Thomas Keetley (16 November 1898 – 18 August 1958) 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 lea ...

who played as a

centre 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 be ...

. He scored 284

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 ...

goals between 1919 and 1934.

Life and career

Keetley was one of eleven brothers and one sister he was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and came from a footballing family with several other brothers who played professionally including Arthur, Harry, Joe, Frank and Charlie. The first Football League side he played for was Bradford Park Avenue, and he first played in the league for them in 1919–20, going on to make 22 league appearances for them over a four-season period. In 1923–24 he first played league football for

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

, a club which three of his brothers (Harry, Joe and Frank) played for in their careers. He remains the all-time top scorer for Doncaster with 180 league goals. He also holds the club record for scoring six goals in one game, against

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

in the Third Division (North) on 16 February 1929. In 1929 he moved to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

for £750, where he scored his first hat-trick for the club on his debut, in a 3–1 win against Bristol City on 30 August 1929. Keetley scored 39 league goals for Notts during the 1930–31 season, a record that would stand for 92 years until surpassed by Macaulay Langstaff in 2023. He left Notts in 1933 to join Lincoln City, having scored 94 goals in 103 league appearances and four goals in seven FA Cup ties. He played just ten games for Lincoln in 1934 before briefly moving onto non-League Gresley Rovers in 1934, and then Heanor Town. He is 29th in the all-time top scorers list in league football in England and Scotland having the 9th highest goals per game ratio of 0.75. As of June 2005 he was ranked 19th in the all-time list of highest scoring players scoring in English league football, having scored 284 goals between 1919 and 1934. After his professional career ended he was landlord of the Rose and Crown in Chellaston, Derby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keetley, Tom 1898 births 1958 deaths Footballers from Derby English men's footballers Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Gresley Rovers F.C. players Heanor Town F.C. players English Football League players People from Chellaston Men's association football forwards Publicans 20th-century English sportsmen