Tom Butler (footballer, died 1923)
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Other people|Thomas Butler}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Tom Butler
| image = Tom Butler footballer.jpg
| caption = Butler in a Port Vale squad photo in 1923
| fullname = Thomas Butler
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Darlaston, England
| death_date = {{death date|1923|11|11|df=y}}
| death_place = Hackney, England
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=5}}{{cite news |title=The lure of promotion. Port Vale |newspaper=Athletic News |location=Manchester |date=13 August 1923 |page=6}}
| position = Inside-left
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Willenhall
| years1 = 1921–1922| clubs1 = Walsall| caps1 = 28| goals1 = 12
| years2 = 1922 | clubs2 = Darlaston| caps2 = | goals2 =
| years3 = 1922–1923| clubs3 = Port Vale| caps3 = 32| goals3 = 11
| totalcaps = 60| totalgoals = 23
}}
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.{{cite book |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |last=Joyce |first=Michael |year=2004 |publisher=Tony Brown|location=Nottingham |isbn=1-899468-67-6|page=45}} 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.{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=49|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}} The club paid his widow the rest of his wages. Other clubs donated money to provide his widow with a £700 benefit fund.{{cite news |last1=Fielding |first1=Rob |title=Cult hero 63: Tom Butler |url=https://www.onevalefan.co.uk/2017/06/cult-hero-63-tom-butler/ |access-date=1 June 2020 |work=onevalefan.co.uk |date=6 June 2017}}
Career statistics
Source:{{ENFA}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | ||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|FA Cup !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Walsall
|28 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 34 | 15 | |
| rowspan="3"|Port Vale
|25 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 9 | |
| 1923–24
|Second Division |7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
| colspan="2"|Total
!32 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 11 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Tom}}
Category:Year of birth missing
Category:Sportspeople from Darlaston
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football forwards
Category:Willenhall F.C. players
Category:Darlaston Town F.C. players
Category:Port Vale F.C. players
Category:English Football League players
Category:Infectious disease deaths in England
Category:Association football players who died while playing