David Thomson (footballer, born 1847)

David Thomson (baptized 5 November 1847[1] – 14 September 1876) was an England-born Welsh amateur footballer who helped found the Druids club and played for Wales in their first international match. He has been described as "one of the pioneers of Welsh football".[2]

David Thomson
Personal information
Date of birth 1847
Place of birth Dudley, England
Date of death 14 September 1876(1876-09-14) (aged 28–29)
Place of death Ruabon, Wales
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1872-1873 Ruabon Rovers
1872–1876 Plasmadoc
Shropshire Wanderers
1876 Druids FC
National team
1876 Wales 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life and family

Thomson was born in Dudley in Staffordshire, England, and baptized at nearby Halesowen in Worcestershire.[1].He moved across the border into Wales as a child when his family settled in the area of Ruabon, Denbighshire, together with his younger brother George.[3] Thomson enlisted in the Royal Denbighshire Militia, reaching the rank of captain.

Thomson was also an excellent cricketer with Wynnstay C.C.[3] He was also a county cricketer for Staffordshire and, between 1871 and 1875, for Shropshire while playing for Hawkstone C.C.[1] For the latter county he made in ten matches a total 341 runs, with a best match score of 79, and took 11 wickets.[4]

Football career

In 1869, Thomson (assisted by his younger brother) helped form the Plasmadoc club which in 1872 amalgamated with two other Ruabon clubs, "Ruabon Rovers" and "Ruabon Volunteers", and under the guidance of Llewelyn Kenrick became Ruabon Druids. Thomson became the first president of the amalgamated club. All three played a prominent role in the foundation of the Football Association of Wales in early 1876, with David attending the first meeting of the Association, when they agreed to adopt the Football Association rules.[3] Thomson was also a member of the Shropshire Wanderers club.[5]

In February 1876, Kenrick organized trial matches to select Welsh players to represent their country in a match against Scotland.[6] The international match was played at Hamilton Crescent, Partick, the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club on 25 March 1876, with Thomson playing as a goalkeeper.[5] The Welsh were well defeated, conceding four goals without reply.[7] Thomson had a tough international baptism with at least one of the Scots goals coming when Thomson and the ball were charged over the line.[3]

Thomson died suddenly in September 1876, in his late 20s. As a mark of respect, the Druids players wore black armbands throughout the 1876–77 season.[3]

gollark: ... you're not being very *consistent* here, to be honest.
gollark: Anticaps meant about 10 seconds per message running it through diacriticizers.
gollark: NO MORE ANTICAPS!
gollark: It's probably for the best.
gollark: Also I don't have a USB stick for it.

References
  1. Percival, Tony (1999). Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998. A.C.S. Publications, Nottingham. p. 27. ISBN 1-902171-17-9.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
  2. "Interesting and curious facts about full internationals and national players (1872-1900)". IFFHS. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  3. Davies, Gareth; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Bridge Books. p. 201. ISBN 1-872424-11-2.
  4. Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998, page 52.
  5. "1876 Programme". The Story of Welsh Football. www.wrexham.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  6. "The Story of Welsh Football". 1876 Kenrick's Challenge. www.wrexham.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  7. "Scotland 4 Wales 0 (25 March 1876)". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
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