Thomas Sampy (14 March 1899 – 1978) 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 ...

who played as a

midfielder 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 ...

. Born in

Backworth Backworth is a village in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, about west of Whitley Bay on the north east coast. It lies northeast of Newcastle. Other nearby towns include North Shields to the sou ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, he played for the majority of his career at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, making nearly 400 appearances for the Blades.

Playing career

Sampy played his early football in his native Tyneside in the north-east of England, turning out for Choppington,

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

and

Chopwell Colliery Chopwell Colliery was a coal mine situated at Chopwell, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. The pit was first sunk in 1781, and was closed on 25 November 1966. The colliery was bought by the Consett Iron Company in 1896, before being handed over to the ...

before being spotted by

. Turning professional and signing for the Blades in November 1920, Sampy was initially employed as an

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, scoring on his debut against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

in February 1921. After playing regularly in that role for a number of seasons, Sampy was switched to

right 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 ...

in the autumn of 1925, where he played for the rest of his Blades career. Sampy was made club captain during the 1930–31 season but lost his place and the captaincy to

Harry Gooney William Harry Gooney (8 October 1910 – 11 June 1978) was an English footballer who played as a wing half. Career Gooney had captained both Sheffield and England boys while a junior and joined home-town Sheffield United immediately after leavi ...

a year later. Regaining his place in the first team during the 1932–33 season, Sampy remained a regular with United until 1934. After 14 seasons and 383 appearances for Sheffield United, Sampy was transferred to nearby rivals

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

in the summer of 1934, taking the role of player-coach. His role was primarily focused on the coaching side however, and Sampy made only one league appearance for the Tykes. In May 1936, Sampy accepted a coaching role at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

where he remained until the onset of

World War II 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 ...

in 1938.

Personal life

Born in

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

, Thomas Sampy was the elder brother of

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

who also represented

. Sampy was an engineer by trade and returned to his profession during

, working as a production manager. While playing Sampy had also owned a gentlemen's outfitters on

Abbeydale Road Abbeydale Road and its continuation Abbeydale Road South together are an arterial main road and bus route in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The road begins at a junction with London Road (Sheffield), London Road near the former Royal Hotel ...

in Sheffield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampy, Tommy 1899 births 1978 deaths People from Backworth Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Seaton Delaval F.C. players Chopwell Colliery F.C. players Gateshead A.F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players English Football League players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. non-playing staff