Thomas Widdowson (1862 – 1944) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

Early career

Tom Widdowson was born in

Hucknall Hucknall, formerly Hucknall Torkard, is a market town in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies 7 miles north of Nottingham, 7 miles south-east of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, 9 miles from Mansfield and 10 miles south of Sutton-i ...

, in the County of

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 trad ...

. When Widdowson was born, (between 1 January and 31 March 1862) Hucknall was an industrial centre just to the North of the City of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. Apparently, Widdowson appeared to be a late developer in football terms as he was not signed by

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

until 1887, when he was past his 25th Birthday. When Widdowson was on the books at Nottingham Forest, 1887-1888 the club were not playing in a competitive League but did enter the

F.A. 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 competiti ...

. Widdowson was still at Forest at the start of 1888–1889 season but by December 1888 Notts County needed a goalkeeper and so Widdowson, approaching his 27th Birthday signed for a Football League club.

League & Notts County debut

Tom Widdowson made his debut at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also ...

, Nottingham on 8 December 1888. The opponents were high-flying Aston Villa, with only 1,500 in attendance. The weather was terrible, heavy rainfall, and Notts County had prioritized a FA Cup tie so the League team was described as a "scratch" side. Many County players were making their Club or League debuts and some, never played again after this match. However, picked out for praise was Tom Widdowson who was described by contemporary accounts as having a good match. Widdowson could do nothing to stop the shot from Albert Brown that put Villa ahead. Widdowson had parried a powerful shot from Villa forward,

Archie Hunter Archibald Hunter (23 September 1859 – 29 November 1894) was a Scottish footballer who was the first captain of Aston Villa to lift the FA Cup, in 1887. He was one of Victorian football's first household names. Life and career Born in Joppa ...

, but he couldn't hold the ball which fell to Brown who scored. County played well after going behind and came back into the game and got a deserved equalizer, scored by Bob Jardine. 1–1 at Half-Time. Villa forward Archie Goodall restored Villa' lead. Goodall latched onto a shot by fellow forward, Tommy Green and swept the ball past Widdowson. County rallied again after falling behind and scored a second equalizer by debut man Fred Weightman. County did have a chance to take the lead but after County equalized it was all Villa. Tommy Green restored Villa' lead and Archie Goodall made sure of the two points with his second goal in the match. Full Time score Notts County 2-4 Aston Villa.

1888-1889 season

Tom Widdowson made his debut on 8 December 1888 as goalkeeper for Notts County. He became ever-present from his debut so, from 8 December 1888 until the final game of the season, 16 March 1889 Widdowson played 12 times in goal in League matches and twice in FA Cup ties. He achieved two clean-sheets. In a 3–0 win over high-flying

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

at Trent Bridge on 19 January 1889 and a 2–0 win over Old Brightonians at Trent Bridge on 2 February 1889. The latter match was a FA Cup first-round tie. Widdowson played 12 league matches for Notts County and when he played his team scored 21 goals (out of 40) and conceded 37 out of 73 goals. The 40 goals was the joint third lowest tally by any League club that season. The 73 goals conceded was the worst by any League club in 1888–1889. Notts County finished 11th and had to seek re-election. (registration & fee required)

1889 onwards

Widdowson was retained for the 1889–1890 season by Notts County but he never got to play a first team match. So when he played on 16 March 1889 at Castle Cricket Ground, Nottingham against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

that was his last match for Notts County and his last League appearance. In 1890 he returned to Nottingham Forest. Nottingham Forest played in a League called the

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

which Forest won in 1891–1892. In 1892-1893 Nottingham Forest were elected to the Football League. Widdowson remained on Forest' books until 1898 but he was never called up to play a League match. In 1898 now aged 36, he left Forest and joined Kimberley Town Football Club who competed in the FA Cup. There are no records of when Widdowson retired from football. Widdowson passed away, aged 82, on 20 June 1944 in Nottingham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widdowson, Thomas 1862 births 1944 deaths English men's footballers Nottingham Forest F.C. players Notts County F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Sportspeople from Hucknall Footballers from Nottinghamshire