Thomas William Rory Pearson (10 May 1872 – 12 September 1957) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

who played club rugby for

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and Newport and county rugby with Middlesex. He won 13 caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and captained the team on one occasion, against England. Pearson was an all-round sportsman, representing Wales not only in rugby, but also in

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. In 1902 Pearson was given the captaincy of the Welsh hockey squad, while playing for Newport Hockey Club. During

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 ...

he was a

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

Rugby career

Pearson was born in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, but moved to England at the age of five. By 1889 he had moved to Wales and was living in the capital, joining Cardiff Rugby Club. Pearson gained his first cap for Wales while playing with Cardiff in 1891. His debut was against England on 3 January at

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's cen ...

and Wales lost 7-3, though Pearson scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

for Wales. This try made Pearson the youngest player to score a try for Wales at 18 years and 238 days until overtaken by

Tom Prydie Tom Prydie (born 23 February 1992) is a Welsh rugby union player. A fullback who can also play on the wing, Prydie is the youngest player ever to represent the Wales national team and the youngest player in the history of Europe's top rugby ...

in 2010. Pearson's try also made him the youngest player to score a try on his Wales debut until

George North George Philip North (born 13 April 1992) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays for the Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship and the Wales national team. He has also represented the British & Irish Lions and currently has th ...

surpassed the record in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Pearson was dropped after the 1892 Championship and did not regain his Wales place until the end of 1894 tournament, an unusual situation as during 1892/93 season, he scored a record 40 tries for Cardiff, a club record.Godwin (1984), pg 32. He played fairly frequently for Wales through to 1898, but in 1903, with his international career supposedly far behind him, he was recalled to captain Wales against England. Pearson had already scored a try when he was forced to leave the field after a particularly heavy tackle from

Harry Gamlin Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

. His replacement,

Jehoida Hodges Joseph Jehoida HodgesNewport Gwent Dragons player profiles
(15 July 1876 � ...

scored a hat-trick of tries. Pearson played a total of 13 matches for his country.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 470. * 1891, 1892, 1895, 1897, 1898, 1903 * 1891, 1894, 1895, 1898 * 1892, 1894, 1895

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Tom Rugby players from Mumbai Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Rugby union wings 1872 births 1957 deaths Newport RFC players Cardiff RFC players Barbarian F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I Welsh male field hockey players Royal Field Artillery officers