Tom Davis

Tom Davis
N/A
Date Of Birth: 1911
Place Of Birth: Dublin
Date Of Death: Sept 9 1987
Place Of Death: London
Total Appearances: 3
Total Goals: 3
Position: CF
Nationality: IRE
Debut: 16-Apr-39, League, (H) v. Limerick

Bio:

In April 1939, with only a handful of games remaining in the season, Dundalk signed centre forward Tom Davis, who came with a well-earned reputation as a prolific goal scorer, having an English League career record of 108 goals in 163 games.

Starting with Midland Athletic and later Frankfort, he was at centre-forward with the Shelbourne reserves in the first half of the 1928-29 season. Scoring twice on his debut in a 6-1 Shield victory over Brideville in January 1929, his 15 goals in just six appearances showed his potential.

His appearances in the following season were patchy (14 in four competitions) but an eleven goal haul again showed that Tommy knew about scoring.

He moved to Cork (seven League goals in 1930-31) before heading for the English Leagues in the early 30’s, where he started with a trial period at Exeter and then spent some time with Boston Town.

Spells at Torquay, mainly with the reserves, New Brighton (50 goals in 77 League appearances) and a short period with French club, FC de Metz, brought him to Oldham where in the 1936/37 season he set a new club record for League goals (his 33 goals in Div 3 North still stands as Oldham’s club record).

A strong and bustling leader, he was good in the air, had excellent ball-control and a fierce shot. In that season he was capped for both Northern Ireland (scoring against England in a 3-1 defeat) and Republic of Ireland (scoring twice on his debut against Hungary in a 5-2 victory, when Joey Donnelly also scored twice).

In February 1938 he was transferred to Tranmere Rovers, in time to help them to their first and only League pennant, the Division 3 North Championship, scoring an important six goals in ten appearances.

Two more caps for Ireland came his way in May 1938, to leave him with an International record of played five, scored five, and the distinction of scoring on his debuts for both Irish teams.

In 1938/39, after being with York City, he returned to Cork but an erratic season finished with Cork’s exit from the Cup in the first round against the Dixie Dean-led Sligo Rovers and by April the club was forced to cut back on players’ wages, as a result of which a number of players left. Tom Davis, after scoring 15 League goals and the Cup goal in the 2-1 loss to Sligo, came to Dundalk.

He scored two goals on his Dundalk debut against Limerick and three goals in total from three appearances, which gave him 18 League goals for the season, a haul only exceeded by the 22 for St James’s Gate’s Paddy Bradshaw.

In the following year he was Drumcondra’s leading League marksman with 10 goals and at the end of that year he guested with Dundalk in a season-end fund-raising mini-tour of Northern Ireland.

With Shelbourne in 1940-41 (scored 1 League goal), during the war he went to Distillery in the Irish League, where his 24 goals in 1941-42 was sufficient to give him yet another season best.

Tom’s career did not lack variety and he rounded it out with another continental adventure when in August 1947 he became manager-coach of Dutch club VVV (Venlo).