Adrian Ernest Thorne (2 August 1937 – 29 July 2022) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who scored 48 goals from 130 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profes ...

. He was Brighton's top scorer in the 1960–61 season with 14 goals in all competitions, and his five goals against

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

on the final day of the 1957–58 season ensured their promotion to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

for the first time in the club's history. He also helped Exeter City gain promotion from the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in 1964. He went on to play Southern League for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

and

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

Career

Thorne was born in Brighton on 2 August 1937, and attended Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School. He was spotted by

as a 17-year-old playing for his school's Old Boys' team in the

Sussex County League The Macron Southern Combination Football League is a football league broadly covering the counties of East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and South West London, England. The league consists of eight divisions – three for first teams (Premier D ...

, and signed for the club in August 1954. Like many players in the 1950s, his career development was interrupted by the requirements of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, and he made his debut in the Third Division South on 18 January 1958, at the age of 20, scoring in a 2–0 defeat of

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. Going into the final game of the season, at home to

, Albion needed a point to secure the Third Division South title and promotion to the Second Division for the first time in the club's history. With

Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first ever major European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sex ...

injured, Thorne was selected to make just his seventh League appearance: he scored five goals as Albion won 6–0. Despite scoring a goal every two games, and finishing the 1960–61 season as the club's top scorer, with 14 goals in all competitions, he was never an undisputed member of the starting eleven, and towards the end of that season he asked for a transfer. Thorne joined Second Division club

for an £8,000 fee, but made little impact. In two years, he played only 12 games, scoring twice, and moved on to

during the 1963–64 season. He became a regular in the Exeter team that gained promotion to the Third Division that season, and remained with the club for another year before signing for Second Division

on a free transfer in the summer of 1965. At Orient, Thorne was reunited with former Brighton teammates Dave Sexton, now managing the club, and

Tony Nicholas Anthony Wallace Long Nicholas (16 April 1938 – 25 September 2005) was an English professional footballer who scored 42 goals from 133 appearances in the Football League playing as an inside forward for Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and L ...

, but he played only twice for them in the League. He went on to play Southern League football for

and

. Thorne married wife Gillian when he was a Plymouth player. While at Orient, he began to train as a teacher, gaining qualifications in science and physical education, and went on to work in that profession. Thorne died in 2022 at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Adrian 1937 births 2022 deaths English men's footballers Footballers from Brighton Men's association football wingers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Barnet F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players People educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School