Pritchard Tommy Image 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1928

Description

Wellington, Shropshire born centre half Tommy Pritchard began his football career with GWR of Wolverhampton in the early 1920’s from where he had trials with Second Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers during 1924-25 and played for Sunbeam Motors in 1925. He joined Second Division club Stockport County as an amateur in 1925, making his Football League debut against Oldham Athletic that September, spending the rest of the season with The Hatters, playing once more for them the following April. He then joined Newport County as a professional in the summer of 1926, where he scored once in 23 matches before being signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 1927.

Described as “excellent both in attack and defence, Pritchard is of ideal build for the position he occupies” (being over 6 feet tall), Pritchard had two seasons at Wolves, scoring 3 goals in 58 matches before a move to fellow Second Division club Charlton Athletic in the summer of 1929. However having lost his place that December, he was a fringe player for The Addicks, playing 44 matches, joining Thames Association in the summer of 1931. He scored once in 29 matches for Thames during their 1931-32 campaign, however they finished bottom of the league and failed in their bid for re-election.

Pritchard then followed an at the time popular path into French football, spending 1932-33 with Olympique Marseille, and spent 1933-34 with Preston North End but played just once for them in a 3-2 win over Manchester United in February 1934. After spending 1934-35 with non league Lancaster Town, he returned to Football League action with Mansfield Town in 1935 but again only played one match for The Stags in a heavy defeat at Walsall in October 1935, before returning to Lancaster Town, his final club before his eventual retirement.