Tom Butler (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Butler | ||
| Place of birth | Darlaston, England | ||
| Date of death | 11 November 1923 | ||
| Place of death | Hackney, England | ||
| Playing position | Inside-left | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Willenhall | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1921–1922 | Walsall | 28 | (12) |
| 1922 | Darlaston | ||
| 1922–1923 | Port Vale | 32 | (11) |
| Total | 60 | (23) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Thomas "Tom" Butler (died 11 November 1923) was an English footballer who played as an inside-left. He played 60 league games in the Football League, scoring 23 goals. He played for non-league Willenhall, before spending the 1921–22 season at Walsall. He joined Port Vale via Darlaston in December 1922. He broke his arm in a game on 3 November 1923, and died eight days later from a subsequent tetanus infection.
Playing career
Butler started his career at Birmingham & District League side Willenhall, before joining Walsall in 1921.[1] He played 28 Third Division North games for the "Saddlers" in 1921–22, scoring 12 goals. He then returned to semi-professional football with Darlaston.
He had a one-month trial at Second Division Port Vale in December 1922, and manager Joe Schofield signed him permanently for £100 the following month. Butler was a huge success in the 1922–23 season, becoming top scorer with nine goals in 26 games. At the end of the season he played in a defeat to local rivals Stoke in the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup.
He started 1923–24 by scoring in a defeat to Stoke at The Old Recreation Ground. However, after scoring in a 1–1 draw with Clapton Orient on 3 November he suffered a compound fracture of the left arm; he died from tetanus (also called lockjaw) eight days later in Hackney Hospital after complications had set in.[2]
Statistics
- Sourced from Tom Butler profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Walsall | 1921–22 | Third Division North | 28 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 34 | 15 |
| Port Vale | 1922–23 | Second Division | 25 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 9 |
| 1923–24 | Second Division | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 32 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 11 | ||
Honours
- with Port Vale
- North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup winner: 1923
References
- ↑ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 45. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
- ↑ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 49. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.