Thomas Sanderson Callender (20 September 1920 – 25 February 2002) was an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Callender began his career before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with local non-league side Crawcrook Albion before moving to

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 ...

side Lincoln City. After the war, Callender moved to

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

where he made his name. Although playing in the lower divisions of

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

Callender was considered worthy of a place in the England team by contemporaries. Indeed, such was the esteem in which his play was held that Gateshead turned down a £15,000 offer from

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

for his services.B.J. Hugman, ''Rothmans Football League Players Records The Complete A–Z 1946–1981'', 1981, p. 9

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

manager Major Frank Buckley also allegedly made an undisclosed offer for the outstanding centre back. At Gateshead Callender and his brother

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made 910 league appearances, a record for two brothers at the same club, plus 75 cup appearances between them. Callender scored 58 goals for Gateshead in 439 league appearances, scoring an additional 3 goals in 35 appearances 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 ...

.Since 1888... The Searchable Premiership and Football League Player Database
/ref> Callender also captained the Third Division North XI v Third Division South XI. On his retirement Callender managed Gateshead for a short period. He died on 25 February 2002 at

Lobley Hill Lobley Hill is located in the west of the old County Borough of Gateshead within the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, North East England having been previously part of the parish of Whickham. In its Demographic Profile for the ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

References

1920 births 2002 deaths People from Wylam Footballers from Northumberland English men's footballers Crawcrook Albion F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players English Football League players Gateshead A.F.C. players Men's association football central defenders 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub