Thomas Usher Pearson (6 March 1913 – 2 March 1999) was a Scottish professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player and
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
.
Playing career
Born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Pearson played for Murrayfield Amateurs, and had a trial for Heart of Midlothian, but signed professional terms with
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
in March 1933. He played over 200 games for Newcastle before and after 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 ...
, scoring a total of 52 goals. Pearson was renowned as a skilful and entertaining outside-left, although he won no major honours at
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Park ...
.
Pearson made a guest appearance for
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 ...
during a wartime international against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in Newcastle when outside left
Eric Brook
Eric Fred Brook (27 November 1907 – 29 March 1965) was an English Association football, footballer who played in the outside left position. Brook was also an England national football team, England international. He was a muscular player with ' ...
was injured before the game. Pearson was at the match as a spectator, but agreed to turn out for England. He was capped twice by Scotland in 1947, which uniquely meant that he had played for both Scotland and England.
In 1948, he was signed by
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
for £4,000, and quickly became a crowd favourite, renowned particularly for his 'double shuffle', which baffled opposing players and spectators alike. Pearson retired at the age of 40, and took up a career as a sports writer, often covering Aberdeen for the ''
Scottish Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
''.
Managerial career
In November 1959, Pearson was appointed manager of Aberdeen, in spite of his lack of coaching or managerial experience, and the six years he had spent outside the game, albeit as an observer. Unusually, his predecessor, Davie Shaw stayed on at the club in his former capacity as coach. Pearson's time in office coincided with the departure or retirement of a number of key players, and long-term injuries to others, alleviated only briefly by the emergence of
Charlie Cooke
Charles Cooke (born 14 October 1942) is a Scottish former footballer. He played as a winger for Aberdeen, Dundee, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, before ending his career in the United States.
Club career
Cooke began his professional career wi ...
, soon on his way to
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. There were a sequence of
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Summer Cup final, ultimately lost to Hibs in 1964, Pearson's reign ended with his resignation on 13 February 1965.