Quick Facts
ScorpioBiography
Thomas Thompson (10 November 1928 – 15 September 2015) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Barrow, Newcastle United, Preston North End and Stoke City as well as the England national team.
Career
Thompson was born in Fencehouses, Houghton-le-Spring in 1928 and began his career with Newcastle United, making 20 appearances for the club scoring six goals. When manager George Martin left St James' Park in 1950 he took Thompson with him for the price of £12,500. He made his debut against Blackpool in September of that year. Thompson went on to make 165 first team games for Villa scoring 76 goals including three hat-tricks.
Thompson was sold to Preston North End in August 1955 for £27,000. At Deepdale, Thompson scored within the first two minutes on his debut during a 4–0 win against Everton. It set the tone for his six-season spell with the "Lillywhites" as Thompson began a very prolific goalscorer linking up well with Tom Finney. He scored 24 in 1955–56, 29 in 1956–57, and career best of 34 in 1957–58. He ended his Preston career with 126 goals in 209 matches.
He joined Stoke City in August 1961 and scored on his debut against Rotherham United. Despite being 34 years old Thompson retained his trademark eye of goal and top scored for the "Potters" in 1961–62 with 17 goals. He left his place in the side in 1961–62 and he joined Fourth Division Barrow where he scored 18 goals in 47 matches before retiring. He died at the age of 86 on 15 September 2015.
International career
He acquired his first cap against Wales during the 1951–52 season. He won his second cap in April 1957.
Career statistics
Club
Source:
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Newcastle United | 1947–48 | Second Division | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 2 | |
| 1948–49 | First Division | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | ||
| 1949–50 | First Division | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 3 | ||
| Total | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | – | 20 | 6 | |||
| Aston Villa | 1950–51 | First Division | 31 | 10 | 2 | 1 | – | 33 | 11 | |
| 1951–52 | First Division | 36 | 13 | 1 | 0 | – | 37 | 13 | ||
| 1952–53 | First Division | 22 | 9 | 5 | 2 | – | 27 | 11 | ||
| 1953–54 | First Division | 34 | 21 | 1 | 0 | – | 35 | 21 | ||
| 1954–55 | First Division | 26 | 14 | 7 | 6 | – | 33 | 20 | ||
| Total | 149 | 67 | 16 | 9 | – | 165 | 76 | |||
| Preston North End | 1955–56 | First Division | 42 | 23 | 1 | 1 | – | 43 | 24 | |
| 1956–57 | First Division | 38 | 26 | 5 | 3 | – | 43 | 29 | ||
| 1957–58 | First Division | 41 | 34 | 1 | 0 | – | 42 | 34 | ||
| 1958–59 | First Division | 34 | 19 | 5 | 2 | – | 39 | 21 | ||
| 1959–60 | First Division | 21 | 12 | 6 | 2 | – | 27 | 14 | ||
| 1960–61 | First Division | 13 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 6 | |
| Total | 189 | 116 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 213 | 126 | ||
| Stoke City | 1961–62 | Second Division | 37 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 17 |
| 1962–63 | Second Division | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 42 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 18 | ||
| Barrow | 1962–63 | Fourth Division | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 |
| 1963–64 | Fourth Division | 28 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 12 | |
| Total | 44 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 18 | ||
| Career Total | 444 | 222 | 41 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 491 | 246 | ||
International
Source:
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1951 | 1 | 0 |
| 1957 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |