Isaac Tomlinson
Encyclopedia
Isaac "Ike" Tomlinson was an English footballer who played at outside-left for various clubs in England and Scotland in the 1900s, spending the largest part of his career with Chesterfield
.
, Derbyshire
and, after playing football for a local village team, he joined Chesterfield
, then playing in the Football League Second Division
in April 1900. After a season spent in the reserves, Tomlinson took over at outside-left for the 1901–02 season, replacing Walter Arnold who had dropped down to non-league football
. He only missed one game in the 1902–03 season, scoring seven goals, as Chesterfield finished sixth in the table.
Tomlinson then spent a season with Arsenal
without breaking into the first team before returning to his home-town club in June 1904. Another successful season with the Saltergate club ended with a fifth-place league finish, with Tomlinson contributing eight goals from 33 appearances. In an FA Cup match in January 1905, Chesterfield took Portsmouth
to a replay in which Tomlinson created a big impression. This drew him to the attention of Ernest Arnfield
, secretary-manager of Southampton
, who fought off competition from other clubs to eventually secure his services in May 1905.
The "Saints" had finished third in the Southern League
in 1904–05
and were anxious to improve on this, having been champions six times in the previous nine years. Tomlinson was recruited to replace Charles Webb
who had moved to Scotland in the summer of 1905 and he made his debut in the opening match of the 1905–06 season
, a 1–0 defeat against Brentford
. Tomlinson was an extremely speedy winger with an accurate shot and his style of play was similar to that of Joe Turner
, who had retired a year earlier. Unfortunately, he had an "excitable temperament" and suffered badly from nerves, especially away from The Dell, and he "often failed to deliver the goods on opponents' pitches". His anxiety often resulted in him walking around the ground before kick-off rather than sitting in the changing-room.
Tomlinson only missed a handful of league matches in his one season
with Southampton, scoring eight goals from his 29 appearances including a goal in the 9–1 victory over Northampton Town
on 27 January 1906, helping the team to the runners-up spot. Tomlinson also appeared in all five FA Cup
matches, the first of which came against local rivals, Portsmouth
, on 13 January when Tomlinson and Fred Harrison combined on the right-wing to great effect, giving the Portsmouth left-back, George Molyneux
, a torrid time with Tomlinson setting up Harrison's second goal with a "perfect centre" and scoring the fifth "with a clinking drive". Saints would go on to reach Round Four, defeating Middlesbrough
of the Football League First Division
6–1 in Round Three (with Tomlinson again scoring), before going out to Liverpool
.
In the summer of 1906, Tomlinson moved down The Solent to join Portsmouth
but managed only five first-team games before trying his luck in Scotland with Heart of Midlothian
.
where he became a licensee of a pub, before returning to Southern England
to settle in Bournemouth
, where he managed a hotel, whilst also acting as a scout for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
.
Football career
Tomlinson was born in ChesterfieldChesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and, after playing football for a local village team, he joined Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
, then playing in the Football League Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
in April 1900. After a season spent in the reserves, Tomlinson took over at outside-left for the 1901–02 season, replacing Walter Arnold who had dropped down to non-league football
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
. He only missed one game in the 1902–03 season, scoring seven goals, as Chesterfield finished sixth in the table.
Tomlinson then spent a season with Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
without breaking into the first team before returning to his home-town club in June 1904. Another successful season with the Saltergate club ended with a fifth-place league finish, with Tomlinson contributing eight goals from 33 appearances. In an FA Cup match in January 1905, Chesterfield took Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
to a replay in which Tomlinson created a big impression. This drew him to the attention of Ernest Arnfield
Ernest Arnfield
Ernest Arnfield was the secretary/manager of Southampton F.C. from 1897 to 1911, and again from 1912 to 1919.-Honours:Southampton*Southern League champions: 1897–98, 1898–99, 1900–01, 1902–03 and 1903–04*FA Cup finalists: 1900 and 1902-References:...
, secretary-manager of Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, who fought off competition from other clubs to eventually secure his services in May 1905.
The "Saints" had finished third in the Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
in 1904–05
Southern Football League 1904-05
The 1904–05 Southern League season saw Bristol Rovers win Division One and Fulham reserves finishing top of Division Two. Division Two club Clapton Orient were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League, and were successful after a decision was made to expand the...
and were anxious to improve on this, having been champions six times in the previous nine years. Tomlinson was recruited to replace Charles Webb
Charles Webb (footballer)
Charles Webb was an English footballer who played at outside-left for various clubs in England and Scotland in the 1900s.-Football career:...
who had moved to Scotland in the summer of 1905 and he made his debut in the opening match of the 1905–06 season
Southern Football League 1905-06
The 1905–06 Southern League season saw Fulham win Division One and Crystal Palace finishing top of Division Two. No clubs were relegated from Division One as it was expanded to 20 clubs the following season...
, a 1–0 defeat against Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
. Tomlinson was an extremely speedy winger with an accurate shot and his style of play was similar to that of Joe Turner
Joe Turner (footballer)
Joseph Turner was a professional footballer who played in the 1902 FA Cup final for Southampton. Southampton were a Southern League club at the time, and their feat was all the more remarkable in that they had already been losing finalists two years earlier...
, who had retired a year earlier. Unfortunately, he had an "excitable temperament" and suffered badly from nerves, especially away from The Dell, and he "often failed to deliver the goods on opponents' pitches". His anxiety often resulted in him walking around the ground before kick-off rather than sitting in the changing-room.
Tomlinson only missed a handful of league matches in his one season
Southern Football League 1905-06
The 1905–06 Southern League season saw Fulham win Division One and Crystal Palace finishing top of Division Two. No clubs were relegated from Division One as it was expanded to 20 clubs the following season...
with Southampton, scoring eight goals from his 29 appearances including a goal in the 9–1 victory over Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
on 27 January 1906, helping the team to the runners-up spot. Tomlinson also appeared in all five FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
matches, the first of which came against local rivals, Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, on 13 January when Tomlinson and Fred Harrison combined on the right-wing to great effect, giving the Portsmouth left-back, George Molyneux
George Molyneux
George Molyneux was a professional footballer who played in the 1902 FA Cup final for Southampton.-Honours:Southampton* FA Cup finalist: 1902...
, a torrid time with Tomlinson setting up Harrison's second goal with a "perfect centre" and scoring the fifth "with a clinking drive". Saints would go on to reach Round Four, defeating Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
of the Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
6–1 in Round Three (with Tomlinson again scoring), before going out to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
.
In the summer of 1906, Tomlinson moved down The Solent to join Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
but managed only five first-team games before trying his luck in Scotland with Heart of Midlothian
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
.
Later career
After retiring from his football career, Tomlinson returned to his home town of ChesterfieldChesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
where he became a licensee of a pub, before returning to Southern England
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
to settle in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, where he managed a hotel, whilst also acting as a scout for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.