Thomas Wilson (16 April 1896 – 2 February 1948) was a footballer who was a member of the

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

team that won the Football League three times in the 1920s.

Playing career

Born in

Seaham Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and c ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, Wilson started his professional career with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in 1914, before his career was interrupted by

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 ...

. During the war he turned out for the Seaham Colliery side, before joining Huddersfield in 1919. Over the next 12 seasons, he was a virtual ever-present with Huddersfield, helping them to the

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 Engla ...

championship in 1923–24, 1924–25, and 1925–26, as well as victory in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

. In his time at Huddersfield, they also reached the FA Cup finals in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

and

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

. He was Huddersfield's captain throughout most of this period, before handing over to

Clem Stephenson Clement Stephenson (6 February 1890 – 24 October 1961) was an English footballer whose 20-year career at Aston Villa and Huddersfield Town included success in both the FA Cup and League Championship. Stephenson's place in history as an inside ...

, later to be the club's manager. Thomas Wilson was known as the "Gentleman of football" also titled as "The Dauntless Tommy Wilson" In the FA Cup Final 1930 vs Arsenal. Thomas Wilson also had a waxwork figure of himself created for that final and was displayed in Madame Tussauds. He made one

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 ...

appearance in a 5–1 defeat by

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 ...

on 31 March 1928. He left Huddersfield in 1931, having made 448 league appearances (4 goals) and another 52 appearances in FA Cup matches. He spent one season at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

before retiring in 1932. He then returned to Huddersfield as assistant trainer. After

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 ...

, he joined

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 ...

as a trainer where he remained until his death in 1948 at the age of 51.

Life outside football

Thomas Wilson had three sons: Thomas (Derek), Gordon and Neil.

Honours

* Football League Division 1 Championship: 1923–24, 1924–25 & 1925–26 *Division 1 Runner-up: 1926–27 & 1927–28 *Division 2 Runner-up: 1919–20 *FA Cup Winner:

*FA Cup finalist:

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

References

External links

England profile on englandstats.comEngland profile on englandfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Tom 1896 births 1948 deaths Sportspeople from Seaham Footballers from County Durham English footballers England international footballers Association football central defenders English Football League players Sunderland A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players English Football League representative players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. non-playing staff Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup Final players