George Thomson (footballer, born 1936)

George Thomson
Personal information
Full name George Matthewson Thomson[1]
Date of birth (1936-10-19)19 October 1936
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death July 2007 (2007-08) (aged 70)[1]
Place of death Lancashire, England
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)
International career
Scotland Schoolboys
Scotland U23
1959–1960 Scottish League XI 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.

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 Heart of Midlothian teammate Alex Young moved south to join English First Division club Everton for a combined £55,000 fee on 26 November 1960.[8][9][10] Thomson was unable to hold a regular place in the team during his 2+1⁄2 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 4+1⁄2 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]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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[13] Scottish First Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 — 1[a] 0 8 0
1957–58[4] 30 0 3 0 2 0 — — 35 0
1958–59[14] 34 10 2 0 10 1 2[b] 0 1[a] 0 49 11
1959–60[5] 34 4 2 0 10 1 — 1[a] 0 47 5
1960–61[15] 12 0 — 7 1 2[b] 0 1[a] 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[c] 0 — 20 0
Total 73 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 — 77 1
Brentford 1963–64[16] Third Division 23 1 4 0 — — — 27 1
1964–65[16] 41 0 4 0 1 0 — — 46 0
1965–66[16] 44 2 1 0 2 0 — — 47 2
1966–67[16] Fourth Division 25 0 3 0 0 0 — — 28 0
1967–68[16] 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
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance in East of Scotland Shield
  2. ^ a b Appearances in European Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Honours

Heart of Midlothian

Everton

References

  1. ^ a b "George Thomson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "George Thomson – Hearts Career – from 23 Feb 1957 to 19 Nov 1960". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ^ "1957-02-23 Sat Hearts 1 Falkirk 1". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "1957–58". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "1959–60". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b "1958-10-25 Sat Hearts 5 Partick Thistle 1". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b "1959-10-24 Sat Hearts 2 Third Lanark 1". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c d e Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 160. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "George Thomson". Everton Football Club. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  11. ^ Everton F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  12. ^ "George Thomson". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  13. ^ "1956–57". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  14. ^ "1958–59". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  15. ^ "1960–61". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  16. ^ a b c d e White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 387–389. ISBN 0951526200.
  17. ^ "1958-11-24 Mon Hearts 3 Hibernian 0". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  18. ^ "1960-04-18 Mon Hearts 2 Hibernian 3". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.