John Thomson – Sam English (A haunted man)

Details

I’m not usually one to start a thread about Rangers but given the number of attempts by the darkside to slander and smear the good name of our heroes and legends in some kind of bizarre point scoring exercise I thought I’d redress the balance and show that we do not need to stoop to their level and can rise above their deep rooted hatred of all things Celtic and set straight a story and a lie that is over 70 years old.

All of us should know and recognise the name Sam English, a name that will forever be entwined with the history of Celtic and of course John Thomson. Recently I finally got round to reading one of my Christmas presents, Tom Greig’s excellent book ‘My Search for Celtic’s John’ (a book I can highly recommend) and I was surprised to discover as he described that fateful day and the aftermath that some people were under the impression that John Thomson’s injury was caused by a ‘deliberate’ kick to the head. I don’t know if it was just me but from the first time I had heard about the tragedy I’d always been told that it was just a tragic accident and no one was to blame. This was the first time I’d heard a conflicting story and after some further research into the subject found out this alternative story was completely untrue but that some regarded this version of events as the truth.

There is a reason that this untruth may have slipped into the realm of fact though. When Thomson was admitted to the Victoria Infirmary the patient’s notes included the phrase ‘the patient was admitted having received, it was stated, a kick on the head’. There was no name attached to this statement and may have been a result of no one knowing the exact truth at the time of the notes being written. However it appears that this was enough for a lie to take root and to this day some still regard it as fact. In addition Willie Maley made a rather ambiguous statement at the fatal accident enquiry when asked ‘In your opinion, was it an accident?’ and his reply was ‘I hope it was an accident. I cannot form an opinion as to what happened as I did not actually see the accident’. Some saw this as a serious aspersion on the character of Sam English but many regard this statement as coming from a grief stricken man whose words were not intended to be interpreted as they were. Many felt this added credence to the ‘deliberate kick’ assumption.

The evidence to back up the fact that the whole incident was nothing but a tragic accident though is overwhelming not least that the fact that the fatal accident enquiry returned a verdict of accidental death. Not one of the players on the park that day or any member of Thomson’s family held English responsible for the accident. Indeed English met Thomson’s parents twice and the Thomson family also published a letter in the Lochgelly Times on the day of Thomson’s funeral publicly exonerated English of any responsibility for the accident. It was a sign of the Thomson’s strength of character that despite losing their son at such a young age they still found time to give comfort to English and realised the burden he was to carry for the rest of his life.

Sadly this wasn’t enough to stop English being taunted by supporters and players throughout the rest of his career. English was only 23 when the accident happened and only a few months older than Thomson. He only signed for Rangers in the summer of 1931 after his goal scoring exploits for Yoker Athletic had alerted them to his talents. It seemed a long and successful career lay before him and the game against Celtic was his first derby in only his 7th competitive game for Rangers. There are many accounts of what happened that day but all eyewitness accounts surrounding the incident itself state that English got a shot at goal as Thomson came out to block and Thomson deflected the ball away for what should have been a corner but his momentum carried him into English where his temple comes into contact with English’s knee and thus his fate was sealed. At no point did English’s foot make any contact with Thomson’s head. This scenario is also supported by photographic evidence.

The Rangers manager of the time Bill Struth, not often held in high regard by Celtic fans, has to be commended during this time as he took the responsibility to send a car for Thomson’s parents in Fife once the seriousness of the situation became clear and he along with Rangers captain Meiklejohn and English visited Thomson’s parents a few weeks later. It was also Struth who decided to play English in the game immediately after Thomson’s funeral adopting the ‘best to get back on the horse’ approach and by the end of the season English had scored 44 goals (still a record for a Rangers player) and he had also won a couple of Northern Ireland caps but despite his exploits he could not forget that fateful moment and his play began to suffer as his heart was not in it. A move to Liverpool was hoped might give him a fresh start but limited success saw him return to play for Queen of the South before finishing his career at Hartlepool at the age of 28.

All through the remainder of his football career English found he could not escape the tragedy. Almost every team he played against used the death of Thomson to their advantage and he was constantly taunted about it and it didn’t stop after he left the pitch both he and his wife were victims of shameful accusations and later this was turned against his children and his grandchildren. Of course there were also many hundreds and thousands of people who absolved him of any responsibility and supported him through difficult times. These of course included many decent Celtic fans.

Having played football myself for over 20 years the worst injury I can ever remember inflicting on an opponent was a broken nose and I felt really bad about that even though it was accidental. I can’t even begin to understand what English must have felt throughout his life and the ignorance of those who sought to gain an advantage or to inflict more misery on him and his family by continually taunting and reminding him of the tragedy. There are many, including Celtic fans, who should feel ashamed at the treatment English received after Thomson’s death.

Sam English died in Vale of Leven Hospital of motor neurone disease on April 12th 1967 aged 58.

I decided I’d wait until the 40th anniversary of his death to post this story and if what I’ve written above changes the opinions of just one person then it will have been a worthwhile exercise.

On that fateful day on September 5th 1931 not one but two men were victims of a terrible tragedy.

Sam English RIP