Tommy Meade

Tommy Meade was a centre forward formerly of Fulham. A natural goalscorer, he became a pivotal figure in the Southern League Second Division title winning teams of 1901-02 and 1902-03. An explosive centre forward on the pitch but quiet off of it, Tommy was prolific in his finishing.

Before Fulham
Tommy Meade started his career as an amateur with Woolwich Arsenal in 1893 and stayed with that club for three and a half years, becoming a noted goal-scorer within that period before signing as a professional in 1894. With his reputation preceding him, Tom signed for Tottenham in the summer of 1897 and was fast-tracked straight into the first team, but unfortunately, his presence in the side was short-lived thanks to the South London side making "exorbitant demands". With Bill Joyce stepping into the gap left by Meade, he established himself in the Tottenham team and Meade was then always regarded as cover for that position. Tom's stay at White Hart Lane was two seasons long, with only a handful of games played within that time, before Spurs let him go in 1899.

Fulham (1900-1905)
He signed terms with Fulham in the 1900-01 season, and began to make an impression immediately, as he scored a brace on debut against Clapton Orient. Mainly used as a centre forward, he was occasionally used as an inside forward and on one occasion in the London League he even played as an outside left against West Ham's Reserves. He won Southern League Division Two medals in 1902 and 1903, yet Fulham managed to lose both of the play-off finals in those years.

On 27 December 1902 in a Southern League match away at Grays United, Tommy had arrived at the ground without his boots and had to rush out to buy a pair - however, he must have bought a good pair as he scored all four goals in a 4-1 victory. According to the Grays & Tilbury Gazette, upon the final whistle the Fulham fans "rushed onto the field in a body and chaired Tommy into the dressing room". Unfortunately, his goals would not count as the match later had to be replayed (which they later lost) due to Fulham fielding an ineligible player by the name of Easter.

His goalscoring record at the club was impressive, and possibly would have stayed at the club longer had it not been for the large intake of players for the 1903-04 season. Tommy was in fact one of only three players to remain in the squad from the previous season, so much was the change of personnel. Due to this, Tommy only managed 7 Southern League appearances in that season, and no first team appearances the following season yet stayed at the club until 1905.

After Fulham
Not much is known about what happened to Tommy after he left Fulham, we can assume he played for another club in England barring a career-ending injury, as he would have been 28 by the time he had left in the summer of 1905.

Tommy, with wife Kate, sons Thomas and Leonard and daughter Violet sailed on the SS Corinthic for New Zealand on 25 July 1907, arriving in Wellington on 11 September 1907. He then moved to Ward in Marlborough for approximately eight years, returning to Wellington in 1915. He had eight children and died in Wellington on 2 June 1949 at the age of 72.

Fulham Matches
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