Tom Scott
Tom Scott
Tom Scott
● Tom Scott (NIF)

born in Northern Ireland

Thomas McComb Scott was born on Saturday, 9th August, 1873, in Belfast.

The goalkeeper signed for Thistle on Saturday, 27th August, 1898, having most recently been with Cliftonville.

Aged 25, he made his first known appearance on Saturday, 27th August, 1898, in a 1-0 defeat away to Third Lanark in the SFL First Division.

There were no known clean-sheets for Tom during his spell with Thistle.

He played his last known game for the club on Saturday, 8th October, 1898, in a 1-0 defeat at home to Clyde in the SFL First Division, having appeared for the Thistle on at least 5 occasions.

His club-list included Cliftonville Olympic, Cliftonville and Partick Thistle.

Tom died on Tuesday, 12th May, 1908, in Belfast, aged 34.

Bio Extra

Son of Robert Scott and Margaret Scott (née McComb).

Scott had an unhappy time of it at Meadowside, suffering 5 straight defeats including a 6-1 mauling at the hands of Queen's Park in the Glasgow Cup. There were off-field tensions too, and he departed under a bit of a cloud claiming, probably rightly, that his wages were short. He wasn't the only one to be making such claims at the time, as Thistle struggled to budget for salaries in the top-flight.

Sadly, he suffered from ill-health which belied his years. The Belfast Newsletter of May 13, 1908 broke the grim news to the Irish public:

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The death occurred yesterday, at his parents’ residence, 36 Cliftonpark Avenue, Belfast, of Mr. Thomas McComb Scott, who was one of the finest Association football goalkeepers in Ireland. The deceased, who was only 34 years of age, joined Cliftonville Olympic team as a youth, and represented Ireland in the junior eleven against Scotland in 1892. He appeared in senior football as goalkeeper for Cliftonville during the season 1893-94, and for many years was associated with that team, representing Ireland in various international matches. He had also played for Partick Thistle, Glasgow. His death will be regretted by local followers of the game, and sympathy will be expressed for the bereaved family.

In April, 2010, a fine piece on Tom's life was written by Steven Moore and published in the Ulster Scot. It's reproduced in the 'Scrapbook' tab above.

(WS)



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