Thomas Tallett Callaghan (1905–1993) was a

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 lea ...

who played as an

outside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

in the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...

for

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

and

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

, in the Irish League for

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

, in the English

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

and in Scottish Junior football for St Anthony's.

Football career

Callaghan played football for

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

club St Anthony's before moving into the senior ranks with

in June 1924. He represented the club in off-season

five-a-side ''Five-A-Side'' is the debut album by the pop rock band Ace, released by Anchor Records in 1974. The album landed on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, reaching No. 11 in 1974. The single " How Long" reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in t ...

tournaments, was in their

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 ...

team by September 1925, scored in a 4–3 win against

in November, and later that month, "spelt danger every time he got away" as Thirds beat Armadale 3–0. He helped Thirds take First Division

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

to a replay in the quarter-final of the

1925–26 Scottish Cup The 1925–26 Scottish Cup was the 48th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 23 January 1926 and ended on 10 April 1926. The cup was won by St Mirren, who defeated the previous years cup ...

, was "swift and sharp" in a draw with

Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...

in September 1926, and was often picked out as the best of Thirds' not always top-class forwards. In December, First Division Dunfermline took Callaghan on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut in a draw with Morton, controlling the ball well and creating two scoring chances that were not taken. He played regularly, scoring twice in a 4–3 defeat of

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, and creating one goal and scoring another in a 4–4 draw with

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

a few days later. At the end of the season, Callaghan went south to England, where he signed for

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. He scored in a friendly against an Army XI, but never managed to break into the league side, and rejoined Third Lanark, who had been promoted in his absence. He went straight into the first team for the new season, scored in a 4–0 win against Airdrie in early September, and soon afterwards sustained an injury sufficiently serious for his club to sign a replacement. His return to fitness was not accompanied by a return to the first team. He was in and out of the side for what remained of the season, at the end of which he was transfer-listed at a reduced fee. His fee was again reduced in the 1930 close season, but with no takers. He was one of several Scottish players to help

win the 1930–31 Irish League title, and eventually he returned to England, where he signed for

in November 1932. He played twice in the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

and once in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

before losing his place to Charles Coates, and his contract was cancelled in January 1933.

He returned to Scotland, where he played for

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

then

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

for brief spells.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan, Tom 1905 births Date of birth missing 1993 deaths Date of death missing Scottish men's footballers Footballers from Glasgow People from Govan Men's association football wingers St Anthony's F.C. players Third Lanark A.C. players Nithsdale Wanderers F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players NIFL Premiership players English Football League players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen