Tom Norman

Tom Norman was a half back who played for Fulham from the clubs foundation in 1879 until 1893. An important figure in the clubs history, Tom was the first secretary (self-appointed) and virtually ran the club off his own back for its early years. He would arrange fixtures as well as play, and remained a first team member for over a decade. He was a well respected man throughout all of the the local sporting community.

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Before Fulham
Born in Ipswich in 1863, his family moved to London during his very early years, settling in Fulham. The family were living at Pownall Road in 1871 and Tom later became a master builder, following in his fathers' footsteps.

The whole family supported the local St Andrew's Church, with his mother and two siblings all teaching at Sunday School, occasionally assisted by Tom himself. He was asked by Reverend John Henry Cardwell to form a cricket team around 1879.

Fulham (1879-1893)
It was whilst secretary for the St Andrews Cricket Club that the fruition of a football club came to light, with Tom again becoming secretary. Matches were organised by himself, with mostly friends or local young men in what would have most probably been not more than a kick about. Soon, a makeshift pitch known as the Mud Pond was established and with no markings and far smaller than standard size, it was not really adequate for 11-a-side football.

Eventually Tom, with the help of several others, gained permission to play matches on a piece of land adjacent to Lillie Road. This was to be the first of many grounds played on by the club until they eventually settled at Craven Cottage in 1896. Tom played for the first team for around a decade and played sparingly after his marriage in around 1891. During his latter playing days he would also turn out on occasion for Hammersmith Athletic.

He scored a hat-trick on 14 Nov 1885 at Imperial Rovers in a 3-0 victory.

After Fulham
After his marriage in 1891, he moved to South Africa and became a hotel manager, returning to England in 1907 to take over the Swiss Tavern in Peckham. Unfortunately, his wife died only 7 months later.

He would later return to live in South Africa, where he stayed until his death.

Appearances
* (Incomplete data) - Almost all matches played by Tom at the club would have been friendly fixtures

Fulham Matches
Editing in progress