Thomas Heathcote Sorby (16 February 1856 – 13 December 1930) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 one appearance for

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 ...

Football career

Sorby was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, the fourth of ten children of Thomas Austin Sorby (1823–1885) and Dorothy Heathcote (1826–1904). His father was a partner in Robert Sorby and Sons, the family business, described as "Edge Tool Manufacturers". He was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and played for various Sheffield football clubs including the Thursday Wanderers and

, claimed to be the oldest football club in the world. He also represented the

Sheffield FA The Sheffield and Hallamshire Football Association is a County Football Association in England. It was formed in Sheffield in 1867 as the Sheffield Football Association, and is the second-oldest football governing body after the Football Associ ...

. His solitary England appearance came when he was one of five new players selected for the match against

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 ...

at the

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

on 18 January 1879. The match was played in a blizzard and both captains agreed to play halves of only 30 minutes each. This was the first match between the two countries — Wales had previously only played three international matches, all against Scotland, including a 9–0 defeat in March 1878. England's two goals came from Sorby and fellow débutante,

Herbert Whitfeld Herbert Whitfeld (15 November 1858 – 6 May 1909) was an English amateur sportsman who played association football and county cricket. In football, he helped Old Etonians win the 1879 FA Cup Final and was on the losing side in 1881 as well as ...

, with William Davies scoring for Wales. According to the football historian, Philip Gibbons, "England were surprised by the level of skill shown by the Welsh team".

Family

Sorby married Annie Maud Laycock (1861–1933) on 7 August 1889 in Sheffield. They had one child, Violet Maude, who was born on 25 June 1891. She remained single and died childless before March 1979. His brother, Albert Ernest Sorby (1859–1934) was a clergyman who became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Darfield, South Yorkshire Darfield is a village within the Barnsley (borough), Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It is Historic counties of England, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The village is situated approximately east f ...

, and a member of the Upton Park Football Club.

Career outside football

Sorby was a member of Robert Sorby and Sons, the family firm of edge tool manufacturers based in Sheffield. On his father's death in 1885, Sorby and his brother, Robert Arthur Sorby, took control of the company although Robert died in 1896. Sorby left the family business in 1906 and was the last member of the family to be actively involved with the business. Since that time the firm has changed hands several times but still retains the "Robert Sorby" name and is noted as a maker of high end chisels and woodworking tools. Sorby settled in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

where he died on 13 December 1930.

References

External links

England career detailsRobert Sorby company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorby, Thomas 1856 births 1930 deaths Footballers from Sheffield People educated at Cheltenham College English footballers England international footballers Sheffield F.C. players Association football outside forwards