Thomas Walter Green (August 1863 – 2 October 1923) was an English

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 ...

, known for scoring

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

's first goal in the

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 ...

Playing career

He played for Dreadnought F.C., Mitchell St George's, Aston Unity F.C.,

Great Lever Great Lever is a suburb of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is south of Bolton town centre and the same distance north of Farnworth. The district is served by frequent buses running to Bolton town centre, Farnwo ...

, Small Heath Alliance, Church Villa F.C.,

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

and Worcester Rovers as well as guesting for several teams, including

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 ...

, the club he had scored Villa's first league goal against. He played in Albion's 1886 and

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

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 ...

finals, losing both (the latter against Villa).

Season 1888-89

Tommy Green played one season in the Football League (1888-1889), the inaugural season. His League Debut was in the first Aston Villa League match, he played as a forward, at

Dudley Road Dudley Road was a football ground in Wolverhampton in England. It was the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers between 1881 and 1889, and was used during the first season of the Football League. History The ground began to be used in 1881, ...

, Wolverhampton on 8 September 1888 and Green scored Aston Villa' 1st ever League goal in a 1–1 draw with

. On 15 September 1888 Tommy Green became the first Aston Villa player to score two League goals. Tommy scored his only League hat-trick on 29 September 1888 as Villa routed Notts County 9–1. Green scored 2 in a match twice. In season 1888-89 he played all 22 of Aston Villa' League games scoring 14 goals. As a forward he played in a forward-line that scored three-League-goals-or-more-in-a-match on no less than on ten occasions. He scored 19 goals in 29 Villa starts and was 2nd top scorer for Villa in a team that finished 2nd. Green was described as an enthusiastic forward. In an era in which centre-forwards were expected to be able to charge goalkeepers into the goals, Green was known as the most brutal in the game. His son, also

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

, played for Albion, as well as

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

and

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

References

1863 births 1923 deaths Sportspeople from Worcester, England Association football forwards Birmingham St George's F.C. players Aston Unity F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Great Lever F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players English Football League players Date of birth missing English footballers FA Cup Final players {{England-footy-forward-1860s-stub