leigh_thomas
 |
| Name: Thomas Leigh |
Nationality: England |
| Position: centre-forward |
Signing Information: Transferred from: New Brighton Tower, 03/1900, £ |
| Birthdate: 02-02-1875 |
Years at Club: 1900-1901 |
| Age: (149) |
Debut: 17/03/1900 v Barnsley (Bank Street) 3-0 (League Division Two) |
| Birthplace: Derby, England |
Previous clubs: Burton Swifts, New Brighton Tower |
| Height: 5' 11" (1.80m) |
Farewell to Manchester United: Transferred to ?, 05/1901, £ |
| Weight: 14st (88.9kg) |
Passed Away: 24/01/1914 |
 |
Tom Leigh was a Derby lad who, after starting out with local side Gresley Rovers, played as a centre-forward for local side Derby Junction in the mid-1890s. The stronger Derby County signed him in 1895, but he could not progress beyond their Swifts team. Consequently, he moved to Burton Swifts in 1896 and made his debut in a friendly... against Derby County! Best way to mark the occasion? He scored within five minutes.
For two seasons, Leigh was Burton's top scorer in the Second Division, getting 10 goals in 1896-97 and 12 in 1897-98. Financial problems, however, forced the Swifts to sell him to big spending New Brighton Tower in January 1899 for £75. About the first thing Tom did at his new club was to contract typhoid fever, which restricted him to a mere 12 games in just over a year.
Eventually, Leigh joined Newton Heath in March 1900 as the club's new centre-forward, with a strange habit of fisting the ball every now and then! His debut was against Barnsley in the snow on March 17th and, after leaving the field injured for a few minutes, he returned to score a cracking goal from 30 yards.
During 1900-01, Leigh was ever-present for the Heathens and comfortably finished as top scorer with 15 goals. This included a hat-trick against Lincoln City in December, and claiming all but one of the club's entire goal haul in an 8-game spell early in the new year.
Surprisingly, Heath let their star striker go in the summer of 1901, destination New Brompton of the Southern League. Leigh played 43 matches for them in two seasons, grabbing 19 goals. He then moved to another Southern League outfit, Brentford, in 1903-04 but illness forced him to retire early after only one season.
The 5'11", 14-stone Leigh, who had ten brothers (not to mention a cousin, Walter, who was also a centre-forward - with Grimsby Town and Clapton Orient), then went into business, but he sadly passed away in January 1914 when only 39 years of age, after suffering from poor health for about five years. Extra information on Thomas Leigh thanks to the hard appreciated work of Charbel Boujaoude. Thomas was one of eleven brothers. Thomas sadly died at the young age of 38. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude. |
 |
| |
| League |
League Cup |
FA Cup |
Charity Shield |
European Cup |
Europa League |
Super Cup |
Cup Winners Cup |
Inter-Continental Cup |
World Clubs Cup |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| No |
Season |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Season
Goals |
Season
Apps |
| 1 |
1899-1900 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
| 2 |
1900-1901 |
14 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
37 |
| TOTALS |
15 |
43 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
46 |
|
|
