Thomas Holford (22 February 1878 – 6 April 1964) 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 ...

who played for

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

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 ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

and the England national team. His primary position was

wing-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 ...

, but over the course of his career he played in many different positions. He later managed Port Vale on two separate occasions, serving throughout

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, before a three-year spell from 1932 to 1935. He also served the club for many years as a trainer and a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. In 1924 he turned out for the Vale at the age of 46 years and 68 days, making him one of the oldest ever players in the

English 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 Engl ...

Early and personal life

Thomas Holford was born on 22 February 1878 in

Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke ...

. He was the fifth of six children to Thomas Henry and Anna Davis (née Edwards), a potter's manager and potter's sponger respectively. He worked in the pottery industry from at least 1891 to 1921. He married Sarah Jane Platt in 1903, and the couple had two daughters, Lily and Annie.

Club career

Stoke

Holford started his career with Granville's Night School and Cobridge, before he moved on to one of the two local league clubs;

in 1899. He "did not put a foot wrong" in his first seasons at the club, before establishing himself as the centre of Stoke's half-back line between

James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...

and George Baddeley following Alf Wood's departure in March 1901. For the next ten seasons Holford was a near ever-present in the Stoke team, racking up 105 consecutive appearances from March 1903 to March 1906. His good performances won him an England cap in 1903 and he is considered the smallest centre-back ever to play for England at just 5 ft 5. During Holford's time at the club he played the game in a fiery style, although he was never sent off. He succeeded George Baddeley as captain in 1905. Holford's manager Horace Austerberry described him as "an excellent passer of the ball and one who played every match as if it was his last". In 1908 Stoke went bust and dropped out of the

and played in the Birmingham League. Holford was too good to be lost to non-league football and so he had to leave his home-town club, who he played nearly 270 games for.

Manchester City

In April 1908 he signed for First Division

, making his debut on 21 April against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, a match which finished goalless. In his first full season at the club he made 27 appearances and was the club's second highest goalscorer with 15 goals, which included three

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

s. However, Manchester City finished second-bottom in the First Division, and Holford again suffered relegation. In the 1909–10 season Holford won a Second Division championship medal as his club made an immediate return to the top flight. Though he had been an ever-present in 1912–13, Holford lost his place in the first team in the 1913–14 season, making all but three of his 15 appearances in the first ten weeks of the season. He made his last appearance for Manchester City on 13 April 1914 against

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 ...

, giving him a final total of 183 appearances and 38 goals for the club.

Port Vale

Upon leaving Manchester he was joined

back in

the Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ...

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. He led the side to North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup victory in 1915, but two years later was conscripted into the army to serve as a gunner in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

. After playing his part in

, as well as guesting for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

and

, he returned to Vale in the summer of 1919. Regaining his place, he helped the club to win the

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed for by a mix of clubs from S ...

and share the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup in 1920. Due to his age he hardly played after October 1920, but played his part in the club's 1922 North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup achievement. He retired as a player at the end of the 1922–23 season. Over his full career Holford played 474 league games, an exceptionally large number for the period, he had played everywhere except in

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

. Upon his retirement he became a trainer for Port Vale, only to make his final appearance on 5 April 1924 at a club record age of 46 years and 68 days. At the time this also made him the second-oldest to play in the Football League, after

Billy Meredith William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each ...

, and as of 2008 he is the sixth oldest Football League player of all time.

International career

He won his only

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 ...

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

on 14 February 1903, in a 4–0 win over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at Molineux.

Style of play

Holford was nicknamed "Dirty Tommy" due to his sometimes reckless tackling. He was also regarded as an excellent passer of the ball.

Managerial career

He had two spells as manager of Port Vale, the first as player-manager from 1914 to 1918 when he was player-manager. His second appointment came in June 1932, with the club in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He signed wingers Bob Morton and

Jimmy McGrath James McGrath (4 March 1907 – 17 October 1950) was an English footballer. A speedy and crafty player, he played at left-half and on the right-wing. He began his career in 1928 at Cardiff City, before switching to Port Vale in May 1932. He ...

