Biography
Wideman Alfred Charles Thomas signed for the Tigers in June 1923 as part of new boss Bill McCracken’s squad rebuilding process. Thomas was capable of playing on both wings and started the season on the right, scoring his first City goal in a September 1923 2-2 draw against Clapton Orient. City won only two of their first 12 league matches and as this struggle developed Thomas was shifted to the left then dropped with Scotsman Alec Thom preferred. Alf returned to the first team during the festive period at outside left, scoring against Fulham in a Boxing Day 4-2 victory, and his versatility saw him retain his starting shirt for the rest of the season. City survived relegation by four points and Thomas’s two goals in a late April 2-1 win over Blackpool were pivotal to that outcome. However City signed Geordie left winger James Keen ahead of the 1924/25 season, which restricted Thomas to just six starts. He left the Tigers in the 1925 close season.
Alfred Charles Thomas was born in Shotton Colliery, a mining town in the East Durham coalfields to the south of Sunderland. He served the Gordon Highlanders Royal Engineers during World War One and was discharged in 1920. His football career started in his mid-20s, playing for North Eastern League side Houghton and showing form that encouraged Division One side Bradford City to claim his signature in November 1921. he made his Bantams debut on Boxing Day 1921 against Tottenham Hotspur and Scored his first senior goal against Everton in March 1922.
Bradford City were relegated to Division Two for the 1922/23 season but Thomas was still on the fringes of the first team squad – when he made his last start for Bradford City against Notts County in December 1922 it was his fourteenth appearance. In February 1923 Alf transferred to Division Three South side Merthyr Town, where he made 15 appearances without scoring but did enough to attract attention from Hull City’s scouts.
Thomas left City in July 1925 and returned to the North East, he was on the books of Division Two side South Shields for two seasons then Division Three North side Ashington for a further two seasons, though he made no senior appearances for either club. He returned to his Hetton hometown in the summer of 1929 and served his local club for one more season before hanging up his boots.
Later in life Alf moved to Banbury in Oxfordshire where he died in March 1965.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 17 May 1895, Shotton Colliery
Hull City First Game: 25 August 1923, Leicester City H (Division Two), 28 years, 100 days old
Hull City Final Game: 28 February 1925, Southampton A (Division Two), 29 years, 287 days old
Clubs
Houghton, Bradford City (1921-1923), Merthyr Town (1923), Hull City (1923-1925), South Shields (1925-1927), Ashington (1927-1929), Hetton United (1929-1930)
Hull City Record
Career: 38 apps, 4 goals
Alf Thomas| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923/24 | 32 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1924/25 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |