Name: Thomas Houston Watson
Born: 4th October 1900*, Belfast
Died: 13 May 1978
Height:
Weight:
Height:
Weight:
Position: Left-Back
.
Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1926), Junior Caps.
Club Honours: (with Cardiff) FA Cup Winner 1926/27; Welsh Cup Winner 1926/27; (with Linfield) Irish League Champion 1929/30; Irish Cup Winner 1929/30.
.
Club Career:
Clubs
|
Seasons
|
Signed
|
Fee
|
League
|
FA Cup
|
Other
|
Glenarm
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Crusaders
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(Intermediate League)
|
||
Cardiff City
|
25/26-28/29
|
Aug-25
|
-
|
85/0
|
11/0
|
-
|
Linfield
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
TOTALS
|
£-
|
85/0
|
11/0
|
-
|
||
.
Biography:
Born and raised in north Belfast, Tom Watson found his footballing feet at Crusaders, then a force in intermediate football, in the early 1920s. The Crues had been a happy hunting ground for Cardiff in the years preceding Watson's signing in 1925, Jimmy Nelson (a Scot) and Tom Sloan having made the same move. That trio, joined by two further Irishmen, Tom Farquharson and Sam Irving, made history when the Bluebirds defeated Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup final, so taking the Cup out of England for the first time. Two weeks after beating Arsenal they completed a unique double by winning the Welsh Cup too, Rhyl bested 2-0 in that final.
Watson was capped just once by Ireland in an Irish team, also featuring Irving and Sloan, that was defeated 4-0 by Scotland at Ibrox. He was called into a team weakened by the withdrawal of a number of players. The Irish started the match, played in heavy rain, brightly before being easily overwhelmed by a superior Scottish eleven. It was recorded that the Irish back-line bore the brunt of the Scots' attacks with "a fair measure of success", despite the scoreline.
Having displaced Scottish international captain Jimmy Blair from the left-back slot early in his Cardiff career, Watson's firstteam role was comparatively short-lived. He was blighted by cartilage problems and after undergoing surgery during the 1928/29 season was unable to regain his firstteam place. He returned to Ireland to join Linfield, again teaming up with Sloan, and the pair completed their "set" of three different cup medals when Linfield defeated Ballymena in the 1930 final.
Watson was capped just once by Ireland in an Irish team, also featuring Irving and Sloan, that was defeated 4-0 by Scotland at Ibrox. He was called into a team weakened by the withdrawal of a number of players. The Irish started the match, played in heavy rain, brightly before being easily overwhelmed by a superior Scottish eleven. It was recorded that the Irish back-line bore the brunt of the Scots' attacks with "a fair measure of success", despite the scoreline.
Having displaced Scottish international captain Jimmy Blair from the left-back slot early in his Cardiff career, Watson's firstteam role was comparatively short-lived. He was blighted by cartilage problems and after undergoing surgery during the 1928/29 season was unable to regain his firstteam place. He returned to Ireland to join Linfield, again teaming up with Sloan, and the pair completed their "set" of three different cup medals when Linfield defeated Ballymena in the 1930 final.
Ireland Cap Details:
27-02-1926 Scotland A L 0-4 BC
.
Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.
Additional details courtesy of Martin O'Connor.
Many sources list Watson's birth date as 4 October 1902. We thank his grandson David for the clarification and for further additions.
Additional details courtesy of Martin O'Connor.
Many sources list Watson's birth date as 4 October 1902. We thank his grandson David for the clarification and for further additions.
Comments
has ask me to put this up.