| Tom Butler | |
| Fullname: | Thomas Butler |
| Birth Place: | Darlaston, England |
| Death Place: | Hackney, England |
| Height: | [1] |
| Position: | Inside-left |
| Youthclubs1: | Willenhall |
| Years1: | 1921–1922 |
| Clubs1: | Walsall |
| Caps1: | 28 |
| Goals1: | 12 |
| Years2: | 1922 |
| Clubs2: | Darlaston |
| 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.
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]
Source:
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||