George Thomson (footballer, born 1936)
George Matthewson Thomson (19 October 1936 – July 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Heart of Midlothian, Everton and Brentford as a utility player. He was capped by Scotland at schoolboy and U23 levels and made two appearances for the Scottish League XI.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | George Matthewson Thomson[1] | ||
Date of birth | 19 October 1936 | ||
Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
Date of death | July 2007 70)[1] | (aged||
Place of death | Lancashire, England | ||
Playing position(s) | Utility player | ||
Youth career | |||
Edinburgh City | |||
1953–1957 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1957–1960 | Heart of Midlothian | 117 | (14) |
1960–1963 | Everton | 73 | (1) |
1963–1968 | Brentford | 162 | (5) |
Total | 352 | (20) | |
National team | |||
Scotland Schoolboys | |||
Scotland U23 | |||
1959–1960 | Scottish League XI | 2 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Career
Heart of Midlothian
Thomson began his career with Edinburgh City and joined Scottish League club Heart of Midlothian in April 1953.[2] He had to wait until February 1957 to make his debut, which came in a 1–1 First Division draw with Falkirk.[3] He went on to make six further appearances during the 1956–57 season and was thereafter a regular in the team until his departure in November 1960.[2] He was a fixture in Hearts' 1957–58 and 1959–60 First Division title-winning teams and featured as an ever-present in the latter triumph.[4][5] He also played in both the 1958 and 1959 Scottish League Cup-winning campaigns.[6][7] Thomson made 161 appearances and scored 17 goals during three-and-a-half years as a first team player at Hearts.[2]
Everton
Thomson and Hearts teammate Alex Young moved south to join English First Division club Everton in an £55,000 deal in November 1960.[8][9] Thomson was unable to hold a regular place in the team during his two-and-a-half seasons with the club,[10] but he managed to make 20 appearances during the club's championship-winning season in 1962–63.[11] He made 77 appearances and scored one goal for the club before departing Goodison Park in late 1963.[10]
Brentford
Thomson joined newly-promoted Third Division club Brentford November 1963 and stayed at Griffin Park for four and a half years, before retiring at the end of the 1967–68 season.[9] Thomson made 179 appearances and scored five goals for Brentford.[9]
International and representative career
Thomson represented Scotland at schoolboy and U23 level.[9] While with Hearts, he made two appearances for the Scottish League XI against the Irish League XI.[12]
Personal life
Thomson attended Craiglockhart Primary School, Tynecastle High School and Slateford School.[2] As a player, he was nicknamed "007", because of his looks.[9]
Honours
- Heart of Midlothian
- Scottish League First Division (2): 1957–58, 1959–60[4][5]
- Scottish League Cup (2): 1958–59, 1959–60[6][7]
- East of Scotland Shield (2): 1957–58, 1959–60[13][14]
Everton
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Heart of Midlothian | 1956–57[15] | Scottish First Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
1957–58[4] | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
1958–59[16] | 34 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 49 | 11 | ||
1959–60[5] | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 47 | 5 | |||
1960–61[17] | 12 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 22 | 1 | |||
Total | 117 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 161 | 17 | ||
Everton | 1960–61[10] | First Division | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
1961–62[10] | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | ||||
1962–63[10] | 19 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
Total | 73 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 77 | 1 | |||
Brentford | 1963–64[18] | Third Division | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||
1964–65[18] | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 0 | ||||
1965–66[18] | 44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 47 | 2 | ||||
1966–67[18] | Fourth Division | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||
1967–68[18] | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||||
Total | 162 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 179 | 5 | ||||
Career total | 352 | 20 | 22 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 417 | 23 |
- Appearance in East of Scotland Shield
- Appearances in European Cup
- Appearance in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
References
- "George Thomson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- "George Thomson – Hearts Career – from 23 Feb 1957 to 19 Nov 1960". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- "1957-02-23 Sat Hearts 1 Falkirk 1". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- "1957–58". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- "1959–60". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- "1958-10-25 Sat Hearts 5 Partick Thistle 1". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- "1959-10-24 Sat Hearts 2 Third Lanark 1". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- Prentice, David (23 November 2010). "Dave Prentice on the 50th anniversary of Golden Vision Alex Young signing for Everton FC". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 160. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- "George Thomson | Everton Football Club". www.evertonfc.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- "Football Club History Database – Everton". fchd.info. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- "George Thomson". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- "1958-11-24 Mon Hearts 3 Hibernian 0". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- "1960-04-18 Mon Hearts 2 Hibernian 3". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- "1956–57". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- "1958–59". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- "1960–61". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 387–389. ISBN 0951526200.