Tommy Duff Explained

Tommy Duff
Fullname:Thomas Edwin Duff
Birth Date:q4 1905[1]
Birth Place:West Cornforth, County Durham, England
Death Date:q3 1951 (aged 45)
Death Place:Canterbury, Kent, England
Position:Outside left
Youthyears1:
Years1:192?–1925
Years2:1925–1928
Caps2:0
Goals2:0
Years3:1928–19??
Clubs3:Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
Caps3:3
Goals3:0
Years4:1930
Clubs4:Darlington
Caps4:2
Goals4:0
Years5:1930–19??
Clubs5:Crook Town

Thomas Edwin Duff (q4 1905 – q3 1951) was an English footballer who played as an outside left in the Football League for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and Darlington. He was on the books of Huddersfield Town without representing them in the league.[2]

Life and career

Duff was born in West Cornforth, County Durham,[2] the second child of Thomas Duff, a bricklayer, and his wife Elizabeth.[3] He began his football career as an amateur with Northern League club Bishop Auckland, and his performances earned him selection for a Football Association Amateur XI to face an Army XI – the Army won 9–0[4]  – and, in November 1925, a move to Football League First Division club Huddersfield Town.[5] Initially, Duff retained his amateur status with Huddersfield, but he turned professional in September 1926.[6] He played for their reserve team in the Central League,[7] but not for the first team. He came close on one occasion: with undisputed first-choice outside-left Billy Smith absent on representative duty with the Football League XI, Duff would have been the obvious replacement, had he not been injured.[8]

Duff moved on to Third Division South club Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, for whom he made his Football League debut during the 1928–29 season. He finished the season, and his spell with the club, with three league appearances.[2] Ahead of the 1930–31 season, Duff joined Third Division Darlington on a month's trial.[9] He scored for the reserves,[10] and played twice in the league[2]  – he hit the post near the end of the match after Darlington let slip a two-goal lead against Hull City,[11]  – but was not taken on permanently because of what the Northern Daily Mail called the "brilliance" of Peter Bell and Reuben Vine. In September 1930, he signed for North Eastern League club Crook Town.[12]

Duff died in Canterbury, Kent, in 1951 at the age of 45.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: England & Wales births 1837–2006 Transcription . subscription . . Thomas Edwin Duff. Birth year: 1905. Quarter: 4. District: Sedgefield. County: Durham. Volume: 10A. Page: 112 . 16 November 2014.
  2. Book: Joyce, Michael . Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 . SoccerData . Nottingham . 79 . 2004 . 978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. Web site: 1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription Reading Room St West Cornforth, Cornforth, Durham, England . subscription . Findmypast . Thomas Duff. Age: 5. Birthplace: Durham West Cornforth. Census reference: RG14PN29689 RG78PN1720 RD546 SD2 ED8 SN151 . 16 November 2014.
  4. News: F.A. team overwhelmed by the Army team at York . Yorkshire Post . 19 November 1925 . 12 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  5. News: Huddersfield's latest acquisition . Northern Daily Mail . West Hartlepool . 11 November 1925 . 6 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  6. News: Signed for Huddersfield . Northern Daily Mail . West Hartlepool . 9 September 1926 . 13 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  7. News: New player for 'Town' . Yorkshire Post . 18 March 1927 . 16 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  8. News: Town's amateur winger . Yorkshire Post . 10 March 1928 . 23 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  9. News: No title . Yorkshire Post . 27 August 1930 . 16 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  10. News: North-Eastern League . Lancashire Daily Post . 8 September 1930 . 9 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  11. News: Hull's winning rally . Yorkshire Post . 11 September 1930 . 17 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  12. News: West Cornforth player for Crook . Northern Daily Mail . West Hartlepool . 23 September 1930 . 7 . subscription . British Newspaper Archive.
  13. Web site: England & Wales deaths 1837–2007 Transcription . subscription . . Thomas E. Duff. Age: 45. Death quarter: 3. Death year: 1951. District: Canterbury. County: Kent. Volume: 5B. Page: 192 . 16 November 2014.