Tommy Clare

For other people named Thomas Clare, see Thomas Clare (disambiguation).

Tommy Clare

200px Clare in his playing days
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Clare
Date of birth	12 March 1865
Place of birth	Congleton, England
Date of death
Place of death	Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
Height
Position(s)	Right back
Youth career
	Talke Rangers
	Goldenhill Wanderers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1883	Burslem Port Vale	0	(0)
1883–1897	Stoke	220	(4)
1897	Burslem Port Vale	21	(0)
1897–1898	Manchester City	1	(0)
1898–1901	Burslem Port Vale	18	(0)
Total		260	(4)
International career
1889–1894	England	4	(0)
Managerial career
1905–1911	Burslem Port Vale
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas "Tommy" Clare (12 March 1865 – 27 December 1929) was an English international footballer, who played at right-back, and football manager.

He began his playing career with Stoke in 1883, having moved from Burslem Port Vale. He spent the next fourteen years with Stoke, playing 251 games in all competitions, helping them to the Football Alliance title in 1890–91. In 1897 he signed with Manchester City via Port Vale, before returning to Vale for a three-year spell in 1898, helping them to the Staffordshire Senior Cup on his arrival. He also won four England caps between 1889 and 1894. He was appointed as manager-secretary of Burslem Port Vale in 1905, a position he held for the next six years.

Club career

Clare was born in Congleton, Cheshire on 12 March 1865. He played his early football with Talke Rangers, Goldenhill Wanderers and Burslem Port Vale before becoming Stoke's first professional player in 1883.

He was captain of the Stoke side that were founder members of the Football League in 1888. Stoke finished at the bottom of the table in both 1888–89 and 1889–90 and in 1890 dropped down to the Football Alliance. Clare was absolved of any blame though, and referee Tom Bryan stated that "the backs and the goalkeeper are superior to any three men playing with one club". The following season, Stoke were champions of the Football Alliance and returned to the Football League, with Clare an ever-present. They then once again struggled, finishing second last in 1891–92, before finishing in mid-table in 1892–93. He claimed his first Football League goal on the opening day of the 1893–94 season, netting from a goalmouth scramble in a 4–1 defeat at Bolton Wanderers. From Christmas 1894 up until his departure in 1907 he played 82 consecutive league games. His final season with the club came in 1896–97. During his 12 seasons with Stoke, Clare made over 250 appearances and forged a decent defensive partnership with fellow full-back Alf Underwood.

Clare signed for Port Vale in 1897, before moving on to Manchester City later in the year. However, in 1898 he re-signed for Vale a second time, and helped the side lift the Staffordshire Senior Cup later in the year as he "inspired a confidence never before approached" in his teammates. However, he broke his leg in October 1898, an injury which effectively ended his career. He retired in 1901.

International career

Clare earned his first England cap for the match against Ireland on 2 March 1889. The match was played at Anfield, then the home of Everton, and the selectors made eleven changes to the side that had beaten Wales a week before with nine new caps, including Clare's Stoke team-mate, Bill Rowley in goal. England won the match "quite comfortably" 6–1, with John Yates scoring a hat trick in his only international appearance.

Clare's next England appearance came three years later, also against Ireland, at the Solitude Ground, Belfast, when he was joined by his Stoke team-mates, goalkeeper Bill Rowley and left-back Alf Underwood. Harry Daft of Notts County was awarded the captaincy for the last of his five England appearances and marked the occasion by scoring twice, either side of half-time, in an "unconvincing victory".

Clare played twice more for England, against Wales on 13 March 1893 (won 6–0, with Fred Spiksley scoring twice on his debut) and Scotland on 7 April 1894 (2–2 draw).

Style of play

Clare stood at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall and weighed 12 st 10 lbs (80.7 kg), giving him a physical edge over opposition forwards. He was good in the air, and was described as "quick and resolute" with "capital style". He was known to endanger opposition players with his harsh and sometimes wild tackling, and helped to give Stoke a reputation as an overly physical side.

Management career

Clare was appointed Port Vale's manager-secretary in July 1905 and stepped down in May 1911 after the club could no longer afford his wages.

Clare emigrated to Canada shortly before World War I and died in Vancouver in December 1929. The then 51-year-old lied about his age, saying he was 40, to gain entry into the Canadian Army, and saw action in the Battle of Passchendaele. He returned home when his true age, and his growing medical problems, were discovered in November 1917.

Statistics

Playing statistics

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Test Match		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke	1885–86	—	—		2	0	—		2	0
	1886–87		—		2	2	—		2	2
	1887–88		—		4	0	—		4	0
	1888–89	Football League	21	0	0	0	—		21	0
	1889–90		14	0	4	0	—		18	0
	1890–91	Football Alliance	22	0	3	0	—		25	0
	1891–92	Football League	22	0	4	0	—		26	0
	1892–93	First Division	30	0	1	0	—		31	0
	1893–94		27	3	2	0	—		29	3
	1894–95		24	0	2	0	1	0	27	0
	1895–96		30	1	4	0	—		34	1
	1896–97		30	0	2	0	—		32	0
	Total		220	4	30	2	1	0	251	6
Burslem Port Vale	1897–98	Midland League	21	0	5	0	—		31	0
	Total		21	0	5	0	—		31	0
Manchester City	1897–98	First Division	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	—		1	0
Burslem Port Vale	1898–99	Second Division	13	0	0	0	—		16	0
	1899–1900		0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	1900–91		5	0	0	0	—		5	0
	Total		18	0	0	0	—		21	0
Career total			260	4	35	2	1	0	304	6

Managerial statistics

Team	From	To	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Port Vale	1 August 1905	31 May 1911	80	25	12	43	31.25
Total			80	25	12	43	31.25

Honours

Port Vale

• Staffordshire Senior Cup winner: 1898

Stoke

• Football Alliance champions: 1890–91

External links

• Tommy Clare England profile at Englandstats
• England profile
• Player profile at the FA
• Tommy Clare management career statistics at Soccerbase