Tommy Shanks

Who is Tommy Shanks?

Thomas "Tommy" Shanks was an Irish footballer.

Shanks was born in Wexford and started his playing career with local club Wexford FC before moving to England to play for Derby West End and then Derby County in 1898. He spent three seasons at the Baseball Ground, playing 28 times and scoring five goals, but could not hold down a regular place. In October 1901 he moved to Brentford of the Southern League, helping the Bees to promotion to Division One, before being signed by Second Division Woolwich Arsenal in January 1903.

He made his Arsenal debut against Burslem Port Vale on 10 January 1903, and went on to be a regular that season as an inside forward, scoring five times. His performances for his club earned him the first of three caps for Ireland, against Scotland on 21 March 1903. Shanks' 1903-04 season was a record-breaking one; Shanks scored twenty-four goals that season as Arsenal earned promotion to the First Division. He was the first Arsenal player ever to score more than twenty in a league season. However, a cash-strapped Arsenal sold him back to Brentford in the summer of 1904 and he never played for Arsenal in the top flight.