Our Bright and Shining Star
Dr
Davidson had seen much during his time at the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow.
The city was home to a million people and the inter war years saw unemployment,
hardship and illness increase. Each day brought its quota of injured souls into
the hospital and he did his best for each and every one of them. That clear
September day saw the two biggest football clubs in the land playing at Ibrox
Stadium and on such occasions the Glasgow hospitals were kept busy. What Dr
Davidson didn’t expect to see though, was a gravely injured footballer brought before
him. As he examined the young Celtic goalkeeper, he quickly realised that, given
the nature of his injuries, his chances of survival were slim.
John
Thomson was said by those who saw him play to be the finest exponent of the
goalkeeping art in Scotland. James Handley, in his book ‘The Celtic Story’
(1960) said of John Thomson…
‘It
is hard for those who did not know him to appreciate the power of the spell he
cast on all who watched him regularly in action. The
generation that did not see John Thomson has missed a touch of greatness in
sport, for which he was a brilliant virtuoso, as Gigli was and Menuhin is. One
artiste employs the voice as his instrument, another the violin or cello. For
Thomson it was a handful of leather. We shall not look upon his like again.’
John
was brave to a fault in an era when goalkeepers could expect merciless and
sometimes brutal treatment from opposing forwards. Referees allowed a degree of
physical contact on goalkeepers in those days that would astonish the modern
football follower. It was perfectly legal to kick the ball out of the
goalkeepers’ hands in that era. This explains goalkeepers quickly kicking the
ball up-field in those surviving, flickering films of games from that era. In
this brutal environment, John Thomson was fearless to a fault. Not the biggest
of goalkeepers, nor the Indeed, his brother Jim said…
‘John
had been injured a few times before because he always went straight for the
ball. I had asked him the previous time he was injured if he wasn’t going to
stop going in like that. He said he should, but it was the ball he was after.
He didn’t see anyone else or anything else.’
That
single mindedness of purpose was to have fatal consequences for John Thomson on
that September day at Ibrox 95 years ago. By any standards, it was a tense and
patchy Glasgow derby for the 80,000 fans, with both teams giving their all.
Just after half time, Rangers forward, Sam English raced after a through ball
as Thomson set out to thwart him. English was in the act of shooting, as John Thomson
dived towards the ball. The young goalkeeper’s forehead met the striker’s knee
with sickening force. It was a complete accident which would have bitter
consequences for both men. Thomson lay on the turf, critically injured and the
players closest to him knew he was in real trouble. As sections of the crowd
began jeering Thomson, Rangers captain Meiklejohn stilled them with hand
gestures. This wasn’t just another injury a keeper would shrug off. John
Thomson was fighting for his very life.
As
Thomson was stretchered off, his head swathed in bandages. One newspaper said
that John Thomson was, ‘seen to rise on the stretcher and look towards the
goal and the spot where the accident happened.’ Chic Geatons took over in
goals for Celtic, but the players on both sides, seemingly aware of the
seriousness of Thomson’s injury, played out the rest of the game in a
disinterested manner. The match ended 0-0 and the huge crowd headed for home or
to the bars wondering how the young goalkeeper was getting on.
John
Thomson suffered a major convulsion at 5pm that evening and Dr Davidson carried
out an emergency operation to try and lower the amount of pressure caused by
the swelling brain. Alas, the operation was unsuccessful and he was
pronounced dead at 9.25pm. He was 22 years old.
There
was a palpable feeling of shock in Scottish football, and indeed in wider
society, when news of John Thomson’s death was announced. The ugly side of
Glasgow’s footballing rivalry was challenged by some as being stupid in the
face of such tragedy. John’s funeral was attended by tens of thousands of
people. Many of them had walked over 50 miles from Glasgow to attend and John’s
family faced a difficult day with great dignity. They invited Sam English to
their home and told the distraught young Ulsterman that they knew he was
blameless. John’s coffin was carried by his stunned team mates to his place of
rest in Cardenden. A place still visited by Celtic fans today.
Sam
English would score a club record 44 league goals that season but was finding
it hard to cope with a moronic minority at many away grounds who would greet
his appearance with shouts of ‘murderer.’ Such treatment of a young player
already dealing with the trauma of Thomson’s death was cruel in the extreme. He
left Scotland and joined Liverpool before quitting football at the age of 28 after
what he called ‘seven joyless years of sport.’ He commented to one
reporter that he was the ‘second unluckiest footballer in the world.’
No blame should ever be laid at his door for what happened on the September day
95 years ago.
John
Thomson entered Celtic folklore as our lost ‘prince of goalkeepers.’ Poems and
songs eulogised his undoubted ability and in many Celtic households, grown men
were reduced to tears as someone sang the haunting balled written for this fine
young man. Part of the lyric is as follows…
I took a trip to Parkhead,
To the dear old Paradise,
As the players made their appearance,
Sure the tears fell from my eyes.
For a familiar face was missing,
From the green and white brigade,
It was the face of young John Thomson,
For his last game he had played.
Farewell my darling Johnny,
Prince of players we must part,
No more we'll stand and cheer you,
On the slopes of Celtic Park.
Now the fans they all are silent,
As they travel near and far,
No more they'll cheer John Thomson,
Our bright and shining star.
So come all you Glasgow Celtic,
Stand up and play the game,
For between your posts there stands a ghost,
John Thomson is his name.
John
Thomson 1909-31
Sam
English 1908-1967
May
they both rest in peace.
