George Matthewson Thomson (19 October 1936 – July 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Heart of Midlothian, Everton and Brentford as a utility player. He was capped by Scotland at schoolboy and U23 levels and made two appearances for the Scottish League XI.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | George Matthewson Thomson[1] | ||
Date of birth | 19 October 1936 | ||
Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
Date of death | July 2007[1] | (aged 70)||
Place of death | Lancashire, England | ||
Position(s) | Utility player | ||
Youth career | |||
Edinburgh City | |||
1953–1957 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1957–1960 | Heart of Midlothian | 117 | (14) |
1960–1963 | Everton | 73 | (1) |
1963–1968 | Brentford | 162 | (5) |
Total | 352 | (20) | |
International career | |||
Scotland Schoolboys | |||
Scotland U23 | |||
1959–1960 | Scottish League XI | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Thomson began his career with Edinburgh City and joined Scottish League club Heart of Midlothian in April 1953.[2] He had to wait until February 1957 to make his debut, which came in a 1–1 First Division draw with Falkirk.[3] He went on to make six further appearances during the 1956–57 season and was thereafter a regular in the team until his departure in November 1960.[2] He was a fixture in Hearts' 1957–58 and 1959–60 First Division title-winning teams and featured as an ever-present in the latter triumph.[4][5] He also played in both the 1958 and 1959 Scottish League Cup-winning campaigns.[6][7] Thomson made 161 appearances and scored 17 goals during three-and-a-half years as a first team player at Hearts.[2]
Thomson and Heart of Midlothian teammate Alex Young moved south to join English First Division club Everton for a combined £55,000 fee on 26 November 1960.[8][9][10] Thomson was unable to hold a regular place in the team during his 2+1⁄2 seasons with the club,[10] but he managed to make 20 appearances during the club's championship-winning season in 1962–63.[11] He made 77 appearances and scored one goal for the club before departing Goodison Park in late 1963.[10]
Thomson joined newly-promoted Third Division club Brentford November 1963 and stayed at Griffin Park for 4+1⁄2 years, before retiring at the end of the 1967–68 season.[9] Thomson made 179 appearances and scored five goals for Brentford.[9]
Thomson represented Scotland at schoolboy and U23 level.[9] While with Hearts, he made two appearances for the Scottish League XI against the Irish League XI.[12]
Thomson attended Craiglockhart Primary School, Tynecastle High School and Slateford School.[2] As a player, he was nicknamed "007", because of his looks.[9]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Heart of Midlothian | 1956–57[13] | Scottish First Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
1957–58[4] | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
1958–59[14] | 34 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 49 | 11 | ||
1959–60[5] | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 47 | 5 | |||
1960–61[15] | 12 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 22 | 1 | |||
Total | 117 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 161 | 17 | ||
Everton | 1960–61[10] | First Division | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
1961–62[10] | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | ||||
1962–63[10] | 19 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
Total | 73 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 77 | 1 | |||
Brentford | 1963–64[16] | Third Division | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||
1964–65[16] | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 0 | ||||
1965–66[16] | 44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 47 | 2 | ||||
1966–67[16] | Fourth Division | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||
1967–68[16] | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||||
Total | 162 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 179 | 5 | ||||
Career total | 352 | 20 | 22 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 417 | 23 |
Heart of Midlothian
Everton