Tommy Ward (footballer, born 1917)
Thomas Alfred Ward (6 August 1917 – after 1953) was an English footballer who scored 51 goals from 154 appearances in the Football League playing as a forward for Sheffield Wednesday and Darlington in the years following the Second World War.[2]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Thomas Alfred Ward[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 6 August 1917||
Place of birth | Wolsingham,[2] England | ||
Date of death | 1992[lower-alpha 1] (aged 75) | ||
Place of death | North Lincolnshire,[lower-alpha 1] England | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (1.71 m)[5] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
19??–1937 | Crook Town | ||
1937–1948 | Sheffield Wednesday | 35 | (19) |
1948–1954 | Darlington | 119 | (32) |
Total | 154 | (51) | |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Life and career
Ward was born in Wolsingham, County Durham, and played football for nearby Crook Town before signing for Football League Second Division club Sheffield Wednesday in March 1937. He never played for the first team before the Second World War, made a guest appearance for Leeds United in wartime football in 1945, and by the time the Football League resumed after the war, he was already 29 years old.[1] He made his debut in the 1945–46 FA Cup, and contributed 18 goals from 28 league matches in the first postwar league season.[6] Despite such a strong scoring record, Jimmy Dailey and then Clarrie Jordan were preferred in the following campaign.[1] Ward played only seven more times, scoring once,[7] and then returned to the north-east to sign for Third Division North club Darlington at the end of the season. He remained with the club for six years, and played 119 league matches in which he scored 32 goals.[2] Alongside his football career, Ward worked as an undertaker.[8] Tommy (Alfie) had 2 daughters and 6 Grandchildren.
Notes
- Ward's death was registered in the fourth quarter of 1992 in the Scunthorpe registration district,[3] which covers the area known since 1996 as North Lincolnshire.[4]
References
- "Ward: Thomas Alfred (Tommy)". ozwhitelufc.net. Tony Hill. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- "Tommy Ward". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- "England & Wales deaths 1837–2007 Transcription". Thomas Alfred Ward. District: Scunthorpe. Register number: 1192. County: Lincolnshire. Volume: 7. Page: 1129. Retrieved 4 September 2014 – via Findmypast.
- "Scunthorpe registration district". UKBMD. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- "Bradford terms refused". Yorkshire Post. 6 August 1948. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Season 1946/47". The Sheffield Wednesday Archive. Stuart Jackson. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- "Season 1947/48". The Sheffield Wednesday Archive. Stuart Jackson. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- Amos, Mike (14 June 2012). "Baden Baden". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 1 April 2014.