Thomas Patrick Magee (6 May 1899 – May 1974) 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

wing 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. ...

. He made more than 400 appearances during his 15 years at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. He also won five

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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Career

Born in St Helens, the first child of James and Agnes Magee, Tommy Magee attended St Marie's School. After playing

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

for Appleton Hornets and

St Helens Recs St Helens Recreation Rugby League Football Club, often known as St Helens Recs or just the Recs, is a former professional rugby league club from St. Helens, Lancashire, that played in the Rugby Football League during the inter-war years. The club ...

, he switched to football, playing for Widnes Athletic as an amateur during 1914–1915. He signed a contract with

while in the

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches res ...

of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1918 and scored in his first match, helping Albion to a 3–1 victory against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in the Midland Victory League in April 1919. Following the end of the

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 ...

resumed for the 1919–20 season, and Magee made his league début on the opening day of the campaign, against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. In the following match, away 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 scored his first goal for the club. Albion went on to win the

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 ...

that season, the only time in the club's history that they have been champions of England. Magee made a significant contribution, appearing in 24 out of 42 league games and scoring seven goals. Although the next few seasons were less successful for Albion, Magee nonetheless won five

s for

during the 1920s. He made his international début against

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 ...

on 5 March 1923, while his last cap was won two years later against

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. Albion did manage another title challenge in 1924–25, when they finished as runners-up to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. Magee played in all but two of the club's league matches during the season. In 1926–27 he was the only West Bromwich Albion player to appear in all 42 league matches, but the club were relegated to Division Two in 22nd (last) position. He won a winners' medal with Albion when they beat

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

2–1 in the 1931 FA Cup Final, and a few days later was part of the team that secured promotion as Second Division runners-up. As of October 2019, he remains the only Albion player to have won both a League Championship medal and an

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 ...

winners' medal with the club. Magee was married to Elizabeth, with whom he had two daughters. Elizabeth died of a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

in February 1932, aged 33. At just tall, Magee was the smallest ever player to appear for West Bromwich Albion's first team. His short stature earned him nicknames such as "Wee Tommy", "Pocket Hercules" and the "Mighty Atom". After 434 first team appearances for Albion (394 in the league), he joined

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

in May 1934 on a free transfer, becoming the club's

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. In 1935 he moved to

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

as player-manager; he later became a coach at the club before retiring from football around 1947. He died in his home town of Widnes in May 1974.

Honours

;

winners: 1919–20 * First Division runners-up: 1924–25 *

winners:

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Tommy 1899 births 1974 deaths Men's association football wing halves British military personnel of World War I Crystal Palace F.C. players England men's international footballers English Football League players English men's footballers English rugby league players Footballers from Widnes Rugby league players from Widnes Runcorn F.C. Halton players St Helens Recreation RLFC players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen