520 Tom Wilson

Biography

Rugged Scottish left half Tom Wilson joined Hull City in in November 1967 in return for an £18,000 fee, amid interest from other clubs including Coventry City. Cliff Britton’s Tigers were building a squad equipped to launch a promotion drive and reach Division One for the first time and Wilson’s slipped straight into the City strengthened defence at left half for the remainder of the 1967/68 season that had begun with a poor start and ended with bottom half finish.

Wilson missed the opening three fixtures of the 1968/69 season then settled into the first team as City avoided defeat in all ten games that Tom started. After missing four games in October 1968 Wilson again returned and scored his only goal for the club in November 1968 against Bury. However City’s form weakened considerably during the winter months and another mid-table finish beckoned. Wilson was replaced in the defence by young centre half Geoff Barker in late March 1969 and Wilson didn’t return until a run of six starts in December 1969 and January 1970, shortly after Cliff Britton’s move to an advisory role. Tom stayed on the Tigers’ books until the end of the 1970/71 season but was not selected for first team action by new manager Terry Neill and captained the Reserves side.

Thomas Wilson was born in Rosewell, a rural town south of Edinburgh, and played football for St David’s School in Dalkeith and the Midlothian county team. He played his junior football for Rosewell-based Whitehill Welfare, the local colliery team, and Edina Hearts before moving to Scottish Division One side Falkirk in August 1957. In January 1958 he was loaned to Linlithgow Rose to get first team experience, which bore fruit as by the end of the 1960/61 season Tom was established in the Falkirk first team.

In July 1961 he headed south to join Division Four side Millwall, a £750 fee securing his signature. He plied his trade in the Reserves for four months before making his senior debut against Southport in November 1961, his only start in a season when Millwall lifted the Division Four title – though he did impress in a London Challenge Cup tie in which Millwall’s Reserves turned in an impressive losing performance against Arsenal’s first eleven. At the start of the 1962/63 season Millwall had been promoted to Division Three and Wilson was selected as regular left half throughout a season that delivered a mid-table finish. For the next two seasons Wilson was the first choice left half at The Den as the side yo-yoed between Division Three and Division Four. Tom scored his first senior goal against Wrexham in December 1964 and in the 1965/66 season he netted six times as Millwall won promotion to Division Two alongside champions Hull City. Despite having risen two divisions since his debut Wilson was still a first team fixture at Millwall until dropping out of the first team in March 1967 in order to have an operation on his knee. He returned to first team action at the start of the 1967/68 season and attracted the interest of Division Two rivals Hull City – his final appearance for the Lions in an October 1967 League Cup tie against Darlington took his tally to sixteen goals in 227 appearances.

In July 1971 Tom left Hull City and had offers to join York City and Hereford United, the latter in a player-coaching role. However he chose to stay in the East Riding and joined Northern Premier League side Goole Town, where for eight seasons he amassed 367 League and Cup appearances and was club captain for several seasons while also retraining as a lawyer. In January 1977 a testimonial match was arranged for Tom, an International XI taking on a Manchester United team. In July 1979 Wilson took on a player-coach role at Gool but in October 1979 he left Goole Town having failed to agree terms associated with that new role. In December 1979 he moved to Yorkshire League side North Ferriby United but that spell was short and he decided to hang up his boots before his thirtieth birthday, though he was a regular presence in the Ex-Tigers XI.

Wilson then placed his focus on his career as a lawyer and also ran the London Marathon in May 1982 to raise funds for cystic fibrosis charities. In July 1984 he accepted an offer to become a youth team coach at Hull City, putting on hold his job as a legal executive. Over the next nine years Wilson fulfilled a number of roles at the club – in June 1986 he was appointed first team coach under Brian Horton’s management and he was subsequently appointed caretaker manager three times – firstly in April and May 1988 alongside Dennis Booth, with the pair leading the Tigers for four matches after the dismissal of Brian Horton; secondly in October 1989, when he managed the team for two matches after Colin Appleton’s fateful second spell came to an quick conclusion; and thirdly in January 1991 when he again led the side for two matches after Stan Ternent’s dismissal. For two years after these caretaker spells Tom was the Hull City’s club secretary before his tenure came to an abrupt and devastating end in September 1993 as part of a cost cutting exercise, despite Wilson offering to take a significant pay cut. He then returned to his legal career, working in civil litigation for Gosschalks and settling in South Cave.

Details

Nationality: Scotland
Date/Place of Birth: 29 November 1940, Rosewell
Hull City First Game: 11 November 1967, Norwich City H (Division Two), 26 years, 347 days old
Hull City Final Game: 21 February 1970, Preston North End A (Division Two), 29 years, 84 days old

Clubs

Whitehill Welfare, Edina Hearts, Falkirk (1957-1961), Linlithgow Rose (1958, loan), Millwall (1961-1967), Hull City (1967-1971), Goole Town (1971-1979), North Ferriby United (1979-1980)

Hull City Record

Career: 66 apps, 1 goals