Thomas William Sword (born 12 November 1957) is a former 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 ...

defender, who primarily played for

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

and has since been inducted into their Hall of Fame.

Biography

Born in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

, Sword started his professional footballing career with Stockport County after making a name for himself as a free-scoring striker in the

Northern Football League The Northern League is a men's football league in north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Football League. It contains two divisions; Division ...

with

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

. He started in good form at County, scoring twice in a 2–1 win over

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

on his full debut, but was soon asked to play in defence when County were short due to injuries. Sword enjoyed a successful transition from striker to defender, playing out the remainder of his career at the back. Despite playing from defence, he maintained a good scoring record thanks mostly to converting 25 penalties. Sword was transferred to Hartlepool for £5,000 in July 1986, but soon returned to County for a brief stint to finish his footballing career. He was awarded a testimonial against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

soon after finishing playing professionally. In 2005, he was inducted into Stockport's Hall of Fame.Stockport County Hall of Fame

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sword, Tommy Living people 1957 births English footballers Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English Football League players Bishop Auckland F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Association football defenders