Edwin Henry Charles Thomas (9 November 1932 – 23 September 2020) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the early 1950s.

Football career

Thomas was born in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

where he became an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

engineer with

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

at the Swindon Works. Whilst playing for the works team, he caught the eye of a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

from

of the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

, joining them as an amateur in 1949. He made his

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

debut on 17 December 1949, displacing Len Stansbridge, and over the next year, he and Stansbridge vied for the role of second choice 'keeper behind Scottish international Ian Black. Black moved to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in July 1950, with

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

international Hugh Kelly joining the Saints in exchange. On 7 October 1950, Kelly was called into the Northern Irish team for a match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and manager

Sid Cann Sydney Thomas Cann (30 October 1911 – 1 November 1996) was an English professional football defender and football manager. He was capped twice by England at Schools level. Playing career Born in Babbacombe, Torquay, Sid Cann joined Torquay U ...

promoted Thomas to the first-team for a match against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. At a month before his 18th birthday, Thomas thus became Southampton's youngest-ever first-team goalkeeper, until the debut of Bob Charles in 1959. Although the match was lost 2–0, Thomas was not deemed to be at fault for either of the goals. Thomas briefly became the second-choice 'keeper for the first eleven, making four further appearances before Christmas, but the signing of John Christie in January 1951 relegated him back to the reserves. Thomas was signed as a professional in May 1951, having gained three England Youth caps. In September 1951, Thomas was recalled to the first-team following a poor match by Christie, but after three matches Stansbridge took over until the arrival of

Fred Kiernan Frederick William Kiernan (7 July 1919 – December 1981) was an Irish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the 1940s and 1950s. Playing career He was born in Dublin and his first senior club was Shelbourne, though he initial ...

in October. By November, Thomas has also lost his place in the reserves to Stansbridge and, unable to regain his place, he was released in the summer of 1953.

Later career

Although he turned out for

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

in 1956, Thomas was unable to continue his professional career. He later represented Wiltshire at

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

Death

Thomas died on 23 September 2020 aged 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Eddie 1931 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Swindon English footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Southampton F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players