Hampson: Thomas (Tommy)

1917-1918 (Leeds City War-time Guest Player Details)

Goalkeeper

Born: Bury: 02-05-1898

Debut: v Chesterfield (h): 03-03-1917

Height & Weight: Unknown

Tommy Hampson was the brother of Walker Hampson and Billy Hampson, who both also played for Leeds City as guests in the War Years. The three brothers played in the same team on the three occasions that Walker Hampson played for City in the Subsidiary Competition in April 1918. He started with North Eastern Non-League sides South Shields and Walker Celtic and at the time he started to guest for Leeds City had not signed professional forms with a League club and was only eighteen. He played the last two games of the Principal Competition and all six games of the Subsidiary Competition. The following season he was the regular choice in goal missing only five games in the Principal Competition, which saw City top the Midland Section Principal Tournament, and was ever-present in the six Subsidiary Tournament matches and the two play-off finals with Stoke, which effectively declared City as the best team in the land, but they were the last games he played for City as Willis Walker and Walter Cook were both available for most of the season. He signed for Second Division West Ham United in 1920 initially as understudy to Hammers legend and six times England capped Ted Hufton. Hampson made his Hammers debut in a Second Division against Clapton Orient at Millfields Road in front of a 20,000 crowd on 15th January 1921and a goal from Hammers' striker Syd Bishop as West Ham lined up: Hampson; Burton, Cope; Allen, Kay; Woodards, Carter, Bishop, Puddefoot, Leafe, Young. He proved to be a shrewd capture and an able deputy when Hufton suffered a serious knee injury in 1923-24. Showing form far superior to his performances in the Reserves, Hampson took his chance literally with both hands, with the result that Ted Hufton was hardly missed. Later joined Blackburn Rovers. Though he only played sixteen games in his first three seasons at Upton Park, he became the regular goalkeeper once the Hammers had achieved promotion to the top flight from 1923-24 when he played twenty-seven times in League games in each of the next two seasons. He made seventy League appearances and nine in the F.A Cup for the Hammers. His final game for them came on 28th February 1925 in a First Division visit to Turf Moor for a high-scoring 4-5 defeat by Burnley in front of a crowd of 10,000 as West Ham lined up Tommy Hampson; William Henderson, Jack Young; Jimmy Collins, George Kay, Albert Cadwell; Tommy Yews, William Moore, Victor Watson, Samuel Jennings, James Ruffell. William Moore, Victor Watson, Samuel Jennings, James Ruffell scoring for West Ham but it was not quite enough. He was transferred to First Division Blackburn Rovers in 1925 but never made a first team appearance while at Ewood Park and he joined Non-League Annfield Plains, before signing for First Division Burnley in 1925, where he made six appearances before once more going to the Nort East with West Stanley. His next club was Second Division Darlington who he joined in 1926. He made only three League appearances for them before they were relegated and he rejoined West Stanley before moving to First Division Cardiff City in January 1927. He found Irish International Tom Farquharson in his way and made only two League appearances for them in the 1926-27 season and a further six League games in 1928-29. He did, however, make one appearance for the Welsh League in his time at Ninian Park. He joined Second Division Notts County in 1929, but only made one League appearance for them and finished up playing with Notts Co-op Dairy.