Thomas Fillingham (6 September 1904 – 1 May 1960) was an English professional

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 centre half. He made 212 appearances in 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 ...

in the late 1920s and 1930s. Born in

Bulwell Bulwell is a market town in the City of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the population of Bulwell at 29,771 which amounted to o ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, Fillingham worked at a colliery and a dyehouse and played local football in the Nottinghamshire area before turning professional with

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, for whom he went on to play 183 games in the

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 ...

. He was a strong, versatile player; originally a forward, he converted to defence, becoming first choice at centre half as the replacement for George Morrall, but was always keen to push forward. He sustained an injury playing for Birmingham in 1934 which resulted in him losing an eye some 15 years later. In 1938 Fillingham moved to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, and played in their first ever match in the

. He made guest appearances for clubs in the Nottinghamshire area during the Second World War, but did not play afterwards. He was also a good cricketer and golfer. He died in Bulwell in 1960 at the age of 55.

Honours

Birmingham *

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 ...

finalist: 1930–31

References

1904 births 1960 deaths People from Bulwell Footballers from Nottinghamshire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Birmingham City F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-defender-1900s-stub