Thomas Bamford (2 November 1905 – 12 December 1967) was a Welsh 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 ...

. During his career, he made over 200 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 ...

, most notably for

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 ...

, where he remains the club's all-time top goalscorer. He also represented

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at international level, winning five caps.

Career

Born in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

, Bamford had played amateur football for Cardiff Docks and Bridgend Town before joining

in 1928, at the age of 23. With 175 league goals (193 in all competitions) between 1928 and 1934, he is the club's all-time record league goalscorer. In the 1933–1934 season, he scored a club record 44 league goals (and 51 in total for the season), another record that still stands today. During his time with the ''Dragons'', Bamford helped them to win the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

in 1931, scoring twice in a 7–0 victory over

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

in the final on 27 April 1931. He transferred to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in 1934 along with teammate

Billy Bryant William Bryant (26 November 1913 – 25 December 1975) was an English footballer. Bryant started his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers after joining from his local side Cockfield, based in County Durham. He made his league debut for Wolves ...

. In his career with United, he scored 57 goals, including 14 in 23 league games in the 1937–38 season, playing a total of 109 games for United, and he helped the club win 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 ...

title in the 1935–36 season. He left for Swansea Town in 1938, but the outbreak of 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 ...

a year later halted his career, and by the time the war ended six years later Bamford was 40 years old and he retired from playing.

International career

Bamford made his international debut for

on 25 October 1930 in a 1–1 draw with

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the 1930–31 British Home Championship, scoring Wales' goal after just six minutes. After numerous Football League sides refused to release their players for the match due to a fixture clash, the Welsh side for the match was made of largely players from the lower divisions, the Welsh Leagues and non-league. The team became known as "Keenor and the unknowns" in reference to captain

Fred Keenor Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former ...

and the relative obscurity of the players who featured in the team with him.

International goals

:''Results list Wales' goal tally first.''

Later life

Following his retirement, Bamford worked in a local steelworks. He died in

in December 1967 at the age of 62. A hospitality suite at Wrexham's home stadium, the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground (), is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C., Wrexham AFC. It is the largest stadium in North Wales and the List of football stadiums in Wales, fifth-largest in Wales. It is the world's o ...

, is named 'The Bamford Suite' in honour of him.

Honours

Wrexham *

: 1930–31 Manchester United *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1935–36

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamford, Tommy 1905 births 1967 deaths Welsh men's footballers Sportspeople from Port Talbot Wrexham A.F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players English Football League players Wales men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Bridgend Town A.F.C. players