Reginald Garnet "Tim" Williamson (6 June 1884 – 1 August 1943) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who made 602 appearances 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

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, scoring two goals, as well as 7 appearances 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 ...

Playing career

While he was young, Williamson played

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for Coatham Grammar School. He also played at amateur level for Redcar Juniors and Redcar Crusaders before he kept goal for

in a friendly game versus Cliftonville as a 17-year-old. Middlesbrough were very interested in signing him as a professional, but he only agreed under the condition that they allowed him to continue his interest in becoming a qualified

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

. Williamson's first competitive appearance for the club was in a game versus Crook Town in the

Northern Football Alliance The Northern Football Alliance is a football league based in the North East, England. It has four divisions headed by the Premier Division, which sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. The top club in the Premier Division ...

on 1 January 1902, with his league debut coming in a home game against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on 19 April of the same year. Initially an understudy for Scottish international

Rab Macfarlane Robert Macfarlane (14 May 1876 – 27 July 1943) was a Scottish association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Greenock Morton F.C., Morton, Third Lanark A.C., Third Lanark, Everton F.C., Ever ...

, he gained a regular place in

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

and never looked back. Williamson's Middlesbrough service saw him make 602 appearances in all competitions, of which 130 were consecutive. His appearance total is still a Middlesbrough record. He was nicknamed "Tiny", due to him being barely tall. He played in the last game at

Linthorpe Road Linthorpe Road was a cricket and football ground in Middlesbrough in England. It was the home ground of Middlesbrough Cricket Club and Middlesbrough F.C. History Linthorpe Road opened as a cricket ground in 1875, and football began to be pl ...

and the first league game at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It was demolished in 1997 and r ...

. He scored two goals, both from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

, though after he missed one against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

he never took another, after feeling the risk of racing back to his own goal was both too risky and tiring. He was Middlesbrough's first capped goalkeeper, gaining seven full

caps. His first came against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in February 1905 in the first international to be played at Ayresome Park, in which he scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

. His next appearance did not come for six more years, with the brilliance of

Sam Hardy Sam Hardy may refer to: * Sam Hardy (actor) * Sam Hardy (footballer) Sam Hardy (26 August 1882 – 24 October 1966) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Football career In 1902, Chesterfield manager Jack Hoskin beat Derby Co ...

keeping him out of the team. Williamson's reserved occupation meant that he was exempt from a call-up for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

The 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 ...

refused to sanction his benefit later, on the grounds that those years during the war did not count towards his Middlesbrough service. He did eventually receive a game however, versus

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. His final game came on 24 March 1923, a 1–0 defeat to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. At 38 years and 9 months old, he would be the oldest player to represent Boro until

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

broke that record 74 years later.

Retirement

On retirement, he was paid a sum of £1000, as well as a silver tea and coffee service from Middlesbrough chairman

Philip Bach Philip Bach (September 1872 – 30 December 1937) was an English footballer who played at full back. He played his club football for various teams including Middlesbrough and Sunderland and made one appearance for England in 1899. He was later ...

. Williamson continued to keep goal for a works team, however. Not interested in watching football, he spent his free time playing

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

and taking his sporting gun to Teesmouth. He died on 1 August 1943 at North Ormesby Hospital following an operation, and is buried in Coatham Churchyard.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Tim 1884 births 1943 deaths English men's footballers Middlesbrough F.C. players England men's international footballers People from North Ormesby English Football League players English Football League representative players Men's association football goalkeepers