Tom Phillipson

William Thomas Phillipson (31 October 1898 – 19 November 1965) was an English footballer, who set a number of goalscoring records for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Tom Phillipson
Personal information
Full name William Thomas Phillipson[1]
Date of birth (1898-10-31)31 October 1898
Place of birth Ryton, Gateshead, County Durham, England
Date of death 19 November 1965(1965-11-19) (aged 67)[2]
Place of death Wolverhampton, England
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1914–1919 Scotswood
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1919–1921 Newcastle United 14 (4)
1921–1923 Swindon Town 87 (24)
1923–1928 Wolverhampton Wanderers 144 (104)
1928–1930 Sheffield United 61 (27)
1930–1931 Bilston United
1931–1932 Walsall
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Phillipson served as a sergeant in the West Yorkshire Regiment in Russia before returning to his native North-East England to sign for Newcastle United in December 1919.[3] A former England Schoolboy international, he had a strong goalscoring record at youth level but failed to make a strong impact for his new senior club.

He moved to Swindon Town in May 1921 for £500, where he spent a season-and-a-half.

In December 1923 he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, then of the Third Division, for £1,000. He opened his goalscoring account with a hat-trick against Ashington on his 4th appearance and finished the campaign with 14 goals as the club won the Third Division title at their first attempt.

The forward was Wolves' leading goalscorer for three successive seasons between 1924–27, becoming the first Wolves player to break the 30 goal barrier in a season. During the 1926–27 season he scored in 13 consecutive league games, a Football League record. This run of goals also saw him score 5 in a match against Bradford City, a club record never bettered.

During the close season in 1927, Fred Scotchbrook was replaced by Major Frank Buckley as manager, a move which saw Phillipson's goal form begin to decline. In March 1928, First Division side Sheffield United offered £2,600 for him, which was accepted by the Wolves board. He left Molineux after 159 games in total, scoring 111 times, a then-club record.

He spent two seasons at Bramall Lane before returning to the Midlands as player-manager of non-league Bilston United in 1930. He ended his football career with a season at Walsall in 1931–32.

After retiring from the game, he concentrated on his business interests in Wolverhampton as well as entering local politics. He served as Mayor of Wolverhampton in 1944–1945.[4]

He died aged 67, on 19 November 1965.

References
  • Matthews, Tony (2001). The Wolves Who's Who. West Midlands: Britespot. ISBN 1-904103-01-4.
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 230. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. "Tom Phillipson". 11v11.com. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. "North East War Memorials Project – Regional Content". www.newmp.org.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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