Thomas Lawrence Davis (3 February 1911 – 9 September 1987) was an Irish association footballer who played as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

for several clubs in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

and the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. Davis was also a dual international footballer—playing for both the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

(FAI) and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

(IFA), scoring a total of five goals in five

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s. He was born in

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

Club career

Davis spent his early career playing junior football with former

clubs such as Frankfort and Midland Athletic before playing in the League of Ireland itself with Shelbourne and then

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. His goalscoring form brought Davis a trial with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

early in the 1931–32, but it was with Boston Town that he enjoyed his first settled spell in English football. Davis arrived in the English League proper with

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, but it was a move to New Brighton in the

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 ...

that brought him to the attention of the wider world. Signed by French side

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

in 1935, he failed to settle, and broke his contract to return to England with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. After serving a three-month ban for breaking his contract, he returned to his goalscoring ways. His tally of 35 goals during the 1936–37 season is still a record for an Oldham player. He scored four

hat-tricks 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 Wick ...

and scored seven goals in a seven-game run – five in the league and two in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. Midway through the 1937–38 season Davis signed for

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

and his return of six goals in ten matches helped push the club to the English Third Division North title, and promotion to the English Second Division for the first time in the club's history. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Davis returned to the

, playing with

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

, Drumcondra and Shelbourne. He did briefly return to England where he made a handful of appearances for

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

. He also had a spell with

Distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

, where he netted 24 goals in a single season. In 1947 Davis was appointed as manager of Dutch side

VVV Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following ...

, and there was correspondence between Davis and

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (irish language, Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published o ...

suggesting a possible tour by the club to Ireland.

Irish international

When Davis began his international career in 1936 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

and the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

– based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Davis, played for both teams.

FAI XI

Between 1936 and 1938 Davis made 4 appearances and scored 4 goals for the FAI XI. He made his international debut on 17 October 1936 in a 5–2 win against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. He marked the occasion with two goals. Davis scored the FAI XI's second goal when he converted a penalty in the 40th minute. Then in the 75th minute when

Paddy Moore Patrick Moore (4 August 1909 – 24 July 1951) was an Irish professional footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers and Aberdeen. Moore was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA X ...

shot from 25 yards and the German goalkeeper fumbled, Davis was on hand to get the fifth goal. Davis won his second FAI cap on 6 December 1936 and scored again in a 3–2 home defeat against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. In May 1938 he was included in an FAI squad that briefly toured Central European. Davis led the attacking line in both matches. On 18 May he scored his fourth and final goal for the FAI XI in a 2–2 draw against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He made his final appearance for the FAI XI in a 6–0 defeat against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. This was the only international match in which Davis played that he failed to score.

IFA XI

On 18 November 1936, Davis made his one and only appearance for the IFA XI in a 3–1 defeat against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the

1937 British Home Championship Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

. Davis maintained his impressive international scoring record when he scored the only goal for the IFA XI.

Honours

Tranmere Rovers *

: 1937–38: Cork City * Munster Senior Cup: 1939

References

External links

Tommy Davis
at My Football Database

nifootball.blogspot.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Tom 1911 births 1987 deaths Men's association football forwards Association footballers from County Dublin Boston Town F.C. (1920s) players Cork F.C. players Cork City F.C. (1938–1940) players Dual Irish men's international footballers Dundalk F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players FC Metz players League of Ireland players Lisburn Distillery F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Shelbourne F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Drumcondra F.C. players Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Irish expatriate sportspeople in France