Years Team Name Lol Hamlett | Role Footballer | |
 | ||
Full name Thomas Lawrence Hamlett Date of birth (1917-01-24)24 January 1917 Date of death 22 May 1986(1986-05-22) (aged 69) Died May 22, 1986, Milton, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom | ||
Thomas Lawrence Hamlett (24 January 1917 – 22 May 1986) was an English footballer who played at right-back for Congleton Town, Bolton Wanderers, and Port Vale. He scored nine goals in 181 league appearances in the six seasons of the Football League immediately following World War II. He later spent 25 years on the coaching staff at Port Vale, from July 1958 to March 1983.
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Playing career
Hamlett played for Congleton Town, before joining Bolton Wanderers for a Cheshire County League record transfer fee of £750. World War II devastated his career, limiting him to guest appearances for Stoke City and Manchester United. Playing for Stoke, he scored two goals in 35 games in 1941–42, one goal in 34 games in 1942–43, and then played ten games in the 1943–44 season. He returned to the Victoria Ground with Bolton on 19 March 1949, and scored an own goal in a 4–0 win for the "Potters". Walter Rowley's "Trotters" meanwhile finished 18th in the First Division in 1946–47, and then 17th in 1947–48 and 14th in 1948–49. In his three years at Burnden Park, he scored nine goals in 72 league and 13 FA Cup appearances. He was present at the Burnden Park disaster on 9 March 1946, where 33 spectators were killed.
He signed with Gordon Hodgson's Port Vale in May 1949. He went straight into the "Valiants" first team, making 40 Third Division South and four FA Cup appearances in the 1949–50 season. He then played 45 league and four FA Cup games in the 1950–51 campaign, as the club moved grounds from The Old Recreation Ground to Vale Park. He lost his first team place after an injury in November 1951 and was released by new boss Freddie Steele in May 1952 after 25 league and cup games in the 1951–52 season. He returned to Congleton as player-manager, before retiring as a footballer.
Coaching career
Hamlett returned to Port Vale as the trainer-coach in July 1958. He gave up his coaching responsibilities in May 1960, remaining as a trainer until March 1983 when he retired due to illness. A religious man, he refused to use bad language, and thus used to motivate his players with words of encouragement. Instead of swearing he used say "fizzing" a lot, as in "the opposition are a fizzing tough bunch". He served the club under ten different managers: Norman Low, Freddie Steele, Jackie Mudie, Stanley Matthews, Gordon Lee, Roy Sproson, Bobby Smith, Dennis Butler, Alan Bloor, and John McGrath. He was given a testimonial match on 8 November 1976, Port Vale playing a Don Revie XI.
Personal life
In addition to his career in football, Hamlett also served as a lay preacher in the Methodist church.