Tommy Atherton

Born in West Derby, Liverpool in 1879,  Tommy’s family moved to Scotland, residing in Edinburgh, by 1891.

Both he and his brother, Robert, went on to be professional footballers.

Robert captained Hibernian F.C. when they won the Scottish Cup in 1902. He died in WW1 whilst serving in the Mercantile Marine.

Tommy started his career with a juvenile Edinburgh inter-city team, before joining Dunfermline Juniors, in January 1898.

Tottenham Hotspur were the next team to show interest in this up and coming forward. He signed for the club in May 1898. His wage was £3 a week in the close season, and £3 10s when playing. In a short space of time he became captain of the “A” team, and was on the fringes of breaking into the first team. However, by the start of the 1899/1900 season he was back in Edinburgh playing for St Bernard’s F.C.

The following season he joined Partick Thistle, after obtaining a free transfer from St Bernard’s.

His reputation was growing, and was rewarded with a call up to play for the Scottish League versus the Irish League, in Belfast, on 16^th February 1901. Scotland won 2-1. A newspaper report stated that he “played a capital game on the extreme right. His tricky and tantalising play was a feature of the first half, and his centring was very deadly. Tommy deserves another trial.”

It was rumoured that there were two English teams were keen to take him back south of the border. However, Dundee F.C. obtained his signature in June 1901. There was a hold up with the deal being finalised, as Partick Thistle weren’t happy with the transfer fee of £35 that had been set by the Scottish League Committee. They had originally priced him at £150, and reduced it to £100 when Dundee started bargaining. Partick lost their appeal, and Atherton became a Dundee player.

Tommy made eight first team appearances, and scored two goals in his short spell at Dens Park. He also made two appearances in the Scottish Cup. Unfortunately, he was one of a few forwards tried in 1901/02, and couldn’t make the breakthrough to a regular first team place.

Once again, he was on the move, this time moving to Grimsby Town. His last two clubs were Brentford, for whom he played the most first team matches in his professional career, and Motherwell, where he finished his football career in 1905.

After retiring he became a salesman for a drapery company.

Tommy died in 1955.