Charlie Thomson

Charlie Thomson

Charlie Thomson, May 1955
Personal information
Full name	Charles Richard Thomson
Date of birth	2 March 1930
Place of birth	Perth, Scotland
Date of death	6 January 2009 (aged 78)
Place of death	Nottingham, England
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1949–1952	Clyde	19	(0)
1952–1957	Chelsea	46	(0)
1957–1961	Nottingham Forest	121	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Charlie "Chic" Thomson (2 March 1930 – 6 January 2009) was a Scottish football goalkeeper who played for Clyde, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. He was born in Perth, Scotland.

Thomson began his career with Clyde, and one of his first appearances for the club came in the Scottish Cup against Rangers at Hampden Park, though his side lost 4–1. He stayed with the club until October 1952, when he became one of the first signings of new Chelsea manager, Ted Drake. Thomson was a member of Chelsea's 1954–55 league title-winning side, playing in the final 16 games of the run-in, including the title decider against Chelsea's main rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers, during which he made a crucial last-minute save to secure a 1–0 win.

He struggled to retain his position as first-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea, however, losing out to Bill Robertson, and signed for Nottingham Forest in 1957 having made 59 appearances for Chelsea. Two years later, he was a member of Forest's FA Cup-winning team, helping preserve their 2–1 lead over Luton Town in the final minutes at Wembley. He remained at Forest until 1961, making 136 appearances, and joined lower league side, Valley Sports, where he ended his career. He died on 6 January 2009 in Nottingham.

Honours

Chelsea

• Football League First Division (1): 1954–55

Nottingham Forest

• FA Cup (1): 1959

References

• Charlie Thomson's obituary
• Charlie Thomson career at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database