Thomas Halliday (11 September 1909 – 1975) was an English

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 made 313 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

playing 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" ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

and

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

in the 1920s and 1930s. He played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

in the north-east of England before joining

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, but never played first-team football for that club. His primary position was that of

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 ...

, although he also played at

right back 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 ...

right half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Life and career

Halliday was born in Browney Colliery, in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. As a schoolboy, he played three times for Durham Schools under-15 team in the 1923–24 season, and captained England Schoolboys against Wales in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. He played for

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

teams in his local area, and captained Durham Amateurs before turning professional. He spent the 1927–28 season with

club

, but never appeared for the first team, and joined

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 ...

club

in 1928 as an 18-year-old. He established himself in the starting eleven, and despite his youth, captained the team for three years. In the 1932–33 season, Halliday made 41 out of a possible 42 appearances in the league, taking his total to 127 in senior competition. In May 1933, he and Darlington teammates Harry Brown, Billy Eden and

Fred Hopkinson Fred Hopkinson (26 April 1908 – 1986) was an English footballer who made 221 appearances in the Football League playing as a wing half or inside right for Darlington and Barrow in the 1920s and 1930s. He was also on the books of Sheffi ...

were members of the Rest of Durham XI that faced Sunderland in a match to celebrate the silver jubilee of the

Durham County Football Association The Durham County Football Association (also simply known as the Durham FA) is the governing body of football in the county of Durham, from grassroots to professional level. The Durham FA was founded on 25 March 1883. They run a number of cups ...

. Darlington had finished bottom of the Northern Section, so had to apply for

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

. Although their application was successful, Halliday left the club. He moved into the Southern Section of the Third Division with

, where he became a regular in the side. He made 40 appearances as Norwich won the divisional title and with it

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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. Based on Norwich's recruitment of

's Harold Houghton, the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' suggested that the club "realise the worth of a footballer of experience and anticipation in such a struggle", and went on to list "other players of this stamp", including "Halliday, a rare centre-half". In his review of the season, the ''

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...

s J.A.H. Catton, praised Norwich's forwards, and thought that "of all the capital players behind the front line, Thomas Halliday, a centre half-back formerly of Darlington, must be highly commended." Halliday took over the captaincy from Stan Ramsay during the next season. He remained with Norwich for six and a half years, making the last of his 203 appearances for the club on 27 December 1938 in a 4–0 defeat away to

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 ...

, and finished the season with Exeter City in the Third Division South. In recognition of his contribution to Norwich City, Halliday was elected to the club's Hall of Fame. He died in 1975, aged 65 or 66.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halliday, Tom 1909 births 1975 deaths Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Esh Winning F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen