Tommy Walker (footballer born 1915)
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Walker in a Chelsea team photo, November 1947
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Walker | ||
| Date of birth | 26 May 1915 | ||
| Place of birth | Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 11 January 1993 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Inside-right | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1931–1932 | Linlithgow Rose | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1933–1946 | Heart of Midlothian | 170 | (192) |
| 1946–1948 | Chelsea | 97 | (23) |
| 1948 | Heart of Midlothian | 1 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1934–1939 | Scotland | 21 | (9) |
| 1935–1939 | Scottish League XI | 5 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1951–1966 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| 1967–1969 | Raith Rovers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Thomas Walker OBE (26 May 1915 – 11 January 1993) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Heart of Midlothian, Chelsea and the Scotland national team. He later managed Hearts and Raith Rovers before becoming a director of the Tynecastle club in his later years. Lauded for his Corinthian spirit and gentlemanly conduct, he is remembered as one of Hearts all-time greats. He is considered along with Bobby Walker to be one of the two greatest players ever to wear the maroon of Hearts and the blue of Scotland.
Born in Livingston, West Lothian, Walker had originally harboured an ambition to become a Church of Scotland minister, however his early footballing skills, which saw him recognised by Scotland at schoolboy level, ensured he was destined for a career on the pitch rather than in the pulpit. He played with local sides Berryburn Rangers, Livingston Violet and Broxburn Rangers before joining the Hearts ground staff aged 16 in February 1932. As Scottish clubs could not then officially sign players until the age of 17, Walker played junior football for Linlithgow Rose until his birthday in May.
A talented and elegant inside-forward, Walker quickly earned a place in the Hearts first team, helping the side to victory in the 1933 Jubilee edition of the Rosebery Charity Cup, in a season in which they finished 3rd in the league. He was a regular first team player by 1933–34 but despite some emphatic victories, inconsistent form limited Hearts to a sixth-place finish.
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