Thomas Henderson (1 October 1927 – 31 May 2013) was an English 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, rugb ...

who played as an outside forward. He appeared 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 his hometown team

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

, playing two senior matches for the club. He later moved into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

, assisting Rossendale United,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and Bank Hall Colliery.

Biography

Henderson was born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, on 1 October 1927 and grew up in the town, attending St Stephen's School and then

Burnley Grammar School Burnley Grammar School was latterly, a state-funded selective boys grammar School, situated in Byron Street in Burnley, England. However, during its long history, it moved between a number of sites in the town. History In 1552, on the order of ...

. He died on 31 May 2013, at the age of 85 and was one of the club's oldest surviving players at the time of his death.

Playing career

Henderson, an

outside right 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 ...

, joined Burnley as an amateur during the 1944–45 season and played three matches in the Wartime Football League. He established himself as a regular in the reserve team at Burnley over the following seasons and in 1948–49 was a part of the side that won the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

title. He made his senior debut for the club on 12 September 1949 for the visit to

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 ...

, taking the place of Scottish winger Ian Wilson, who had worn the number 7 shirt two days earlier in the defeat to

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 ...

. Burnley drew 1–1 at Stoke,

Reg Attwell Frederick Reginald Attwell (23 March 1920 – 1 December 1986) was an English professional association footballer who played as a right wing-half. He played in the Football League for West Ham United, Burnley and Bradford City, and also had spel ...

equalising with a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

after the home side had taken the lead in the first minute of the game. Henderson was dropped in favour of Jack Spencer for the next match against

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 ...

and was subsequently forced to wait another month for his second first-team appearance. His second and ultimately final league outing for Burnley came in the 0–1 defeat away at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

on 15 October 1949, after which regular outside right

Jackie Chew John Chew (13 May 1920 – 21 October 2002) was a footballer who played for Burnley, Bradford City and Darwen. He made more than 200 league appearances for Burnley side, scoring more than 40 goals. He played just one season with Bradford City, ...

returned to the team and kept his place for much of the remainder of the season. Henderson remained at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football ...

for another season, but played solely for the reserve team and was released in May 1951.Simpson (2007), p. 497 After leaving Burnley, Henderson moved into

, appearing for both Rossendale United and

in the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

. He later had a spell with Bank Hall Colliery, with whom he won the Burnley Hospital Cup in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Tommy 1927 births 2013 deaths Footballers from Burnley English footballers Association football forwards Burnley F.C. players Rossendale United F.C. players Nelson F.C. players English Football League players