sawyer_thomas
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| Name: Thomas "Tom" Sawyer |
Nationality: England |
| Position: outside-right |
Signing Information: Transferred from: ?, 09/1899, £ |
| Birthdate: 12-11-1870 |
Years at Club: 1899-1901 |
| Age: (154) |
Debut: 14/10/1899 v Birmingham City (A) 0-1 (League Division Two) |
| Birthplace: Longton, Staffordshire, England |
Previous clubs: Derby County, Macclesfield, Stockport County, |
| Height: |
Farewell to Manchester United: Transferred to Chorley, 05/1901, £ |
| Weight: |
Passed Away: 17/02/1958 |
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There is no telling how good a footballer Tom Sawyer would have been had he not put country before club. From his mid-teens, he enlisted as a soldier and was promptly sent to India. The talented outside-right soon developed a reputation as "the smartest player in the British Army", but it took seven years before he finally returned home.
Within 10 days Sawyer was snapped up by top flight Derby County who arranged a friendly for their reserve team on December 29th, 1894, specifically to try him out. However, a glut of injuries forced his selection for the first team instead in league matches with Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa. At this high standard, Tom "failed to come up to expectations", and he was cast as a reserve thereafter.
In 1895-96, Sawyer moved to Macclesfield in the Lancashire League, scoring on his debut versus Everton Reserves on September 21th. He played 17 games for the them, netting 6 goals, then spent a few games with Stockport County towards the end of that campaign, before joining South Shore of the Lancashire League in October 1897. He spent two seasons with the Blackpool-based club where apparently he was a marked man: "The way Sawyer performed backward somersaults and other acrobatic feats when roughly tackled would have done credit to a practiced gymnast".
After a trial with Newton Heath's reserves in September 1899, Tom signed professional with the club on October 2nd. That same day he was given a run-out in a first-team friendly with Renton then faced Small Heath in a Division Two tussle a fortnight later. Tom performed capably, but not well enough to dislodge regular right winger Willie Bryant. Thus, he spent the best part of two years putting himself about in the second eleven, sometimes rather too strongly: he was cautioned by the Lancashire FA in February 1901 for rough play!
Sawyer's best spell with the Heathens came in April 1901 when he played in the last four league games of the season. Surprisingly, he soon lost his spot, Heath allowing him to play for Chorley in the early part of 1901-02 before selling him to Chesterfield. He only played nine times for them but that was enough for him to make the news rather too graphically...
In a reserve outing against Whittington in February 1902, Tom was chasing the ball in an attempt to keep it in play when he overran the side line. Up ahead a cluster of trees cast a shadow over the ground preventing him from noticing a low boundary rope. He crashed violently into it, laying open a knee and displacing his kidneys. He was rushed to the Crown Inn where he convalesced for a couple of months.
In August 1902, fully recovered, Sawyer signed for Poolsbrook United but soon found Coventry City's surroundings much more to his liking. He played for them for a few months until a peeved Poolsbrook reported both him and his club to the FA and demanded he paid them £2 in bonus money back. Sawyer continued to live in Coventry thereafter and worked as a painter. He passed away a fortnight after the Munich Air Disaster at Gawsworth New Hall in Macclesfield. Thanks to Charbel Boujaoude for his tireless researching effort & the correct information on Thomas Sawyer. Also thanks to Debbie Poynton great grand-daughter of Thomas Sawyer for extra information. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude. |
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League Cup |
FA Cup |
Charity Shield |
European Cup |
Europa League |
Super Cup |
Cup Winners Cup |
Inter-Continental Cup |
World Clubs Cup |
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Season |
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Season
Goals |
Season
Apps |
| 1 |
1899-1900 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| 2 |
1900-1901 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| TOTALS |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
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