Thomas Henry Clark (5 October 1924 – 14 June 1981) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. He played for

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

as an opening batsman. His career with them took in the period from 1952 to 1958 when they won an unequalled seven successive

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

titles. He began with the

Minor County The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, that being the county of his birth, and played three matches for them in August 1946. He then joined Surrey. He played in only six first-class matches in total between 1947 and 1949, but made a big advance in 1950 when he played in 19 matches, scored his maiden century and averaged 31.37. He had a poor season the following year and appeared in only 11 matches, but in 1952 he reached 1,000 runs in a season for the first time, averaged 36.15 and was awarded his county cap. From then on he was a regular member of the side until worsening

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

meant that after 1959 he was no longer fit enough for first-class cricket. He had two poor seasons in 1955 and 1958, but otherwise reached 1,000 runs every year, making six times in all. When he made his highest score of 191 against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

in 1956, he put on 174 in two hours with

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

for the third wicket. He was a useful off-spinner, but his opportunities with the ball were limited by the presence in the Surrey side of

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of York ...

and Eric Bedser. Before concentrating on cricket, he played

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 ...

for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, appearing in their reserve team. In May 1948 he moved to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, for whom he scored three goals in nine first team games in the

Third Division (South) The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to o ...

.Tom Clark

Walsall F.C. Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects ...

. Retrieved 2023-04-16.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Tom 1924 births 1981 deaths English cricketers Surrey cricketers English men's footballers Aston Villa F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Cricketers from Luton Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Bedfordshire cricketers Players cricketers Men's association football players not categorized by position Footballers from Luton