Tom Keetley (16 November 1898 – 18 August 1958) 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 ...

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 ...

. He scored 284

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 ...

goals between 1919 and 1934.

Life and career

One of eleven brothers and one sister, he was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

and came from a footballing family with several other brothers who played professionally including Arthur,

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

and Charlie. The first

side he played for was Bradford Park Avenue, and he first played in the league for them in 1919–20, going on to make 22 league appearances for them over a four-season period. In 1923–24 he first played league football for

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

, a club which three of his brothers (Harry, Joe and Frank) played for in their careers. He remains the all-time top scorer for Doncaster with 180 league goals. He also holds the club record for scoring 6 goals in one game against

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

Division Three (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 ...

on 16 February 1929. In 1929 he moved to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

for £750, where he scored his first hat-trick for the club on his debut, in a 3–1 win against Bristol City on 30 August 1929. Keetley holds two significant records in the history of Notts County, of scoring the most goals in a season – 39 in 34 league games – and ten hat-tricks in four seasons. He left Notts in 1933 to join Lincoln City, having scored 94 goals in 103 league appearances and four goals in seven FA Cup ties. He played just 10 games for Lincoln in 1934 before briefly moving onto non-league Gresley Rovers in 1934, and then Heanor Town. He is 29th in the all-time top scorers list in league football in England and Scotland having the 9th highest goals per game ratio of 0.75. As of June 2005 he was ranked 19th in the all-time list of highest scoring players scoring in English league football, having scored 284 goals between 1919 and 1934. After his professional career ended he was landlord of the Rose and Crown in

Chellaston Chellaston is a suburban village on the southern outskirts of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. History An early mention of Chellaston is thought to be a reference to Ceolarde's hill. This is mentioned in a 1009 charter when nearby lan ...

, Derby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keetley, Tom 1898 births 1958 deaths Footballers from Derby English footballers Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Gresley F.C. players Heanor Town F.C. players English Football League players People from Chellaston Association football forwards