Alfred Alexander Thompson (28 April 1891 – 19 April 1969) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Glossop and Brentford as an inside forward.
 Thompson while with Brentford in 1920. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alfred Alexander Thompson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 April 1891 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Date of death | 19 April 1969 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Waltham Forest, England | ||
| Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1910–1913 | Liverpool | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1913–1914 | Glossop | 5 | (2) |
| 1914 | Woolwich Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| Walsall | |||
| 1919–1921 | Brentford | 43 | (10) |
| 1921–1922 | Guildford United | ||
| 1922–1923 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 1923–1923 | Gillingham | ||
| 1923–1925 | Sheppey United | ||
| 1925–1927 | Sittingbourne | ||
| 1927–1928 | Chatham | ||
| 1928–1930 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers | ||
| 1930–1931 | Ashford | ||
| 1931–1933 | Canterbury Waverley | ||
| 1933– | Canterbury Amateurs | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editAn inside forward, Thompson began his career in the Football League as a youth with Liverpool,[1] before joining with Second Division team Glossop.[2] He moved to Woolwich Arsenal, where he failed to make a first team appearance and instead spent his time with the club in the reserves.[2] Thompson later dropped into non-League football and had a spell with Birmingham & District League club Walsall.[2]
After the First World War, Thompson signed for Southern League First Division club Brentford.[2] He scored eight goals in 28 appearances during the 1919–20 season and earned another shot at league football, with Brentford being elected into the new Football League Third Division South for the 1920–21 season.[2] He managed 16 appearances and two goals and was released at the end of the season.[2]
Thompson moved again into non-league football and linked up with former Brentford teammate Jimmy Hodson at Southern League South Division club Guildford United.[2] He remained with Guildford for only one season and in the summer of 1922 signed with Queens Park Rangers.[3] He did not make any league appearances for QPR nor at Gillingham with whom he was subsequently attached.[4]
In late October 1923 Thompson joined Sheppey United[5] of the Kent League and he remained with them for the following 1924–25 season, then he signed with their league rivals and near neighbours Sittingbourne[6] for a two season stint between 1925 and 1927. He followed this with one season with Southern League Eastern Division club Chatham[7] before joining, at the commencement of the 1928–29 season, Kent League club Tunbridge Wells Rangers.[1][8] It was reported that during the five years preceding signing with Tunbridge Wells that Thompson had scored a total of 120 goals for Sheppey United, Sittingbourne and Chatham;[8] he notched a further 38 in his first season with Tunbridge Wells[9] and 48 in the second.[10] There followed three more seasons for Thompson playing with Kent League clubs, 1930–31 with Ashford[10] and 1931 to 1933 with Canterbury Waverley,[11] after which he joined the newly formed (by the Waverley club) Canterbury Amateurs team playing in the Kent County Amateur League.[4]
Personal life
editThompson served as a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War.[12]
Career statistics
edit| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1919–20[13] | Southern League First Division | 28 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 8 |
| 1920–21[13] | Third Division | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |
| Career total | 43 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 10 | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 285. ISBN 978-1905891610.
- ^ a b c d e f g Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 159. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- ^ "Q. P. Rangers' Players". West London Observer. Hammersmith. 25 August 1922. p. 2.
- ^ a b Alfred Thompson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ "Football: Kent League Cup: Sheppey Utd. v. Sittingbourne". Sheerness Guardian and East Kent Advertiser. Sheerness. 3 November 1923. p. 3.
- ^ "Here And There: Two Sheppey Players For Sittingbourne". Sheerness Times Guardian. Sheerness. 21 May 1925. p. 4.
- ^ "Notes On Sport". Isle of Thanet Gazette. Margate. 25 June 1927. p. 10.
- ^ a b "Sports Notes: Football: The Rangers". Kent & Sussex Courier. Tunbridge Wells. 7 September 1928. p. 18.
- ^ "Sports Notes: Rangers News". Kent & Sussex Courier. Tunbridge Wells. 10 May 1929. p. 17.
- ^ a b "Kent Football Outlook: Ashford". Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph. Maidstone. 16 August 1930. p. 15.
- ^ "Kent Football". Kentish Express. Ashford. 18 September 1931. p. 4.
- ^ "Alfred Alexander Thompson | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ a b White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 365–366. ISBN 0951526200.