over the next two seasons at Barrow, he scored 16 goals in 44 league appearances.[7] He retired at the end of 1963-64 season, ending his league career with 222 goals in 444 appearances.[8] 187 of those goals were scored in the first division, which ranks Tommy Thompson at 37 of the all-time top scorers in the top flight of English football.

He died at the age of 86 on 15 September 2015.[9]

International career

He acquired his first cap against Wales during the 1951–52 season. He won his second cap in April 1957.[10]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[11]

Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Newcastle United 1947–48 Second Division 4200–42
1948–49 First Division 10100–101
1949–50 First Division 6300–63
Total 20600–206
Aston Villa 1950–51 First Division 311021–3311
1951–52 First Division 361310–3713
1952–53 First Division 22952–2711
1953–54 First Division 342110–3521
1954–55 First Division 261476–3320
Total 14967169–16576
Preston North End 1955–56 First Division 422311–4324
1956–57 First Division 382653–4329
1957–58 First Division 413410–4234
1958–59 First Division 341952–3921
1959–60 First Division 211262–2714
1960–61 First Division 1322242196
Total 189116201042213126
Stoke City 1961–62 Second Division 371631104117
1962–63 Second Division 51000051
Total 421731104618
Barrow 1962–63 Fourth Division 1660000166
1963–64 Fourth Division 281021113112
Total 441621114718
Career Total 444222412163491246

International

Source:[12]

National teamYearAppsGoals
England 195110
195710
Total20

References
  1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. "Tommy Thompson, Villa Forward, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54, 1954-55". AVFC History. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  3. "Tommy Thompson". 11v11.com. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  4. "England Players - Tommy Thompson". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  5. "Tommy Thompson » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  6. "DT92 ~ Tommy Thompson". doingthe92.com. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  7. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Tommy Thompson (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  8. "Tommy Thompson 1928-2015 - News - Preston North End". www.pnefc.net. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  9. "Former top scorer Tommy Thompson dies at age of 86". Stoke Sentinel. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  10. "England Statistics". Englandstats.com. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
  11. Tommy Thompson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  12. Thompson, Tommy at National-Football-Teams.com
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