- Tommy Pearson
Thomas Usher 'Tommy' Pearson (
6 March ,1913 -2 March ,1999 ) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager.Playing career
Born in
Edinburgh , Pearson played for Murrayfield Amateurs, and had a trial for Heart of Midlothian, but signed professional terms with Newcastle United in March 1933. He played over 200 games for Newcastle before and after theSecond World War , scoring a total of 52 goals [http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufchistory/nufcgoalscorersrecords.shtml NUFC all-time top goalscorers] . Pearson was renowned as a skilful and entertaining left winger, although he won no major honours atSt James' Park He was capped twice for Scotland in 1947, giving him a possibly unique record, having guested for the English international side during a wartime international in Newcastle when outside left
Eric Brook was injured before the game. Pearson was at the match as a spectator, but agreed to turn out for England. [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mickzoe/players/newcastle_scottish_internationals.html] [http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/lo/extra/7022508.html] .In 1948, he was signed by Aberdeen for £4,000, and quickly became a crowd favourite, renowned particularly for his 'double shuffle', which baffled opposing players and spectators alike. Pearson retired at the age of 40, and took up a career as a sportswriter, often covering Aberdeen for the Scottish
Daily Mail .Managerial career
In November 1959, Pearson was appointed manager of Aberdeen, in spite of his lack of coaching or managerial experience, and the six years he had spent outside the game, albeit as an observer. Unusually, his predecessor,
Davie Shaw stayed on at the club in his former capacity as coach. Pearson's time in office coincided with the departure or retirement of a number of key players, and long-term injuries to others, alleviated only briefly by the emergence of Charlie Cooke, soon on his way to Chelsea. There were a sequence ofScottish Cup exits to lower league teams, and in spite of aSummer Cup final, ultimately lost to Hibs in 1964, Pearson's reign ended with his resignation onFebruary 13 ,1965 .References
ource
* cite book
author=Webster, Jack
title=The First 100 years of The Dons: The official history of Aberdeen Football Club 1903 - 2003
publisher=Hodder & Stoughton, London
year=2003
id=ISBN 0-340-82344-5
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