Tommy Hassell Explained

Tommy Hassell
Fullname:Thomas William Hassell
Birth Date:5 April 1919
Birth Place:Eastleigh, England
Death Place:Hove, England
Position:Inside left
Years1:19??–1946
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:1946–1950
Caps2:114
Goals2:16
Years3:1950–1951
Caps3:11
Goals3:4
Years4:1951–1954
Clubs4:Folkestone Town
Years5:1954–1958
Clubs5:Lewes
Years6:1958–19??
Clubs6:Bexhill Town
Clubs7:Newhaven

Thomas William Hassell (5 April 1919 – April 1984) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside left in the Football League for Aldershot and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Life and career

Hassell was born in Eastleigh, Hampshire, in 1919. He joined Southampton as a youngster, and played for them in the wartime competitions, as well as making guest appearances for a variety of other clubs, but moved on to Aldershot before the Football League resumed in 1946.[1] In a four-year spell, Hassell made 114 appearances in the Football League Third Division South for Aldershot. He spent the 1950–51 season as a part-time professional with another Third Division club, Brighton & Hove Albion, for which he had played during the war, and then spent another three years with Folkestone Town.[1] In 1954, he resumed amateur status and acted as player-coach of Sussex County League club Lewes for four seasons, and then played for Bexhill Town[2] and Newhaven.[1]

He returned to Albion as assistant trainer from 1964 to 1967. Outside football, Hassell worked in the Brighton railway workshops as a fitter.[1] He died in Hove, Sussex, in 1984.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tim . Carder . Roger . Harris . Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. . Goldstone Books . Hove . 1997 . 108 . 978-0-9521337-1-1.
  2. News: Lewes choose an ex-pro to be their player-coach . Sussex Express . 23 July 1954 . 7.
    News: Will player-coaches be key to success in coming season . Sussex Express . 22 August 1958 . 12.