Thomas White (12 August 1939 – 17 December 2019) was a Scottish 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 ...

. He played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Football career

A prolific scorer during his early career with Raith Rovers, White's time at Rovers was shortened by two years of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, during which time he played for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He also played for St Mirren, then managed by Jackie Cox. White joined Hearts for £8,000 in November 1963 and was soon dubbed "Goal-a-game White" by the local media.Hogan, p193 His attacking partnership with

Willie Wallace William Semple Brown Wallace (born 23 June 1940) is a Scottish former football player and coach. He won the European Cup with Celtic in 1967 along with several domestic honours. His other clubs included Stenhousemuir, Raith Rovers, Heart of M ...

was particularly effective and earned the sobriquet the "W-formation", White's abrasive, bustling style complementing Wallace.Price pp42-43 In tandem, they scored 48 goals during the 1963–64 season; however, White's progress was interrupted when he suffered severe injuries in a car crash in

Wallyford Wallyford is a village near Musselburgh and approximately east of Edinburgh in East Lothian, Scotland. History The village was initially populated by coal miners and later grew as an overspill/commuter town for workers in Musselburgh and Edi ...

. White remained a regular in the Hearts side up until January 1965; however, with

Donald Ford Donald Campbell Clark Ford (born 25 October 1944) is a Scottish former international footballer, best remembered for his 11-year playing stint with Heart of Midlothian. Football career Tommy Walker signed Ford for Hearts from junior side B ...

blossoming into first-team contention, manager Tommy Walker saw fit to allow White to go, and in June 1965 he moved to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in an exchange deal for

Don Kerrigan Don Kerrigan (1941–1990) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played for St Mirren, Aberdeen, Heart of Midlothian, Dunfermline Athletic, Fulham, Lincoln City and Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Irel ...

. White moved to Crystal Palace, then playing 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 May 1966, in a combined deal along with teammate John McCormick. He scored 14 times for Palace in 40 appearances, in all competitions, before moving to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in February 1968. He finished his playing career with a short spell at Crewe Alexandra in 1971–72. He later became a director of Blackpool for 12 years only to be ousted by the then new chairman of the club,

Owen Oyston Owen John Oyston (born 3 January 1934) is an English former businessman best known as the former majority owner of Blackpool Football Club. Oyston was convicted of rape and indecent assault of a 16-year-old girl in 1996. He served three years and ...

Personal life

White was the younger brother of John White and Eddie White, both professional footballers. In July 1964 his 27-year-old brother John was killed at Crews Hill Golf Course, Enfield, by a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

-strike. That year in November, White played in a testimonial match for his sibling for Tottenham Hotspur against a Scottish national side; 25,000 spectators paid their respects, as, despite White's goal, Scotland won 6–2.

Death

White died on 17 December 2019, aged 80."Tommy White, former Hearts forward, dies at age of 80"
- ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'', 17 December 2019

References

;Footnotes ;Sources * * *

External links

Appearance details
at londonhearts.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Tom 1939 births 2019 deaths Scottish footballers Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Scottish Football League representative players Scottish Junior Football Association players Crystal Palace F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Bury F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Blackpool F.C. managers Sportspeople from Musselburgh Scottish Football League players English Football League players Association football forwards Blackpool F.C. directors and chairmen Scottish football managers Footballers from East Lothian