6'0" 12st.7lb.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       b. Chesterfield  27 November 1923

d. Grimsby 10 February 1984

Debut 29 November 1952 (29y 2d) Final Game 21 December 1957 (34y 24d)

First Goal 6 December 1952 Final Goal 14 December 1957

CAREER: Stirling Street School (Doncaster);Central School for Boys-Doncaster;Enfield;Plymouth Argyle Nov'45 (am) Mar'46 (pro);Grimsby Town May'47[116-77];Coventry City Jan'51 (£18,550)[11-7];Birmingham City Sep'51[50-26];Blackburn Rovers Dec'52 (£15,000);Grimsby Town Mar'58 (£2,000)[19-9];Glentoran (p-m) Mar'59-Nov’60;Huxfords.

ENGLAND B 1 app ’50 v Swi.

FL          194 apps    140 gls  3g 3 4g 1 7g 1

FAC         10 apps        3 gls

Total    204 apps     143 gls

Penalty record T 7 Sc 4 Sv 3

Strike rate 120 mins

LC           4 apps        2 gls

Briggs’ father had taken his war pension when demobbed after the Great War and opened up a butcher’s shop in Chesterfield. His brother became a partner and they opened up more shops so that young Tommy learned his football in Doncaster before the Second World War saw him serve in the Royal Navy with the Landing Craft section. In the Mediterranean he saw a great deal of action but the compensation was that he was based in Plymouth, where he was spotted by the Argyle and signed when the war had ended. He was not selected for the first team but Pat Glover of Grimsby had seen him play during the war and took him for a short trial. By the time he signed for Blackburn five years later he had already scored 110 league goals in 177 appearances but still had his critics. Many said that he was not a footballer, that he had no ball skills and couldn't truly lead the line. A big lump of a man, he ran powerfully if without grace, but he was a hard man to dispossess and single minded about his purpose. He had a hammer in both feet and if the ball was lofted his heading was just as lethal. Slotting into a team that loved to pour forward he simply harvested a goal tally that will never be equalled. In just short of five full seasons he scored 140 goals in 194 league games, without fuss almost unnoticed. On the unforgettable day when he had already scored six goals against Bristol Rovers the club was awarded a last minute penalty. Since he was not the penalty taker he made no effort to take the responsibility but eventually he was led to the spot. Carefully he struck his seventh of the afternoon, turned on his heel and jogged back to the half way line with an odd hand shake from the nearest players. He returned to live in Grimsby where he resumed his old profession of master butcher, later working in the electrical supply industry and scouting for the Rovers.

Biography Tommy Briggs A Footballer and Gentleman Jim Bibby Paul Mould Publishing 2006 146 pages  ISBN 10 1904959407 

                                             ISBN 13 978-1904959403