Biography
Centre forward Thomas “Tom” Shelton hailed from the North Nottinghamshire town of Hucknall and was plucked from the local football scene by the Tigers in March 1932, where he played for Newstead Colliery while working as a plasterer. He was given his first team debut by manager Hayden Green in early April 1932 after impressive scoring feats in a handful of reserve matches, and when he scored on his debut against Crewe Alexandra he seemed set for great things. However in the next three starts he failed to score again and at the start of the 1932/33 season he was replaced as pivot by new signing Bill McNaughton, who promptly became City’s record goalscorer in a season.
Shelton stayed with City for two more seasons, playing regularly in the Reserves. During his second full season in the second team Shelton converted to a centre half but his final appearance for City’s first team in December 1933 came at outside right. Tom was granted a free transfer in May 1934 and left Hull City, at which point his football career drew to a close thanks to a serious knee cartilage injury. He returned to Hucknall with his Hull-born wife Stella and returned to the pastering trade. He was a driver in France during World War Two before again returning to Hucknall where he worked for the same plasterers’ firm until his retirement in 1976. In the early 1980s he developed dementia, he died in a Nottingham hospital in May 1985.
Many thanks to Tom’s son Keith for furnishing this page with details about his father’s life after his time at Hull City.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 23 February 1911, Hucknall
Hull City First Game: 9 April 1932, Crewe Alexandra A (Division Three North), 21 years, 46 days old
Hull City Final Game: 2 December 1933, Bradford Park Avenue H (Division Two), 22 years, 282 days old
Clubs
Newstead Colliery, Hull City (1932-1934)
Hull City Record
Career: 5 apps, 1 goals
Tom Shelton| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931/32 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1932/33 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1933/34 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Hi Just to fill you in on biography of tom shelton Quite a lot wrong in the article firstly he lived in Hucknall just south of newstead and worked as a plasterer for a firm in hucknall but played for newstead colliery when signed by tigers He finished at hull city with a cartlidge injury right knee which was inoperative in those days. He came back to hucknal with a hull girl (stella) and got married continuing his job as a plasterer for few years then went to war as a driver in france After the war was over went back into plastering and 1947 they had me his son keith. He worked for the same plastering firm untill he retired in 1976 In retirement he enjoyed gardening on his allotment until about 1981 when we noticed something was wrong.he was diagnosed with dementia in The same year and he died in february 1985 aged 75