Thomas "Tommy" or "Whitey" Fleming (January 15, 1890 in Beith, Scotland – March 19, 1965 in Quincy, Massachusetts) was a

Scottish American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, d ...

soccer

outside 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 ...

who began his career in Scotland and finished it in the United States. During his Hall of Fame career, Fleming won five

American Cup The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...

s, four National Challenge Cups and at least eight league titles.

Youth

Nickname "Whitey" due to his white hair, Fleming began his career as an apprentice with

Scottish Football League Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fr ...

club Beith F.C. when he was eleven. Three years later, he quit school to devote himself full-time to his athletic career. In 1907, Beith F.C. won the Ayrshire Cup, but Fleming was becoming dissatisfied with the club. When it refused to raise his wages or release him from his contract, he decided to move to the United States.Dell'Apa, Frank A Steelworker Forged History, The Boston Globe, September 28, 2005
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Professional

In September 1907, Fleming arrived in Quincy, Massachusetts, and went to work in the

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

, signing with the company team, of the New England League. The team won the 1908 league and league cup titles. At some point, Fleming returned to Scotland where he signed with

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...

. In 1913, he left Scotland for good to sign with

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

of the amateur Allied American Football Association of Philadelphia. His move was again prompted by the issue of money. Bethlehem Steel offered players both $15 per week to play soccer and a position in the steel yard. The first game in which Fleming appears in a Bethlehem line up was a November 17, 1913 victory over Schuylkill Falls. In May, Bethlehem won the league cup. It also won the league title, giving Fleming a double. Over the next seven seasons, Fleming won four National Challenge Cups (1915, 1916, 1918, 1919). They also won the league cup in 1915. In 1917, the Steelmen joined the professional

National Association Football League The National Association Football League (also spelled ''National Association Foot Ball League'') (NAFBL) was a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which operated between 1895 and 1898. The league was reconstituted in 1906 and continued to oper ...

(NAFBL), winning the league's last three titles (1919, 1920, 1921). They also won the defunct

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

, 1918 and

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

. The America Cup was the American Football Association cup, played from 1884 to 1920. In 1921, the American Soccer League was created by the merger of teams from the NAFBL and the

Southern New England Soccer League The Southern New England Soccer League was a semi-professional soccer league based in New England which was established in 1914 and collapsed in 1921. During its short existence, it featured some of the top teams in the northeast United States. ...

in order to provide a more stable professional league. The Bethlehem Steel ownership decided for financial reasons to move the team to Philadelphia, renaming the team the Philadelphia Field Club for the new league's first season. Philadelphia won the first league championship. At the end of the season, Philadelphia returned to Bethlehem. In July 1922, Fleming, surprising the team management and fans, announced his intention to pursue other playing opportunities. He signed with

J&P Coats J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group). The club ...

soon after. That season, J&P Coats won the league championship as Fleming scored twenty-two goals. Many of Flemings goals came from the penalty spot as he was the team's preferred penalty kick taker. This was in line with his time at Bethlehem when he made 39 of 40 penalty kicks. In August 1924, Fleming signed with the Boston Wonder Workers. He spent the next five seasons in Boston, winning the 1928 league championship. In 1929, he played one league cup game with the

Fall River Marksmen Fall River Marksmen was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before becoming known as the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of t ...

Coaching

When he retired from playing professionally, Fleming became a coach with Quincy High School.

National Soccer Hall of Fame

The U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame inducted Fleming in 2005 as part of a process of recognizing significant pre-1950s players. According to the Hall of Fame, "We were aware that in the early decades of the Hall of Fame a number of outstanding players had slipped through the cracks of the selection process. In order to correct these oversights we established a Blue Ribbon panel consisting of historians Colin Jose, Roger Allaway and Hall of Famer

Walter Bahr Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, to review the credentials of all Veterans from the pre-NASL era. Out of a total of 150 players who met the eligibility criteria, the panel unanimously recommended, and the Board approved, the special induction of these five players." Fleming was among the five selected.Soccer Hall of Fame

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Tommy 1890 births 1965 deaths Scottish footballers Beith F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Scottish emigrants to the United States American soccer players Southern New England Soccer League players Fore River players National Association Football League players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Philadelphia Field Club players J&P Coats players Boston Soccer Club players Fall River Marksmen players Association football forwards American soccer coaches National Soccer Hall of Fame members Sportspeople from Quincy, Massachusetts Footballers from North Ayrshire Association football outside forwards Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate footballers People from Beith