Tommy Lawton	Everton FC, Chelsea FC, Notts County FC 23 caps, 22 goals, two penalties P 23 W 16 D 4 L 3 F 76: A 21 78% successful 1938-48 disciplined: none captaincies: none minutes played: 2070
Profile
Full name	Thomas Lawton
Born	6 October 1919 in 43 MacDonald Street, Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire [registered in Bolton, December 1919]. Attended Tonge Moor Council School & Castle Hill School in Bolton. Also Folds Road Central School.
Married	twice, firstly to Rosaleen May Kavanagh in January 1941 [registered in Liverpool North, March 1941], one child, Amanda, they divorced in March 1951. He married Gladys M. Rose on 23 September 1952 at Caxton Hall [registered in Westminister, September 1952], two children, Carol and Thomas junior
Died	6 November 1996, aged 77 years 31 days [registered in Nottingham, November 1996] of pneumonia. His ashes are held at National Football Museum
Height/Weight	5' 11", 12st. 0lbs [1947].
Source	Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & FindMyPast.com
Biographies	Football Is My Business - Tommy Lawton (Sporting Handbooks, London 1948) Soccer: The Lawton Way - Tommy Lawton (Nicholas Kaye, London 1954) My Twenty Years in Soccer - Tommy Lawton (Heirloom, Norwich 1955) When The Cheering Stopped - Tommy Lawton (Golden Eagle, Leicester 1973) The Complete Centre-Forward: The Authorised Biography of Tommy Lawton - David McVay & Andy Smith (Sportsbooks, Worcester 2000) "Get In There!" Tommy Lawton - My Friend, My Father - Barrie Williams & Tom Lawton Junior (Vision Sports Publishing, Kingston-upon-Thames 2010)
	x. - A Football Compendium, Peter J. Seddon (1999).
Club Career
Club(s)	Through his schoolboy football, Lawton was chosen to play for Bolton Town Schools in 1930 and progressed to representing Lancashire schools when he turned 13. After appearing in the Lancashire Schools Cup Final, Lawton earned a trial with the England schoolboy team. Despite scoring a plenty of goals in the three trial matches, he was never picked to represent his country at this level. Incidentally, the selectors in the first trial picked the centre-half who had been marking Tommy in that game in Manchester. Undeterred, Lawton was scoring for fun in the Bolton League, for Hayes Athletic FC. After leaving school, the Lawton family turned down the opportunity for him to sign for Bolton Wanderers FC, he could not become a professional for two years, and the interim job Wanderers were offering was not enough for the new family star. So the 15-year old Tommy signed for Lancashire Combination outfit Rossendale United FC, scoring a hat-trick on his debut. Impressed, Liverpool FC, Bury FC and Blackburn Rovers FC all invited Lawton, but with no further discussion. Eventually, Lawton signed for Sheffield Wednesday FC, but that move was usurped by his mother, he did not want him traveling such distances. So instead, Tommy signed for Burnley FC in May 1935, being paid as the club's secretary's assistant. The deal also included a job as assistant groundsman at Turf Moor for his grandfather, Jim Riley, also his surrogate father. The whole family too, were moved to Burnshaw Road in Burnley, rent-free, the sixteen year old made his debut in March 1936 and would play 25 league matches, scoring sixteen goals. He signed professional forms with Burnley shortly after his seventeenth birthday, celebrating with a hat-trick on his professional debut against Tottenham Hotspur FC. His extra-ordinary was oon noted and Burnley could no longer hold onto to their prize asset, and would sell to Everton FC on 31 December 1936, for a record fee for a teenager, �6,500. Scored an astonishing 65 goals in 83 league appearances. During the war, which saw Lawton become a Training Instructor, achieving Company Sergeant Major status, he still played for Everton and he guested for Leicester City FC, Aldershot FC and even Greenock Morton FC (on his honeymoon!), earning a solitary Scottish League appearance and single goal. As the hostilities concluded, in July 1945, Lawton handed in a transfer request to Everton which was eventually accepted under protest. He did not want to leave Everton FC, but he had to leave the city and his failed marriage.  It was Chelsea FC that signed him, on 7 November 1945 for �14,000. He would score thirty goals in 42 league appearances. However, his refusal to join his club on a tour of Scandinavia because of mental and physical fatigue spelt the end for Lawton, and when his transfer request was aqain, eventually accepted under protest, Lawton chose Notts County FC, and on 13 November 1947 for a �20,000 fee (�17,000 plus William Dickson), a deal was finalised. Despite dropping from the first to the third division of the Football League, it showed the measure of the man Lawton was. It was down to Arthur Strollery, the man who signed him at County was the masseur at Stamford Bridge, he became Lawton's confident through his difficult Stamford Bridge days. On the day Chelsea sacked Strollery, Lawton promised to sign for him should the opportunity arise, the handshake was the contract, so when the list of club's arrived for Lawton to consider, Strollery's Notts County was the only club for him.  But eventually, Stroller left, and Lawton displeased the County directors and after ninety goals in 151 league matches, he was eventually sold to Brentford FC in March 1952 for �15,000. Another 50 league matches, but a less emphatic seventeen goals followed. But as Lawton became despondant at Griffin Park, resigning from his position as the manager, the opportunity arose for him to join Arsenal FC, and a move he had dreamed off since his Chelsea days. On 18 September 1953, Lawton signed for Tom Whittaker for �7,500 and Jimmy Robertson. After a return to the top division, Lawton ended his career with 35 league appearances and thirteen goals. Upon his retirement, in September 1955, Lawton had amassed 231 league goals in 390 apperances.
Club honours	Lancashire Schools Cup runners-up 1932-33; Glasgow Empire Exhibition Cup runners-up 1938; Football League Champions 1938-39; Football League Division Three (South) winners 1949-50;
Individual honours	Football League (three appearances, four debut goals)
Distinctions	On 28 March 1936, Tommy Lawton, aged 16 years and 174 days, became the youngest ever centre-forward to play in the Football League, for Burnley FC against Doncaster Rovers FC. Also played cricket rather well in his youth, for the Burnley Cricket Team in the Lancashire County League.
Source	Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & Tom Lawton's biography.
Management Career
Club(s)	Lawton turned down the opportunity to become Notts County's player-manager in the summer of 1946.  When the opportunity arose again, Lawton grasped it when he was six months into his time at Brentford FC, in September 1952. But Lawton soon found the task difficult, so resigned from the managerial position a year later. And left Griffin Park also to secure his dream move to Highbury. A third opportunity arose to manage a team, this time Southern League team Kettering Town FC, his sole position would be to manage the side in September 1955. It was the move that added to his decision to retire from playing. Kettering paid Arsenal a �1000 fee.  In the summer of 1957, Lawton retuned to Notts County, who had since dropped divisions, as their new manager. He was unceremoniously sacked on 7 June 1958. He did, however, return to Kettering to help them on a part-time basis in 1964-65. But could not save them from relegation. In 1968, Lawton once again returned to Notts County, this time in an advisorary capacity. For the final time, he was sacked in 1969 as a new chairman came in.
Club honours	None
England Career
Player number	647th player to appear for England.
Position(s)	Centre-forward
First match	No. 219, 22 October 1938, Wales 4 England 2, a British Championship match at Ninian Park, Cardiff, aged 19 years 16 days.
Last match	No. 241, 26 September 1948, Denmark 0 England 0, a friendly match at Idrætsparken, København, aged 28 years 355 days.
Major tournaments	British Championship 1938-39, 1946-47, 1947-48;
Team honours	British Championship shared 1938-39, winners 1946-47, 1947-48;
Individual honours	England wartime international (24 appearances, several as Captain, 23 goals)
Distinctions	Youngest-ever England penalty scorer and the youngest player to score on his debut.
Beyond England
Tommy and his wife, Gay, became the licensees of the Magna Charta in Lowdham in October 1958 until 1962. Aferwhich, he came an insurange agent. A failed venture that should have resulted in the Tommy Lawton Sports Good brand failed to last, instead, Lawton worked for Vernon's Pools in the Nottingham area until he returned to football. After he hit the hardest of the times, he was offered the job as director of his own company, Tommy Lawton Furniture Ltd, and after fruitful beginnings, again ended up in liquidation. - Tom Lawton's biography

Tommy Lawton - Career Statistics
Squads	Apps	Comp. Apps	Mins.	Goals	Goals Av.min	Comp. Goals	Pens	Capt.	Disc.
23	24	9	2070	23	90.4 min	8	2	None	None
Due to the fact that many matches rarely stuck to exactly ninety minutes long, allowing time for injuries, errors and substitutions.  The minutes here given can only ever be a guideline and cannot therefore be accurate, only an approximation.

Tommy Lawton - Match History
Club: Everton F.C. - 8 full caps Coach: F.A. Select Committee - 8 full capsx
Age 19
1	219	22 October 1938 - Wales 4 England 2, Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff	BC	AL	Start 27	9
2	220	26 October 1938 - England 3 Rest of Europe 0, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London	Fr	HW	Start 39	9
3	221	9 November 1938 - England 4 Norway 0, St. James' Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne	Fr	HW	Start 35	9
4	222	16 November 1938 - England 7 Ireland 0, Old Trafford, Manchester	BC	HW	Start 8	9
5	223	15 April 1939 - Scotland 1 England 2, Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow		AW	Start 88	9
6	224	13 May 1939 - Italy 2 England 2, Stadio Comunale San Siro, Milano	Tour	AD	Start 19	9
7	225	18 May 1939 - Yugoslavia 2 England 1, Stadion Beogradski SK, Beograd		AL	Start	9
8	226	24 May 1939 - Romania 0 England 2, Stadionul ANEF, Bucureşti		AW	Start	9
Club: Chelsea F.C. - 11 full caps Coach: Walter Winterbottom - 15 full capsx
Age 26
9	227	28 September 1946 - Ireland 2 England 7, Windsor Park, Belfast	BC	AW	Start 80	9
10	228	30 September 1946 - Ireland (�ire) 0 England 1, Dalymount Park, Dublin	Fr	AW	Start	9
Age 27
11	229	13 November 1946 - England 3 Wales 0, Maine Road, Manchester	BC	HW	Start 39	9
12	230	27 November 1946 - England 8 Netherlands 2, Leeds Road, Huddersfield	Fr	HW	Start 24,28,35,78	9
13	231	12 April 1947 - England 1 Scotland 1, Empire Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	HD	Start	9
14	232	3 May 1947 - England 3 France 0, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London	Fr	HW	Start	9
15	233	18 May 1947 - Switzerland 1 England 0, Hardturm Sportplatz, Zürich	Tour	AL	Start	9
16	234	25 May 1947 - Portugal 0 England 10, Estádio Nacional, Jamor, Lisboa		AW	Start 17s,11,38,61	9
17	235	21 September 1947 - Belgium 2 England 5, Stade du Centenaire, Bruxelles	Fr	AW	Start 34s, 63	9
Age 28
18	236	18 October 1947 - Wales 0 England 3, Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff	BC	AW	Start 25	9
19	237	5 November 1947 - England 2 Ireland 2, Goodison Park, Liverpool		HD	Start 87	9
Club: Notts County F.C. - 4 full caps
20	238	19 November 1947 - England 4 Sweden 2, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London	Fr	HW	Start 18	9
21	239	10 April 1948 - Scotland 0 England 2, Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow	BC	AW	Start	9
22	240	16 May 1948 - Italy 0 England 4, Stadio Comunale di Torino, Torino	Fr	AW	Start 23	9
23	241	26 September 1948 - Denmark 0 England 0, Idrætsparken, København	Fr	AD	Start	9

Notes

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