Winship Tommy Image 1 Darlington 1922

Description

Diminutive of stature, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne born outside left “Wee” Tommy Winship began his football career with Sleekburn Villa and played for North Eastern League club Wallsend Park Villa before joining First Division Woolwich Arsenal in late 1910, his Football League debut coming at Manchester United in Arsenal’s first match at the newly opened Old Trafford on Boxing Day 1910. He played 6 matches before being dropped in February  The following season he was again used as injury cover for David Greenaway and Charlie Lewis and played eight League matches, scoring his first goal in a win over Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day 1911.

Winship played more regularly in 1912-13 appearing 14 times before being sold to Second Division club Fulham in March 1913 (on loan),  after 3 goals in 29 appearances for The Gunners, making two appearances for The Cottagers before the season end before returning to Arsenal, playing in Arsenal’s first match at Highbury against Leicester Fosse in September 1913.

He had scored 7 goals in 56 appearances for The Gunners by the time the onset of the First World War, during which he served in the Army, forced the suspension of peacetime football, and after the resumption of football Winship joined Darlington. He played in their 2-0 defeat of First Division club Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup, in front of 52,388 spectators at Hillsborough in January 1920. In 1920 the club finished runners up in the North Eastern League and won the Durham Senior Cup.  In 1921 Darlington won the North Eastern League, and won election to the newly formed Third Division (North) of the Football League. Winship played in their inaugural League match against Halifax Town in August 1921 and with barely a minute gone, “Wee” Tommy Winship scurried down the left and crossed for Bill Hooper to score their first goal in a 2-0 triumph, playing 38 matches during the campaign as they finished runners up in the division at the season end, narrowly missing out on promotion.

Three seasons later he played 39 matches for The Quakers during their Third Division (North) Championship winning season, but only 8 matches in their single Second Division campaign, his last appearance for Darlington coming in a defeat at Nottingham Forest in January 1926, having scored 18 goals in 162 appearances for Darlington during their League seasons. Winship then joined Crewe Alexandra in the 1926 close season, scoring once in 23 appearances before returning to North East non league football, first with Wallsend in 1927. He played for Trimdon Grange and Cockfield in 1928, Spen Black & White in 1929 and Marley Hill UCG in 1930 before retirement, by now already 40 years old.