Tommy Mulgrew

Infobox Football biography
playername = Tommy Mulgrew


fullname = Thomas Mulgrew
height = height|ft=5|in=8
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1929|4|13
cityofbirth = Motherwell
countryofbirth = Scotland
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Forward
youthyears =
youthclubs = Cleland Juniors
years = 1948–1949
1949–1952
1952–1954
1954–1962
1962–1965
1965–????
clubs = Greenock Morton
Northampton Town
Newcastle United
Southampton
Aldershot
Andover
caps(goals) =
008 0(1)
014 0(1)
293 (90)
112 0(2)
manageryears =
managerclubs =
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Thomas (Tommy) Mulgrew (born 13 April 1929) is a retired Scottish professional footballer who played most of his career, as an inside forward, for Southampton.

Playing career

Born in Motherwell Scotland, he stated his football career with Morton in March 1948, before moving to England firstly with Northampton (from July 1949). In October 1952 he joined Newcastle where he made fourteen First Division appearances [cite web|url=http://www.talkofthetyne.net/93201.html|title=NUFC Player profile| publisher=www.talkofthetyne.net | accessdate=2007-12-16] but found it difficult to claim a regular place, having to compete with Reg Davies and Ivor Broadis.

In July 1954, Southampton's manager George Roughton paid £12,000 to bring Mulgrew and Billy Foulkes to The Dell of which £7,000 was attributed to Mulgrew. [cite book | author=Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk | title=The Alphabet of the Saints| publisher= ACL & Polar Publishing | year=1992| pages= p.250|id=ISBN 0-9514862-3-3] He scored 15 seconds into his debut on August 21 1954 at home to Brentford (won by Saints 6–4); this was the fastest-ever goal scored at The Dell.

Mulgrew went on to score eight league goals that season, as Saints narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division. Although Mulgrew showed promise, this was largely unfulfilled and he did not score consistently. According to Holley & Chalk he was "a real glutton for fetching and carrying." "There was no doubt that Tommy was not only a crowd favourite but popular with his colleagues as well". [cite book | author=Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk | title=In That Number - A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC | publisher=Hagiology | year=2003|pages=p.555| id=ISBN 0-9534474-3-X]

He became the first player to be sent off for Southampton for 21 years in a match at home to Coventry over Christmas 1954. [cite book | author=Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley | title=Saints - A complete record| publisher= Breedon Books|pages=pp.126-127| year=1987| id=ISBN 0-907969-22-4] His career at Southampton spanned eight seasons during which he scored 90 league goals in 293 appearances placing him 10th on the club's list of all-time league goal-scorers. He also played 37 cup and friendly games, scoring 10 goals to bring his total goals scored for the Saints to a round century.

In August 1962, after a dispute over terms, he moved to Aldershot where he played over 100 league games. He had a brief spell in non-league football before moving to Northampton, where he worked in a steel factory in Rothwell until his retirement. He still lives in Northampton with his wife.

References

External links

* [http://www.khscott.org.uk/nufc/template_player.php?pid=556 Newcastle United profile]