Thomas Burnett (9 February 1913 – 1986) 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 full back in the Football League for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

Life and career

Burnett was born in 1913 in the Leyburn district of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

, the son of John Burnett, a woodman on the Bolton estate, and his wife Margaret. Burnett made his debut for

in the

1935–36 Football League The 1935– 36 season was the 44th season of The Football League. This season saw two significant changes in the First Division. Prior to this season Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers had been the only ever-present members of English football's to ...

season. Although primarily a full back, he also played as a centre half for Darlington's reserves, and was used in that position for the first team as well, in January 1937 when there were eight enforced changes because of influenza and injuries. He had a run of games at left back at the end of that season, and was retained for 1937–38. After new signing

Mike Boyle Michael David Boyle (January 19, 1944 – September 10, 2021) was an American Democratic politician from Nebraska who served as mayor of Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas Co ...

was injured in October, Burnett came into the league side for the visit of Lincoln City, but was unable to finish the match because of injury. He was offered terms for the 1938–39 season, but turned them down, and was given a free transfer. He finished his Darlington career with 16 appearances in the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

. Burnett's death was registered in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1986.

References

1913 births 1986 deaths People from Leyburn English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Darlington F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-defender-1910s-stub