Ken Thomson (footballer)

Ken Thomson

Personal information
Full name	Kenneth Gordon Thomson[1]
Date of birth	25 February 1930[1]
Place of birth	Aberdeen, Scotland[1]
Date of death	1969 (aged 39)[1]
Place of death	Middlesbrough, England[1]
Playing position	Centre half
Youth career
	Banks O' Dee
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1948–1952	Aberdeen	29	(0)
1952–1960	Stoke City	278	(6)
1960–1962	Middlesbrough	84	(1)
1962–1963	Hartlepool United	28	(2)
Total		419	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Kenneth Gordon "Ken" Thomson (25 February 1930 – 1969) was a footballer who played in the Football League for Hartlepool United, Middlesbrough and Stoke City. He made 278 appearances for Stoke.^[1]

Career

Born in Aberdeen, Thomson was poised to sign for Stoke in 1946 from Scottish club Banks O' Dee but he was called up for national service in the Royal Air Force.^[1] After his demob Thomson joined his home town club Aberdeen.^[1] Stoke manager Frank Taylor finally got his signature for a fee of £22,000 in September 1952.^[1] A strong and commanding defender Thomson was soon made captain by Taylor, sadly his first season with the club was marred with relegation to the Second Division. In the final match against Derby County he chose to take a penalty awarded and missed, had he scored Stoke could have stayed up.^[1]

Despite this Thomson went on to make over 300 appearances for Stoke in all competitions before new manager Tony Waddington sold him to Middlesbrough in December 1959 for £8,500.^[1] He spent two seasons with Boro and ended his career with Hartlepool United.^[1]

Personal life

His career was tinged with controversy surrounding his involvement in the 1964 British betting scandal which saw him jailed for six months.^[1][2] Thomson died of a heart attack in 1969 at the age of 39.^[1]

Career statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Aberdeen	1948–49	Scottish First Division	3	0	0	0	6	0	9	0
	1949–50	Scottish First Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1950–51	Scottish First Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	1951–52	Scottish First Division	20	0	3	0	6	0	29	0
	1952–53	Scottish First Division	0	0	0	0	6	0	6	0
	Total		29	0	3	0	18	0	50	0
Stoke City[1]	1952–53	First Division	38	2	2	0	–		40	2
	1953–54	Second Division	40	2	3	0	–		43	2
	1954–55	Second Division	41	0	6	1	–		47	1
	1955–56	Second Division	37	0	5	0	–		42	0
	1956–57	Second Division	40	0	1	0	–		41	0
	1957–58	Second Division	37	0	5	0	–		42	0
	1958–59	Second Division	38	2	2	0	–		40	2
	1959–60	Second Division	7	0	0	0	–		7	0
	Total		278	6	24	1	–		302	7
Middlesbrough	1959–60	Second Division	18	0	1	0	–		19	0
	1960–61	Second Division	38	0	1	0	1	0	40	0
	1961–62	Second Division	25	1	2	0	1	0	28	1
	1962–63	Second Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		84	1	4	0	2	0	90	1
Hartlepool United	1962–63	Fourth Division	28	2	1	0	0	0	29	2
	Total		28	2	1	0	0	0	29	2
Career Total			419	9	32	1	20	0	471	10

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. Hodgson, Derek (17 March 1995). "Sixties scandal that shocked the game". The Independent (London). Retrieved 27 February 2012.

External links

• Ken Thomson stats at Neil Brown