Tommy Lawton

[Bluebonic]

I felt really sad reading an article recently about how he ended his life in debt and how a number of letters from the great man to Richard Attenborough (asking for financial help) were recently auctioned. I used to know and old guy (who saw him as well as Dixie Dean and he always maintained that if the second world war hadn't taken the best years from him (he missed seven full seasons) that he might well have broken all of Dean's records, that is how good the guy was! As it was he scored 246 goals in 420 games.

The old guy told me Lawton was almost as good as Dean in the air, but was much more skillful on the deck, it seems such a shame that such a legendary player was reduced to such straits.

Apologies if this has been covered already?

 

[Bluerover]

I felt really sad reading an article recently about how he ended his life in debt and how a number of letters from the great man to Richard Attenborough (asking for financial help) were recently auctioned. I used to know and old guy (who saw him as well as Dixie Dean and he always maintained that if the second world war hadn't taken the best years from him (he missed seven full seasons) that he might well have broken all of Dean's records, that is how good the guy was! As it was he scored 246 goals in 420 games.

The old guy told me Lawton was almost as good as Dean in the air, but was much more skillful on the deck, it seems such a shame that such a legendary player was reduced to such straits.

Apologies if this has been covered already?

He was also given a tough time by Kelly who effectively forced him out.

 

[Eggs]

I felt really sad reading an article recently about how he ended his life in debt and how a number of letters from the great man to Richard Attenborough (asking for financial help) were recently auctioned. I used to know and old guy (who saw him as well as Dixie Dean and he always maintained that if the second world war hadn't taken the best years from him (he missed seven full seasons) that he might well have broken all of Dean's records, that is how good the guy was! As it was he scored 246 goals in 420 games.

The old guy told me Lawton was almost as good as Dean in the air, but was much more skillful on the deck, it seems such a shame that such a legendary player was reduced to such straits.

Apologies if this has been covered already?

....yep, it is a sad story. I remember it being raised some time ago by @The Esk i think.

 

[Nobby Nobbs]

Didn't Everton have a testimonial for him, might be thinking of someone else but I'm sure they did, and your right, if you look at his record he stands comparison with Dean. I think he is a forgotten legend for Everton very rarely mentioned when the true greats of our club are discussed.

 

[The Esk]

....yep, it is a sad story. I remember it being raised some time ago by @The Esk i think.

I looked for the original post but couldn't find it...

Story here from the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...director-Richard-Attenborough-over-money.html

 

[summerisle]

I looked for the original post but couldn't find it...

Story here from the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...director-Richard-Attenborough-over-money.html

This it ?

https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/tommy-lawton.83062/

 

[blue62]

My old man saw him play (he also saw Dean right at the end of his career), reckoned he could turn and shoot so quickly you could miss it if you blinked! That was one of the bedtime tales he would often recount, but he rated him as highly as Young, Harvey and Ball.

 

[Joey66]

He fell on hard times, with his divorce the reason he decided to leave us I read somewhere?

 

[Toffeelover]

I felt really sad reading an article recently about how he ended his life in debt and how a number of letters from the great man to Richard Attenborough (asking for financial help) were recently auctioned. I used to know and old guy (who saw him as well as Dixie Dean and he always maintained that if the second world war hadn't taken the best years from him (he missed seven full seasons) that he might well have broken all of Dean's records, that is how good the guy was! As it was he scored 246 goals in 420 games.

The old guy told me Lawton was almost as good as Dean in the air, but was much more skillful on the deck, it seems such a shame that such a legendary player was reduced to such straits.

Apologies if this has been covered already?

My father who had seen both players always said that Lawton was the better of the two. Terrible end for a great player.

Looks like Attenborough was a bit of a miserable sod.

 

[Bluebonic]

He was also given a tough time by Kelly who effectively forced him out.

Wasn't Lawton suppoosed to have chinned Kelly? I hope he did, everything i read about Kelly suggests he was a turd!

 

[summerisle]

Wasn't Lawton suppoosed to have chinned Kelly? I hope he did, everything i read about Kelly suggests he was a turd!

Took no prisoners.
http://toffeeweb.com/season/13-14/comment/fan/26890.html

 

[The Esk]

Lukaku caught up with Lawton yesterday in goals scored for Everton (70), Lukaku in 141, but unbelievably Lawton in only 95 games.