Thomas Anthony Peter Bell (30 December 1923 – 21 November 1988) was an English professional

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 ...

. A left-back, he played in 318

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 ...

matches for three clubs, most notably for hometown club

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

. Bell features, along with his son

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

, amongst 'The Legends of Oldham Athletic'.

Career

Born in

Crompton Crompton may refer to Place names *Crompton (West Warwick), a community in West Warwick, Rhode Island, US *Crompton, Greater Manchester, in Shaw and Crompton, Greater Manchester, England formerly in Lancashire *Crompton Urban District, an obsole ...

near Oldham, Bell signed for

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire ...

from

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

in 1946. Playing as a right-back, his performances during his 16 matches led to him signing for

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

club

in late 1946. The fee of £550 was a record for a Mossley player. Bell made his Oldham debut in their 1946–47 FA Cup second-round defeat by

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

on 14 December 1946. He appears to have played well: the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' wrote that Bell "left the field thinking out the miserable tale he'd have to tell at home. Outside the ground was the usual mob of autograph hunters. Waiting, not for the stars of Doncaster's successful team, but for Tommy Bell, the man who played a 'blinder'." After playing 170 league matches for Oldham, he signed 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 ...

in 1952. However, the following year he left to join

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

, where he remained until 1956, making 117 appearances and scoring his only goal in the Football League. After leaving Halifax, he signed for

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

, where he remained until rejoining Mossley during the 1958–59 season. The final season of his playing career, 1959–60, saw him join Ashton United, where he was appointed captain.

References

External links

* 1923 births 1988 deaths English footballers Footballers from Oldham Glossop North End A.F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Chorley F.C. players Ashton United F.C. players English Football League players Association football defenders {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub