George Thomson (footballer, born 1936)
Introduction
George Matthewson Thomson (19 October 1936 – July 2007) was a Scottish professional football left back who played for Heart of Midlothian, Everton and Brentford. He was capped by Scotland at schoolboy and U23 levels and made two appearances for the Scottish League XI.
Career
Heart of Midlothian
A left back, Thomson began his career with Edinburgh City and joined Scottish League Division A club Heart of Midlothian in April 1953. He had to wait until February 1957 to make his debut, which came in a 1–1 Division One draw with Falkirk. He went on to make six further appearances during the 1956–57 season and was thereafter a regular in the team until his departure in November 1960. He was a fixture in Hearts' 1957–58 and 1959–60 Division One title-winning teams, featuring as an ever-present in the latter triumph. He also played in both the 1958 and 1959 Scottish League Cup finals, winning on both occasions. Thomson made 161 appearances and scored 17 goals during three-and-a-half years as a first team player at Hearts.
Everton
Thomson and Hearts teammate Alex Young moved south to join English Division One club Everton in an £55,000 deal in November 1960. In Thomson's two-and-a-half seasons with the club, he failed to hold down a place in the side, but managed to make 20 appearances during the club's championship-winning season in 1962–63. He made 77 appearances and scored one goal for the club before departing Goodison Park in late 1963.
Brentford
Thomson joined newly promoted Division Three side Brentford November 1963, making his debut in the same match as his former Scotland Schoolboys teammate Chic Brodie. He played on for four-and-a-half seasons (suffering relegation to Division Four in 1966) before retiring at the end of the 1967–68 season. Thomson made 179 appearances and scored five goals for Brentford.
International and representative career
Thomson represented Scotland at schoolboy and U23 level. While with Hearts, he made two appearances for the Scottish League XI against the Irish League XI.
Personal life
Thomson attended Craiglockhart Primary School, Tynecastle High School and Slateford School. As a player, he was nicknamed "007" because of his looks.
Honours
- Scottish League Division One (2): 1957–58, 1959–60
- Scottish League Cup (2): 1958–59, 1959–60
- East of Scotland Shield (2): 1957–58, 1959–60
Everton
- Football League Division One (1): 1962–63
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | 1956–57 | Scottish First Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1957–58 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
| 1958–59 | 34 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 11 | ||
| 1959–60 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 47 | 5 | |||
| 1960–61 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Total | 117 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 161 | 17 | ||
| Everton | 1960–61 | First Division | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| 1961–62 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 1962–63 | 19 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 73 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 77 | 1 | |||
| Brentford | 1963–64 | Third Division | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||
| 1964–65 | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 0 | ||||
| 1965–66 | 44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 47 | 2 | ||||
| 1966–67 | Fourth Division | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||
| 1967–68 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 162 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 179 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 352 | 20 | 22 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 417 | 23 | ||