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 in 1924/25 City signed Geordie left winger James Keen, who restricted Thomas to just six starts. He left the Tigers in the 1925 close season.
Thomas was born in Shotton Colliery, an East Durham coalfields town south of Sunderland. He served the Gordon Highlanders Royal Engineers during World War One and was discharged in 1920. His career started in County Durham local football before joining Bradford City in 1921. In a season and a half he made 14 starts before transferring to Welsh Division Three South side Merthyr Town in February 1923. He signed for the Tigers the following summer.
Thomas left City in July 1925 and returned to the North East, playing two seasons for the Tigers’ Second Division rivals South Shields. He then dropped into Division Three North football with Northumberland side Ashington, before returning to his Hetton hometown in 1929. Later in life in 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
Hetton Celtic, Shotton Colliery, Crook Town, 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |