Tom Holford

Tom Holford

Holford, in his first spell at charge at Port Vale.
Personal information
Full name Thomas Holford
Date of birth 28 January 1878(1878-01-28)
Place of birth Hanley, England
Date of death 6 April 1964(1964-04-06) (aged 86)
Place of death Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1]
Playing position Wing half
Youth career
Cobridge
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1898–1908 Stoke 248 (30)
1908–1914 Manchester City 172 (34)
1914–1924 Port Vale 54 (1)
Total 474 (65)
National team
1903 England 1 (0)
Teams managed
1914–1919 Port Vale (player-manager)
1932–1935 Port Vale
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Thomas (Tom) Holford (28 January 1878 – 6 April 1964) was an English footballer who played for Stoke, Manchester City, Port Vale and the England national team. His primary position was wing-half, but over the course of his career he played in many different positions.[2] He later managed Port Vale on two separate occasions, serving throughout World War I, before a three year spell from 1932 to 1935. He also served the club for many years as a trainer and a scout. In 1924 he turned out for the Vale at the age of 46 years and 68 days, making him one of the oldest ever players in the Football League. He was a cousin of Wilf Kirkham.[3]

Contents

Club career

Stoke

Holford was born in Hanley, and started his career with Cobridge before moving on to one of the two local league clubs; Stoke.

For ten seasons Holford was an ever-present in the Stoke team, though it did take him three seasons to become a regular. His good performances won him an England cap in 1903 and he is considered the smallest centre-back ever to play for England at just 5 ft 5. During Holford's time at Stoke became known as 'Dirty Tommy' as he played the game in a fiery style, although he was never sent off.

Holford's manager Horace Austerberry described him as "an excellent passer of the ball and one who played every match as if it was his last". In 1908 Stoke went bust and dropped out of the Football League and played in the Birmingham League. Holford was too good to be lost to non-league football and so he had to leave his home-town club, who he played nearly 270 games for.[4]

Manchester City

In April 1908 he signed for First Division Manchester City, making his debut on 21 April against Bristol City, a match which finished goalless. In his first full season at the club he made 27 appearances and was the club's second highest goalscorer with 15 goals, which included three hat-tricks.[5] However, Manchester City finished second-bottom in the First Division, and Holford again suffered relegation. In the 1909–10 season Holford won a Second Division championship medal as his club made an immediate return to the top flight. Though he had been an ever-present in 1912–13,[6] Holford lost his place in the first team in the 1913–14 season, making all but three of his 15 appearances in the first ten weeks of the season. He made his last appearance for Manchester City on 13 April 1914 against Newcastle United,[7] giving him a final total of 183 appearances and 38 goals for the club.[2]

Port Vale

Upon leaving Manchester he was joined Port Vale back in the Potteries as player-manager. He led the side to North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup victory in 1915, but two years later was conscripted into the army. After playing his part in World War I, as well as guesting for Nottingham Forest he returned to Vale in the summer of 1919. Regaining his place, he helped the club to win the Staffordshire Senior Cup and share the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup in 1920. Due to his age he hardly played after October 1920, but played his part in the club's 1922 North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup achievement.[3]

He retired as a player at the end of the 1922–23 season. Over his full career Holford played 474 league games, an exceptionally large number for the period, he had played everywhere except in goal. Upon his retirement he became a trainer for Port Vale, only to make his final appearance on 5 April 1924 at a club record age of 46 years and 68 days.[3] At the time this also made him the second-oldest to play in the Football League, after Billy Meredith, and as of 2008 he is the sixth oldest Football League player of all time.[8]

International career

He won his only England cap on 14 February 1903,[9] in a 4–0 win over Ireland at Molineux.

Managerial career

He had two spells as manager of Port Vale, the first as player-manager from 1914 to 1918 when he was player-manager. His second appointment came in June 1932, though he was relieved of this post in September 1935 so that he could concentrate his efforts on scouting. He retired as a scout in 1950, having also been a trainer at the club from July 1939 to July 1946.[3]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke 1898–99 5 0 0 0 5 0
1899–1900 7 1 0 0 7 1
1900–01 6 0 1 0 7 0
1901–02 29 3 4 0 33 3
1902–03 33 2 4 0 37 2
1903–04 34 3 1 0 35 3
1904–05 34 2 2 0 36 2
1905–06 36 2 2 0 38 2
1906–07 35 5 1 0 36 5
1907–08 29 12 6 3 35 15
Total 248 30 21 3 269 33
Manchester City 1907–08 2 0 0 0 2 0
1908–09 26 12 1 3 17 15
1909–10 30 12 4 1 34 13
1910–11 29 2 2 0 31 2
1911–12 32 2 2 0 34 2
1912–13 38 0 2 0 40 0
1913–14 15 0 0 0 15 0
Total 172 34 11 4 183 38
Port Vale 1919–20 26 0 0 0 26 0
1920–21 23 1 1 0 24 1
1921–22 5 0 1 0 6 1
Total 54 1 2 0 56 1
Career Total 474 65 34 7 508 72

Honours

as a Player

with Manchester City
with Port Vale

as a Manager

with Port Vale

References

  1. ^ Kent, Jeff. The Valiants Years'. Witan Books. pp. 88. ISBN 0952915200. 
  2. ^ a b Andrew Ward (1984). The Manchester City Story. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 18. ISBN 0-907969-05-4. 
  3. ^ a b c d Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 139. ISBN 0952915200. http://www.amazon.ca/Port-Vale-Personalities-Jeff-Kent/dp/0952915200. 
  4. ^ Matthews, Tony: "The Encyclopedia of Stoke City " (Lion Press, 1994, ISBN 1859831001)
  5. ^ Gary James (2006). Manchester City - The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 303. ISBN 1-85983-512-0. 
  6. ^ James. Manchester City - The Complete Record. p. 311. 
  7. ^ James. Manchester City - The Complete Record. p. 312. 
  8. ^ "Oldest League Players". Allfootballers.com. http://allfootballers.com/statsc.php?bid=oldestlp. Retrieved 7 July 2008. 
  9. ^ "England's Players - Hacking to Hurst". englandfootballonline. http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrs/Plyr_H.html. Retrieved 7 July 2008. 

External links