Charlie Thomson

Who was Charlie Thomson?

Charlie "Chic" Thomson was a Scottish football goalkeeper who played for Clyde, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. He was born in Perth, Scotland.

Thomson began his career with Clyde, and one of his first appearances for the club came in the Scottish Cup against Rangers at Hampden Park, though his side lost 4–1. He stayed with the club until October 1952, when he became one of the first signings of new Chelsea manager, Ted Drake. Thomson was a member of Chelsea's 1954–55 league title-winning side, playing in the final 16 games of the run-in, including the title decider against Chelsea's main rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers, during which he made a crucial last-minute save to secure a 1–0 win.

He struggled to retain his position as first-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea, however, losing out to Bill Robertson, and signed for Nottingham Forest in 1957 having made 59 appearances for Chelsea. Two years later, he was a member of Forest's FA Cup-winning team, helping preserve their 2–1 lead over Luton Town in the final minutes at Wembley. He remained at Forest until 1961, making 136 appearances, and joined lower league side, Valley Sports, where he ended his career. He died on 6 January 2009 in Nottingham.