Thomas Lawrence Davis (3 February 1911 – 1987) was an Irish former association footballer who played as a

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 several clubs in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

and the

English 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 Engl ...

. Davis was also a dual international footballer—playing for both the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

(FAI) and

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 ...

(IFA), scoring a total of five goals in five

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s. He was born in

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Club career

Davis spent his early career playing junior football with former

clubs such as Frankfort and Midland Athletic before playing in the League of Ireland itself with Shelbourne and then

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. His goalscoring form brought Davis a trial with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

early in the 1931–32, but it was with

Boston Town Boston Town Football Club is a football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. It is currently a member of the and plays at Tattershall Road. History The club was established as Boston Football Club in 1963 by former officials of Bosto ...

that he enjoyed his first settled spell in English football. Davis arrived in the English League proper with

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

, but it was a move to New Brighton 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 ...

that brought him to the attention of the wider world. Signed by French side

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

in 1935, he failed to settle, and broke his contract to return to England with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

. After serving a three-month ban for breaking his contract, he returned to his goalscoring ways. His tally of 35 goals during the 1936–37 season is still a record for an Oldham player. He scored four

hat-tricks A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...

and scored seven goals in a seven-game run – five in the league and two in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. Midway through the 1937–38 season Davis signed for

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

and his return of six goals in ten matches helped push the club to the English Third Division North title, and promotion to the English Second Division for the first time in the club's history. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Davis returned to the

, playing with

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

, Drumcondra and Shelbourne. He did briefly return to England where he made a handful of appearances for

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

. He also had a spell with

Distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

, where he netted 24 goals in a single season.

Irish international

When Davis began his international career in 1936 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Ac ...

and the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

– based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Davis, played for both teams.

FAI XI

Between 1936 and 1938 Davis made 4 appearances and scored 4 goals for the FAI XI. He made his international debut on 17 October 1936 in a 5–2 win against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. He marked the occasion with two goals. Davis scored the FAI XI's second goal when he converted a penalty in the 40th minute. Then in the 75th minute when

Paddy Moore Paddy Moore (4 August 1909 – 24 July 1951) was an Irish professional footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers and Aberdeen. Moore was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. ...

shot from 25 yards and the German goalkeeper fumbled, Davis was on hand to get the fifth goal. Davis won his second FAI cap on 6 December 1936 and scored again in a 3–2 home defeat against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. In May 1938 he was included in an FAI squad that briefly toured Central European. Davis led the attacking line in both matches. On 18 May he scored his fourth and final goal for the FAI XI in a 2–2 draw against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He made his final appearance for the FAI XI in a 6–0 defeat against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. This was the only international match in which Davis played that he failed to score.

IFA XI

On 18 November 1936, Davis made his one and only appearance for the IFA XI in a 3–1 defeat against

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 the 1937 British Home Championship. Davis maintained his impressive international scoring record when he scored the only goal for the IFA XI.

Honours

Tranmere Rovers *

: 1937–38: Cork City * Munster Senior Cup: 1939

References

External links

Tommy Davis
at My Football Database

nifootball.blogspot.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Tom 1911 births 1987 deaths Men's association football forwards Association footballers from County Dublin Boston Town F.C. (1920s) players Cork F.C. players Cork City F.C. (1938–1940) players Dual Irish men's international footballers Dundalk F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players FC Metz players League of Ireland players Lisburn Distillery F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Shelbourne F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Drumcondra F.C. players Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Irish expatriate sportspeople in France