Thomas Chapman (1871 — 1929) was a Welsh professional

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 ...

. He began his career with Newtown before joining

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

side

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

. He joined Chatham Town in 1898 but was forced to move on when the club folded in 1901. He later spent several season with Maidstone United. He also earned seven caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

between 1894 and 1897.

Career

Born in

Newtown, Powys Newtown ( cy, Y Drenewydd) is a town in Powys, Wales. It lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a new town in 1967 and saw population growt ...

, Chapman began his career with his hometown side Newtown in 1890. He spent five years at the club, helping the side to victory in the 1895

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

final in a 3–2 win over

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. In 1895, he joined

side

, becoming the first former Newtown player to play in the league. At City, he joined up with fellow Welshman

Billy Meredith William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each ...

who described Chapman as "a capital centre-half who never knew when he was beaten". He spent one season with City, making 26 league appearances and scoring 3 times. Chapman signed for

in 1896, making 51 appearances in two years. During his time with Grimsby, he became one of the club's first international players when he and teammate Hugh Morris played in a 4–0 defeat to

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 ...

in 1897. He dropped out of the Football League to join Chatham Town in 1898. He spent three years with Chatham but was forced to move on when the club suffered financial difficulties and folded in 1901. He subsequently joined Maidstone United where he finished his career in March 1907. During his career, Chapman won seven caps for the

Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...

. He made his debut in 1894, playing in all three of his countries' fixtures during the 1893–94 British Home Championship. He won his final cap in 1897 against England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Thomas Welsh footballers English Football League players Manchester City F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Newtown A.F.C. players Wales international footballers Association football wing halves 1871 births 1929 deaths People from Newtown, Powys Sportspeople from Powys