Thomas Astbury (9 February 1920 – 19 October 1993) was a Welsh professional footballer. Born in

Buckley, Flintshire Buckley ( cy, Bwcle ) is a town and community in Flintshire, north-east Wales, from the county town of Mold and contiguous with the villages of Ewloe, Alltami and Mynydd Isa. It is on the A549 road, with the larger A55 road passing nearby. Buc ...

, he spent his entire professional career with

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

from 1938 to 1955. He is one of the club's top 10

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 ...

appearance holders with 303 such appearances to his name, with a high number of wartime league appearances having also been made.Sumner (1997), stats section

Playing career

Astbury, a

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who also 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 ...

, joined

as a part-time professional in 1938 after being spotted playing for Mold Alexandra.Obituary, Chester City v. Torquay United matchday programme; 30 October 1993; p. 13 The outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the following year put his league career on hold but quickly shot Astbury into the first-team ranks, playing in the first wartime match against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He went on to play regularly throughout the war years and was rewarded with two wartime

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

caps against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1945. He also guested for Everton,

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, playing for the latter in the northern final of the

Football League War Cup The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945. It aimed to fill the gap left in English football by the suspension of the FA Cup during the Second World War. Though it was often referred to in conte ...

. When peacetime league football resumed in August 1946, Astbury was included in the Chester line-up at

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

on the first day of the new season in a 4–4 draw. Later in the season he scored in a 2–0

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 ...

win against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

that set up a fourth round tie with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

, featuring

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while stil ...

. Astbury was involved in the goalless draw at a packed

Sealand Road Sealand Road was the home stadium of Chester City Football Club (until 1983 known as Chester Football Club) from 1906 until 1990. Although officially known simply as The Stadium, it was more commonly referred to as Sealand Road. It was much loved ...

and the 3–2 defeat in the replay. He ended the season by scoring for Chester in their third and final

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

victory against

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. One of Astbury's finest hours came against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

on 6 November 1948 when he performed superbly against the great

Raich Carter Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter (21 December 1913 – 9 October 1994) was an English sportsman who played football for Sunderland, Derby County and Hull City, as well as representing England on thirteen occasions. He also played first-class cri ...

despite being on the losing side. He remained prominently involved in the Chester side for most of his remaining years at the club, playing his final game in a 2–0 defeat against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on 11 April 1955. He retired from playing at the end of the season.Sumner (1997), p. 68 While at Chester, Astbury had enjoyed a benefit match against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

on 6 April 1949. After leaving football, Astbury worked for a building supplies firm and was an ex-captain and lifelong vice-president of

Hawarden Hawarden (; cy, Penarlâg) is a village, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border and is home ...

Golf Club.

Honours

Chester * 1945–46:

Football League Third Division North Cup The Football League Third Division North Cup was a association football, football knockout competition open to teams competing in Football League Third Division North. The competition was first held in 1933–34 Football League, 1933–34 and ran un ...

runners-up * 1946–47:

winners * 1952–53:

runners-up * 1953–54:

runners-up * 1948–49: Benefit Match Manchester United * 1944–45:

runners-up (guest player)

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astbury, Tommy 1920 births 1993 deaths People from Buckley, Flintshire Footballers from Flintshire Welsh men's footballers Wales men's wartime international footballers English Football League players Men's association football midfielders Chester City F.C. players Everton F.C. wartime guest players Manchester United F.C. wartime guest players Wrexham F.C. wartime guest players Mold Alexandra F.C. players