John Thomson is still revered as one of the finest goalkeepers of the inter-war period.
Despite being an evangelical Protestant, he would
also become an icon at the Catholic Glasgow Celtic.
And, for one sad day in September 1931, Thomson bridged the Sectarian divide, as Celtic and
Rangers fans joined to mourn his tragic early death.
Thomson was born on 28 January 1909 in Kirkcaldy, ten miles north of Edinburgh. Growing up in
nearby Cardenden, he showed early promise as a footballer. As schoolteacher N.E. Lawton
put it, “he was a born goalkeeper”.
By the age of 14, he had followed his father into work at Bowhill Colliery. Working 300
yards below ground, his job involved uncoupling
the chain clips of wagons bringing coal to the surface.
Though he was slender and his hands were unusually small, the work helped conditioned him for
goalkeeping, allowing him to develop what biographer Tom Greig called “a vice-like
strength, with powerful wrists and forearms”.
Thomson was spotted by Celtic while playing for Wellesley Juniors in 1926. Club scout
Steve Callaghan had been dispatched to watch the
opposition goalkeeper, but it was Thomson who
impressed and he would join Celtic for £10 in October that year. With miners around the
country still taking part in the General Strike, professional
football represented a more stable income. Not
to Thomson’s mother, though who, in dreadful augury, believed that football was too dangerous
for her son.
Four months later, shortly after his 18th birthday, Thomson was given his debut by manager
Willie Maley, who was concerned by the performances
of first-choice keeper Peter Shevlin. Thomson impressed, keeping his place for the rest
of the season as Celtic finished third and beat Division
Two side East Fife 3-1 to claim their 12th Scottish Cup.
In October 1927, Celtic also won the Glasgow Cup, beating Rangers 2-1 in the final. The
two sides met again a week later in the league
with Rangers winning 1-0, but Thomson was the star
man in both games. The Daily Record said that “for the second week in succession... the
Celtic keeper was simply immense. All sorts (of)
shots came at Thomson. Point-blank range, low shots
caught in a vice, running out to kick clear and clutch crosses again and again.”
The following two seasons weren’t as successful for Celtic, with the Glasgow Cup their only
solace as Rangers won five consecutive league titles. But Thomson’s star continued to
rise and he was selected for the Scottish Football
League XI against the Irish League XI in October 1928,
in a game they won 8-2.
But results for the league XI were mixed. Two years later in a match against the English
Football League side, England fans at White Hart Lane
gave Thomson a standing ovation after an inspired performance which meant that a 7-3 defeat
still flattered the Scottish side.
By then, he had also made his first appearance for the Scottish national team. On 18 May
1930, he played in one of Scotland’s first official
friendlies abroad, in which they beat France 2-0 at
Paris’ Stade de Colombes. According to the Scotsman, “Thomson... particularly distinguished
himself by leaping out and punching out hard shots from eight yards range with both fists”.
Later that year, he played in a 1-1 draw with Wales
and then in front of a British record 129,000 fans at
Hampden Park, as Scotland beat England 2-0. In his four international appearances, Thomson
conceded just one goal.
1930 brought his third Glasgow Cup, but also a warning sign. Renowned for putting his body
on the line by diving into crowds of players
to secure the ball, he was severely injured in a match
against Airdrieonians, losing two teeth, breaking his jaw, damaging his collar bone and fracturing
several ribs. His mother, again, pleaded with him to retire.
Undeterred, Thomson played on and the 1930/31 season saw him win his second Scottish Cup,
Celtic winning a replay 4-2 against Motherwell.
In 1931, Thomson got engaged to his partner Margaret Finlay, but fate would prevent the
marriage from ever taking place.
On 5th September 1931, Celtic travelled to Ibrox to play Rangers on Derby Day, as teams
around Scotland faced off against their closest rivals.
Old Firm games were brutal affairs characterised by
riots and ambushes of visiting supporters, and violence was common. But the incident
which claimed 22-year-old Thomson’s life was no
attack, simply a horrific accident.
Early in the second half, Rangers forward Sam English, just 23 himself, was put clean
through on goal. Thomson rushed out to close him down,
diving at his feet and deflecting the ball away, but
his head collided with English’s knee, rupturing an artery in his temple and causing a depression
in his skull.
The severity of the incident wasn’t immediately apparent to the crowd, whose boos were
quietened at the urging of Rangers captain Davie Meiklejohn. Thomson was stretchered
from the taken to Victoria Infirmary, while Rangers
manager William Struth sent a car to collect Thomson’s
parents from Cardenden.
But he couldn’t be saved. An emergency operation to relieve the pressure caused by the swelling
of his brain was unsuccessful and Thomson died that night at 9:25pm, at just 22 years
old. Details of Thomson’s memorial service were
only made public a day before the event, which took
place in his hometown of Cardenden, but the attendance was vast. Some mourners reportedly
walked the 55miles from Glasgow, those who could afford the fare took the train, but
30,000 people - Protestants and Catholics together
- filled the streets on 9th September.
Sam English, who wept openly at the ceremony, was instantly cleared of any wrongdoing by
officials. He would also visit Thomson’s parents in the weeks after the accident and
was they publicly exonerated him of any blame. But
the incident haunted his career and. He left Scotland
and scored prolifically for Liverpool, but retired from football before his 30th birthday.
Taunted and jeered by opposition defenders and fans, he
said he had played “seven years of joyless sport”.
After a battle with Motor Neurone Disease, English died in 1967 at the age of 58. In
2008, the trophy awarded to Rangers’ top-scorer each
season was named after him, with Kris Boyd becoming the inaugural winner of the Sam English
Bowl.
John Thomson’s memory remains alive too. Forever remembered as Celtic’s ‘Prince
of Goalkeepers’, for those who saw him he was
unmatched in the position – the best Scottish football had ever seen. As journalist and
commentator John Arlott said, he was "a great player
who came to the game as a boy and left it still a boy; he had no predecessor, no successor.
He was unique."
In November 2008, in response to a petition led by author Tom Greig, John Thomson was
finally inducted into the Scottish Football Hall Of
Fame.