John Henry Thompson (4 July 1932 – 29 December 2006) 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 made 50 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and Lincoln City. Thompson was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and began his football career as an apprentice with his local Football League club, Newcastle United. He played eight matches in the First Division, and played in the

1955 FA Charity Shield The 1955 FA Charity Shield was the 33rd FA Community Shield, FA Charity Shield, the annual association football, football match played between the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup competitions. It was contested between C ...

, in which Newcastle lost 3–0 to Chelsea. He was third choice, behind

Jack Fairbrother John Fairbrother (16 August 1917 – October 1999, born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire) was an English professional football goalkeeper, best known for his time at Newcastle United shortly after the Second World War where he won a FA C ...

and

Ronnie Simpson Ronald Campbell Simpson (11 October 1930 – 19 April 2004) was a Scottish football player and coach. He is mainly remembered for his time with Celtic, where he was the goalkeeper in the ''Lisbon Lions'' team that won the European Cup in 1967. ...

, and left for Second Division club Lincoln City in 1957 for a fee of £2,500. He played regularly during his first season with Lincoln, but lost his place to Bill Heath and others, and then moved into

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with

Horden Colliery Welfare Horden Community Welfare Football Club, usually abbreviated to Horden CW is a football club based in Horden, County Durham, England. The club was formed as Horden Colliery Welfare in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League in 1935, reaching th ...

. He died in 2006 at the age of 74.

References

1932 births 2006 deaths Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Newcastle United F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Darlington Town F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-goalkeeper-stub