The India Rubber Man

From time to time the Club receives letters asking for information regarding old players. One such letter was sent to Secretary, Roy Morris, from Hr. F.W. Edmond of Kettering who asked for help tracing the professional football career of his father, Thomas Edmond who played for Southport Central during the early part of this Century.

Tom Edmond was always wrongly referred to was Edmonds during his time with the Club. He was born in Prestonpans. near Edinburgh in March 1879. He joined Southport Central during the Summer of 1904 from Preston North End having played for Prostonpans Athletic and Dundee United. He was known as ” The India Rubber Man” due to his unconventional methods and agility and was very popular with the crowd, but he did not please everybody and one unkind critic suggested that the proper place for him was in the capacity of an acrobat during the half-time interval!

Tom usually appeared in the half-back line and although he was only five foot six and a half inches tall and ten stone, he often played centre-half and on a number of occasions turned out at centre-forward. It was during his first season, which was Centrai’s last on their Scarisbrick New Road ground, that the club became the first “Non-League” team to win the Lancashire Senior Cup when they defeated Everton 2-1. Southport Central were then members of the Lancashire Combination and finished third in the table. Financially, the game was very different in those days and Central’s wage bill that season was no more than 17 pounds a week! Southport lost 4-1 to Manchester United at their Clayton ground in the 5th Qualifying Round of the F.A. Cup and their share of the gate was 62 pounds! With the recent increases in the budget it is interesting to note that a box of cigars at that time cost 9 shillings ( 45 pence ) and cigarettes cost 8d (3 pence) an ounce!

“The India Rubber Man” did not turn out for Southport Central in 1905/06 but re-signed for the club in 1906/07 season when they were so hard up for cash that they agreed to transter the venue of their F.A. Cup tie to Carlisle on being guaranteed 100 pounds as their share of the gate receipts. plus half the gate receipts over that figure. Over 80 Southport supporters took advantage of a 4s 9d ( 24 pence ) excursion train and watched Southport win and their share of the gate was finally 113 pounds 19 shillings! Tom was centre-half tor Central that day and occupied the same position a fortnight later when Southport Central’s cup run came to an end at Northampton.

Tom remained at Southport until the end of the 1908/09 season when he retired from footbail after making 150 Lancashire Combination appearances. He returned to Prestonpans with his wife, Fanny, whom he had married in July 1905. During his playing career with Southport, Tom lived at Chorley, where his wife had a sister. Tom joined his three brothers at Preston Links Colliery becoming a mining contractor driving underground roadways. This he continued to do until his enforced oarly retirement due to ill health at the age of 58.

An all-round sportsman, he became a scratch golfer, winning a number of open amateur golf events. He became a member of Kilspindio Golf Club until rheumatism forced nim to give up the game and he took up bowls becoming champion of the Castlepark Club on a numder of occasions. He continued to live in Prestonpans until his death in September 1940.

Michael Braham

The above article is reproduced from the Sandgrounder matchday programme in the 1980s.