Sinclair Tom Image 2 Glasgow Rangers 1905

Description

Glasgow born goalkeeper Tom Sinclair began his football career with Rutherglen Glencairn in 1900, winning the Scottish Junior Cup and Glasgow Junior League in 1902 alongside future Scotland internationals Jimmy McMenemy and Alec Bennett. He signed for Scottish League Greenock Morton in 1903, spending a single season before he was signed by Glasgow Rangers in 1904. He made his Rangers debut against Dundee in October 1904 and played there for nearly three seasons, making 55 Scottish League and Cup appearances.

Sinclair spent several weeks on loan at Celtic in 1906 after first choice stopper Davie Adams cut his hand on a nail in the goalposts while playing in the Finlay Speedie Benefit Match at Ibrox just two days before the start of the 1906-07 season. As a gesture of goodwill, Sinclair (who had lost his starting place to Alex Newbigging) was loaned to Celtic whilst Adams recovered from injury, and this is the first known transfer between the two Old Firm clubs. Sinclair played six Peague games and three Glasgow Cup ties for Celtic, keeping clean sheets in every match bar his final game, where Celtic won 3-2 in the Glasgow Cup Final.

He joined Newcastle United in March 1907 as understudy to Jimmy Lawrence, making his Football League debut against Stoke the same month, playing three times in Newcastle’s run in to the League Championship. Sinclair made only eight first-team appearances in five years on Tyneside. In these games he kept three clean sheets, conceded three goals and lost only one match, playing his last game in January 1912 before returning to Scotland to join Dumbarton Harp. Later in 1912 he joined Dunfermline Athletic and stayed some four years before joining Stevenston United in 1916. He played for Kilmarnock later the same year before re-joining Stevenston United, his last club before retirement.