, and led the Vale to a club record 9–1 victory over

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

on 24 September. After top scorer Stewart Littlewood picked up an injury, he signed ex-

international Louis Page as a replacement; and also boosted the club's defence by signing

Len Armitage Leonard Armitage (20 October 1899 – 24 June 1972) was an English footballer who could play both in defence and attack. He made a total of 284 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League. In 1914, he signed with Sheffield ...

. In January 1933, he sold left-back Jimmy Oakes to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

for £3,000. His team finished four points above relegation in 1932–33, and he released

Billy Easton William Easton (10 March 1904 – c.1982) was an English footballer who played at inside-forward for Blyth Spartans, Rotherham County, Montreal Maroons (Canada), Everton, Swansea Town, Port Vale, Aldershot, and Workington. Career Easton pl ...

, Louis Page, Stewart Littlewood, Tom Tippett, Jock Leckie, and Ben Davies, whilst

Wilf Kirkham Wilfred Thomas Kirkham (26 November 1901 – 20 October 1974) was an English footballer who holds four goalscoring records at Port Vale. His 153 league goals and 164 goals in all competitions are both records, as his tally of 38 goals in the ...

retired. He signed players such as Trevor Rhodes,

Jack Vickers John Vickers (7 August 1908 – 24 September 1980) was an English footballer. Career Vickers played for Bishop Auckland, Hull City, Darlington, Doncaster Rovers and Charlton Athletic before joining Port Vale for £200 in May 1933. He played 3 ...

, Ken Gunn, and Billy Tabram, the result of which was an eighth-place finish in 1933–34 – then a record best for the "Valiants". However "the end of an era" followed, as players such as Bill Cope, Sydney Dickinson, Len Armitage, Billy Tabram, Fred Mills,

George Poyser George Henry Poyser (6 February 1910 – 30 January 1995) was an English football player and manager. A defender, he enjoyed a lengthy playing career, the tail end of which was interrupted by World War II. He played for Wolverhampton Wandere ...

, and

departed. In preparation for the 1934–35 campaign, Holford signed goalkeeper John Potts, 'outstanding' outside-right John Friar, inside-left David Galloway, and centre-half

Joe Craven Joe Craven is an American freestyle folk, world and roots music multi-instrumentalist, singer and educator. He is the Director of RiverTunes Music Camp and a Co-Director of the Wintergrass Youth Academy. He plays a wide variety of string instr ...

. After a good start, results tailed off into a scrap against relegation, and Vale ended up fifth from bottom. Leaving the club in summer 1935 were:

James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...

, Bob Morton, Jack Blackwell,

, Galloway, Ted Critchley, and

Jack Round John Henry Round (20 May 1903 – 31 December 1936) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Bolton Wanderers, Port Vale and Carlisle United in the 1920s and 1930s. Career Round played for Brierley Hill Alliance, Cra ...

. He prepared for the 1935–36 season by signing striker

George Stabb George Herbert Stabb (26 September 1912 – 11 December 1994) was an English footballer who played for Torquay United, Notts County, Port Vale, and Bradford Park Avenue in the 1930s. Career Stabb played for Dartmouth United and Paignton Town ...

, centre-half Harry Griffiths, left-winger Arthur Caldwell, left-back Roderick Welsh, and right-half Michael Curley. However he was relieved of his post in September 1935 so that he could concentrate his efforts on

ing. He retired as a scout in 1950, having also been a trainer at the club from July 1939 to July 1946.

Personal life

Holford was a cousin of

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

Source:

Managerial

Honours

As a player

Manchester City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

: 1909–10 Port Vale *North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup: 1920 (shared), 1922 (shared) *

: 1920 England *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

1902–03 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

(shared)

As a manager

Port Vale *North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup: 1915

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holford, Tom 1878 births 1964 deaths Military personnel from Staffordshire Sportspeople from Hanley, Staffordshire Men's association football wingers English footballers England men's international footballers Stoke City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. wartime guest players Newcastle United F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers Men's association football player-managers English football managers Port Vale F.C. managers Association football coaches Association football scouts Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff English Football League managers