Thomas D. Emanuel (1 August 1915 – 1997) was a Welsh

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 at left-back for Swansea Town and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the 1930s and 1940s.

Football career

Emanuel was born in the

Treboeth Treboeth (pronounced: ''tree-both'') is a suburb and historical village in the Mynydd-Bach and Penderry wards of Swansea, Wales. Gwyrosydd Primary School and Welsh language primary school Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Tirdeunaw are in Treboeth. Gwyro ...

district of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and played

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

in his schooldays. It was only when he was working for

ICI #REDIRECT ICI {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

that he first played "soccer". He was playing in the final of a local cup competition at

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales, and was the home ground of Swansea City A.F.C. from the club’s founding until 2005. Following its closure, the club relocated to a newly constructed stadium, originally named the Libert ...

when his "impressive form" prompted Swansea Town to offer him a professional contract. He spent three seasons with Swansea before he was signed by

's manager Tom Parker for a fee of £2,200, to replace Arthur Roberts who had joined Swansea in August. Emanuel made his Saints' debut on 24 September 1938, in a 1–0 defeat at

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 ...

. He soon settled into the Southampton defence and the fee looked to have been "money well spent". Emanuel only missed three matches in the remainder of the 1938–39 season and also played the first three matches in the following season before League football was abandoned during the Second World War. During the war, Emanuel made guest appearances for

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. His military service took him to India, North Africa, Burma and Madagascar. Emanuel returned to The Dell after the war and made two 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 ...

against Newport County in January 1946, before joining

Llanelly Llanelly () is a village, Community (Wales), community, and parish in the county of Monmouthshire, South East Wales. It formerly existed in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The population of the community and ward at the 2011 United Kin ...

Later career

He retired from football in 1948 and became a bus inspector in Swansea where he spent the rest of his life.

Family

His younger brother,

Len European Aquatics (formerly , , popularly known by its acronym LEN) is the European governing body for aquatic sports affiliated to World Aquatics — it is the Continental Association for Europe. It was formally organized in 1927 in Bologna, a ...

was a Wales schoolboy international who played at left back for Swansea Town and Newport County. Len's son Gary Emmanuel was a Wales under-23 footballer who played for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

, Newport County,

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

References

External links

Career details on 11 v 11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel, Tom 1915 births 1997 deaths Footballers from Swansea Welsh men's footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English Football League players Swindon Town F.C. wartime guest players Wrexham F.C. wartime guest players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players Men's association football defenders Milford United F.C. players