Tom Armitage
Born: Sheffield, England - Died: Aged 26, Dec 30 1923, Sheffield, England
This is Tom Armitage, the Grandson of Thomas Armitage, the Yorkshire and England cricketer. Like his brother Leonard, Tom was born in Sheffield and had great talent for soccer. Tom served in the Navy throughout the First World War although this was not to be the cause of his untimely death.
During the War, Tom was stationed at Portsmouth and frequently played for Portsmouth's soccer club. It was after his discharge that he was placed on the books of "The Wednesday" in his Home Town. He played regularly for Wednesday Reserves and was top scorer for Wednesday Reserves at the time of his death.
His demise came following a Christmas Day tie against Rotherham Town at Hillsborough. After about 15 minutes of play, Armitage shot at the Rotherham goal from short range and it deflected back at him injuring his kidney. Despite being in pain he played on for another 30 minutes until half-time where he collapsed in the dressing room. He was rushed to hospital and despite what appeared to be a good recovery following a kidney operation, he died a few days later.
If you have any information on Tom, please e-mail me at: lindsay@ukonline.co.uk