Thomas Edward Fern (1 April 1886 – 21 March 1966) 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

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

Worksop Town Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop. History First clu ...

, Lincoln City, Everton, and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. He won 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 ...

with Everton in 1914–15.

Career

Fern started his career with Mafeking Rovers, Worksop Albion, and

. He signed with Lincoln City in 1909, who had just been re-elected into the

. The "Imps" finished 15th in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1909–10, but failed re-election after a last place finish in 1910–11. After spending the 1911–12 season in the Central League, they regained admittance to the Football League and finished in eighth place in 1912–13. He made a total of 169 league and cup appearances at

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since th ...

. Fern moved on to Everton, who finished 15th in the First Division in 1913–14, before winning the league title in 1914–15. League football was then suspended due to

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 ...

. After hostilities ended, the "Toffees" finished 16th in 1919–20, seventh in 1920–21, 20th in 1921–22, fifth in 1922–23, and seventh in 1923–24. Fern made 231 league appearances during his time at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

. He joined

in June 1924. He was preferred to the inexperienced Sidney Brown and Robert Wallis, and played 37 Second Division and three

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 ...

games in the 1924–25 season. He made 39 appearances in the 1925–26 season. However, in September 1926, at age 40, he picked up an injury and lost his first-team place at

The Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad conditio ...

. He played just 11 games in the 1926–27 season, as goalkeeping duties were shared out between Fern,

George Holdcroft George Henry Holdcroft (23 January 1909 – 17 April 1983), also known as Harry Holdcroft, was an England international football goalkeeper. He played for Port Vale, Darlington, Everton, Accrington Stanley, Barnsley, Burnley, Bury, Oldham At ...

Howard Matthews William Howard Matthews (29 November 1885 – 9 February 1963) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Port Vale, Burton United, Oldham Athletic, Halifax Town, Chester, and Oswestry Town. With Oldham he finished second in the Secon ...

, and Alex Binnie. Fern then left the club and continued his playing career with Colwyn Bay United.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Everton *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1914–15

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fern, Tom 1886 births 1966 deaths People from Measham Footballers from Leicestershire English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Worksop Town F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players English Football League players