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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Hutchison[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1947-09-22)22 September 1947 (age 78) | ||
| Place of birth | Cardenden, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1965 | Dundonald Bluebell | ||
| 1965–1968 | Alloa Athletic | 68 | (4) |
| 1968–1972 | Blackpool | 165 | (10) |
| 1972–1981 | Coventry City | 314 | (24) |
| 1980 | →Seattle Sounders (loan) | 25 | (3) |
| 1981–1982 | Manchester City | 46 | (4) |
| 1982–1983 | Bulova | 22 | (0) |
| 1983–1985 | Burnley | 92 | (4) |
| 1985–1991 | Swansea City | 178 | (9) |
| 1991–1994 | Merthyr Tydfil | 73 | (2) |
| Total | 983 | (60) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971[3] | Scotland U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1973–1975 | Scotland | 17 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985–1986 | Swansea City | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Hutchison (born 22 September 1947) is a Scottish formerfootballer who played as amidfielder. He madeover 1,100 appearances, including 314 in theFootball League alone forCoventry City, and more than 160 apiece in the competition forBlackpool andSwansea City (serving the latter asmanager for a season before resuming as a player, which continued into his mid-40s), plus shorter spells in the United States and Hong Kong. Hutchison gained 17caps forScotland between 1973 and 1975.
Born inCardenden,Fife, Hutchison began his professional career withAlloa Athletic in theScottish Second Division, after he was spotted by managerArchie McPherson. He showed enough potential to attract the attention of larger clubs, and he joinedStan Mortensen'sBlackpool in February 1968 for just over £10,000. Almost immediately, he took the place ofGraham Oates at outside-left, making his debut againstPlymouth on 30 March in the English Second Division.
The Scot was brought in to bolsterthe Seasiders' flagging promotion drive, and out of the final nine games of the 1967–68 season, they won eight. Promotion, however, was missed on the final day.[4]
Les Shannon took over from Mortensen as manager, and in his first season achieved promotion to the First Division in 1970 – but it only lasted one season. WhenBob Stokoe took over from Shannon in June 1971, he worked on Hutchison's crossing ability, believing it to be his only weak spot.
In 1972,Coventry City managerJoe Mercer offered £140,000 cash plusBilly Rafferty for Hutchison's services. He signed for the Midlands club, leaping at the chance to play in the First Division on a regular basis. 'Hutch' remained atHighfield Road for eight years, playing 355 games and scoring 30 goals. During his time at Coventry he played probably the best football of his career, winning all of his 17 Scottish caps while at the club. Nicknamed "Mr Magic" by the club chairman,Derrick Robins, he was voted supporter's Player of the Season three times during his eight-year spell at Highfield Road – a feat no other Sky Blues player has yet equalled.
Hutchison joinedManchester City for a fee of £47,000 in October 1980, becomingJohn Bond's first signing atMaine Road. In May 1981, he scored for both sides in theFA Cup Final, asTottenham Hotspur drew 1–1 with Manchester City. He was not the first to do this —Bert Turner had done so in the 1946 final forCharlton andDerby, andGary Mabbutt would do the same in the 1987 final for Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur. He had initially put City in the lead, but his own goal (deflecting a free-kick) meant that the final would go to a replay, which City lost 3–2 five days later.[5]
Hutchison later played forBulova of Hong Kong andSeattle Sounders (US) before returning to the UK, re-joining John Bond atBurnley in 1983 and moving toSwansea City in 1985 to be managed by Bond at a third different club in his career. When Bond departed, Hutchison served as manager for six months after the club went into liquidation. Come September 1989, Hutchison – now just shy of his 42nd birthday – made his debut in European club competition. Having won theWelsh FA Cup the season before, Swansea entered theUEFA Cup Winner's Cup, and were drawn against Greek giantsPanathinaikos. They were eliminated at the First Round stage, but not before giving the Greek team a scare losing 3–2 in Athens and drawing 3–3 atVetch Field. He is in the record books as the oldest player to have played for Swansea City, playing againstSouthend United in March 1991 at the age of 43 years, five months and 19 days.
In late-May and early-June 1984, Hutchison made three guest appearances forManchester United on their summer tour of Australia, playing againstAustralia,Nottingham Forest andJuventus. He then made another guest appearance for the club the following May, when he played in Peter Foley's testimonial against an Oxford United XI.
He left Swansea near the end of the 1990–91 season, and joined Southern League sideMerthyr Tydfil, where he spent another three years before finally retiring from the game in May 1994, at the age of 46, having played more than a thousand first-team games in his career.
Capped 17 times forScotland, Hutchison appeared at the1974 World Cup, though was surprisingly omitted from the1978 World Cup squad in Argentina when he was arguably playing the finest football of his career.[citation needed]
After his retirement from playing, Hutchison remained in South Wales until 2012, working as a Football Development Officer across the Severn Estuary forBristol City. He later moved back to live in Scotland. A poll by theCoventry Evening Telegraph voted him the most popular Coventry player of the club'sFirst Division era.
Hutchison was inducted into theHall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool playerJimmy Armfield in April 2006.[6] Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Hutchison is in the 1970s.[7]
Blackpool
Seattle Sounders
Manchester City
Bulova[8]
Swansea City
Individual
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