Tom Butler (footballer, died 1923)

Tom Butler
	Butler in a Port Vale squad photo in 1923
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Butler
Place of birth	Darlaston, England
Date of death	11 November 1923
Place of death	Hackney, England
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s)	Inside-left
Youth career
	Willenhall
Senior career*
Years	Team
1921–1922	Walsall
1922	Darlaston
1922–1923	Port Vale
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Butler (died 11 November 1923) was an English footballer who played as an inside-left. He played 60 league games in the English Football League, scoring 23 goals. He played for non-League Willenhall, before spending the 1921–22 season at Walsall. He joined Port Vale via Darlaston in December 1922. He broke his arm in a game on 3 November 1923 and died eight days later from a subsequent tetanus infection.

Career

Butler started his career at Birmingham & District League side Willenhall before joining Walsall in 1921.^[2] He played 28 Third Division North games for the "Saddlers" in 1921–22, scoring 12 goals. He then returned to semi-professional football with Darlaston.

He had a one-month trial at Second Division Port Vale in December 1922, and manager Joe Schofield signed him permanently for £100 the following month. Butler was a huge success in the 1922–23 season, becoming top scorer with nine goals in 26 games. At the end of the season, he played in a defeat to local rivals Stoke in the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup. He started 1923–24 by scoring in a defeat to Stoke at The Old Recreation Ground. However, after scoring in a 1–1 draw with Clapton Orient on 3 November, he suffered a compound fracture of the left arm; he died from tetanus (also called lockjaw) eight days later in Hackney Hospital after complications had set in.^[3] The club paid his widow the rest of his wages. Other clubs donated money to provide his widow with a £700 benefit fund.^[4]

Career statistics

Source:^[5]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Walsall	1921–22	Third Division North	28	12	6	3	34	15
Port Vale	1922–23	Second Division	25	9	0	0	25	9
	1923–24	Second Division	7	2	0	0	7	2
	Total		32	11	0	0	32	11

References

^ "The lure of promotion. Port Vale". Athletic News. Manchester. 13 August 1923. p. 6.
^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 45. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 49. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
^ Fielding, Rob (6 June 2017). "Cult hero 63: Tom Butler". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
^ Tom Butler at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

[1] "The lure of promotion. Port Vale". Athletic News. Manchester. 13 August 1923. p. 6.

[2] Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 45. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.

[3] Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 49. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[4] Fielding, Rob (6 June 2017). "Cult hero 63: Tom Butler". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2020.

[5] Tom Butler at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

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