Tommy Clare

Thomas Clare (12 March 1865 – 27 December 1929) was an English international footballer, who played at right-back, and football manager.

Tommy Clare
Clare in his playing days
Personal information
Full name Thomas Clare[1]
Date of birth 12 March 1865
Place of birth Congleton, England
Date of death 27 December 1929(1929-12-27) (aged 64)
Place of death Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position(s) Right back
Youth career
1880–1882 Talke Rangers
1882–1883 Goldenhill Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1883 Burslem Port Vale 0 (0)
1883–1897 Stoke 220 (4)
1897 Burslem Port Vale 21 (0)
1897–1898 Manchester City 1 (0)
1898–1901 Burslem Port Vale 18 (0)
Total 260 (4)
National team
1889–1894 England 4 (0)
Teams managed
1905–1906 Burslem Port Vale
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He began his playing career with Stoke in July 1884, having moved from Burslem Port Vale. He spent the next fourteen years with Stoke, playing 251 games in all competitions, helping them to the Football Alliance title in 1890–91. In 1897 he signed with Manchester City via Port Vale, before returning to Vale for a three-year spell in 1898, helping them to the Staffordshire Senior Cup on his arrival. He also won four England caps between 1889 and 1894. He was appointed as manager-secretary of Burslem Port Vale in 1905, a position he held for the next six years.

Club career

Clare was born in Congleton, Cheshire on 12 March 1865.[2] He played his early football with Talke Rangers, Goldenhill Wanderers and Burslem Port Vale before becoming Stoke's first professional player in 1883.[3][4]

He was captain of the Stoke side that were founder members of the English Football League in 1888.[5] He made his league debut on 8 September 1888, at full-back for Stoke in a 2–0 defeat by West Bromwich Albion at the Victoria Ground, Stoke. He played 21 of Stoke' 22 Football League matches and was part of a defence-line that achieved three clean-sheets whilst restricting the opposition to a single goal on four occasions.[6]

Stoke finished at the bottom of the table in both 1888–89 and 1889–90 and in 1890 dropped down to the Football Alliance. Clare was absolved of any blame though, and referee Tom Bryan stated that "the backs and the goalkeeper are superior to any three men playing with one club".[2] The following season, Stoke were champions of the Football Alliance and returned to the Football League, with Clare an ever-present.[2] They then once again struggled, finishing second last in 1891–92, before finishing in mid-table in 1892–93. He claimed his first Football League goal on the opening day of the 1893–94 season, netting from a goalmouth scramble in a 4–1 defeat at Bolton Wanderers.[2] From Christmas 1894 up until his departure in 1897 he played 82 consecutive league games.[2] His final season with the club came in 1896–97. During his 12 seasons with Stoke, Clare made over 250 appearances and forged a decent defensive partnership with fellow full-back Alf Underwood.[5]

Clare signed for Port Vale as a player-coach in 1897, before moving on to Manchester City later in the year.[7] However, in 1898 he re-signed for Vale a second time, and helped the side lift the Staffordshire Senior Cup later in the year as he "inspired a confidence never before approached" in his teammates in the win over West Bromwich Albion.[7] However, he broke his leg in October 1898, an injury which effectively ended his career.[7] He retired in 1901.[7]

International career

Clare earned his first England cap for the match against Ireland on 2 March 1889. The match was played at Anfield, then the home of Everton, and the selectors made eleven changes to the side that had beaten Wales a week before with nine new caps, including Clare's Stoke teammate, Bill Rowley in goal.[8] England won the match "quite comfortably"[9] 6–1, with John Yates scoring a hat trick in his only international appearance.

Clare's next England appearance came three years later, also against Ireland, at the Solitude Ground, Belfast, when he was joined by his Stoke teammates, goalkeeper Bill Rowley and left-back Alf Underwood.[10] Harry Daft of Notts County was awarded the captaincy for the last of his five England appearances and marked the occasion by scoring twice, either side of half-time, in an "unconvincing victory".[11]

Clare played twice more for England, against Wales on 13 March 1893 (won 6–0, with Fred Spiksley scoring twice on his debut)[12] and Scotland on 7 April 1894 (2–2 draw).[13]

Style of play

Clare stood at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall and weighed 12 st 10 lbs (80.7 kg), giving him a physical edge over opposition forwards.[2] He was good in the air, and was described as "quick and resolute" with "capital style".[2] He was known to endanger opposition players with his harsh and sometimes wild tackling, and helped to give Stoke a reputation as an overly physical side.[2] Another source described Tommy Clare as an inspirational player, he was a splendid header of the ball, was quick off the mark, strong and purposeful in the tackle and ever-reliable, always working for his team.[4]

Management career

Clare was appointed Port Vale's manager-secretary in July 1905 and stepped down the following year after the club could no longer afford his wages.[7]

Personal life

Clare emigrated to Canada shortly before World War I and died in Vancouver in December 1929.[3] The then 51-year-old lied about his age, saying he was 40, to gain entry into the Canadian Expeditionary Force and saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele.[14][15] He returned home when his true age and his growing medical problems were discovered in November 1917.[14]

Statistics

Playing statistics

Source:[16]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Test Match Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke[5] 1885–86 — —20—20
1886–87 — —22—22
1887–88 — —40—40
1888–89 Football League 21000—210
1889–90 Football League 14040—180
1890–91 Football Alliance 22030—250
1891–92 Football League 22050—270
1892–93 First Division 30010—310
1893–94 First Division 27320—293
1894–95 First Division 2402010270
1895–96 First Division 30140—341
1896–97 First Division 30020—320
Total 2204312102526
Burslem Port Vale 1897–98 Midland League 21050—310
Manchester City 1897–98 First Division 1000—10
Burslem Port Vale 1898–99 Second Division 13000—160
1899–1900 Second Division 0000—00
1900–01 Second Division 5000—50
Total 18000—210
Career total 2604362103056

International statistics
England national team[17]
YearAppsGoals
188910
189210
189310
189410
Total40

Managerial statistics
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Burslem Port Vale 1 August 1905 1 July 1906 40 13 4 23 032.5
Total[16] 40 13 4 23 032.5

Honours
Port Vale
Stoke
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References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 – 1939. Tony Brown. p. 54. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  2. Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. pp. 11–12. ISBN 1-874287-55-4.
  3. Betts, Graham (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing. p. 67. ISBN 1-905009-63-1.
  4. Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of Stoke City. Breedon Books. p. 48. ISBN 1 85983 473 6.
  5. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  6. "English National Football Archive". Retrieved 21 March 2018. (registration & fee required)
  7. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 60. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  8. "England 6 – Ireland 1". www.englandstats.com. 2 March 1889. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  9. Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. pp. 120–121.
  10. "Ireland 0 – England 2". www.englandstats.com. 5 March 1892. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  11. Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. p. 188.
  12. "England 6 – Wales 0". www.englandstats.com. 13 March 1893. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  13. "Scotland 2 – England 2". www.englandstats.com. 7 April 1894. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  14. Sherwin, Phil (12 May 2012). "Vale ace helped reduce famous keeper to tears". The Way We Were.
  15. "Thomas Clare | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  16. Tommy Clare at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  17. "Tommy Clare". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  18. Matthews, Tony (18 December 2008). The Legends of Stoke City. Derby, United Kingdom: Breedon Books. pp. 46–7. ISBN 978-1-85983-653-8.
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