Irvine Thornley

Irvine Thornley (11 October 1883 – 24 April 1955) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. After playing for local amateur clubs, he made his professional debut for Glossop in 1901. He moved to Manchester City in 1904, becoming a prolific goalscorer for the club and winning a single cap for England in 1907.

Early life Thornley was born in Whitfield, Derbyshire, the second of four children to Thomas Thornley and Henrietta Thornley (née Cooper). His father worked as a butcher and his mother was a cotton weaver. His brother John would also become a footballer. As a teenager, he worked as a tripe dresser. Soon after the Football Association carried out an investigation into the transfer practices of the club and manager Tom Maley regarding making additional payments to players to avoid the maximum wage at the time.

The investigation led to Maley receiving a life ban from the game and seventeen players were either fined or suspended. With a new squad hastily assembled, City met Arsenal soon after in a match played during a heatwave. With temperatures soaring, Thornley collapsed thirty minutes into the match and was described as "prostrate and very ill". City went on to lose four other players during the match due to the extreme heat, finishing the match with only six players.

In his second season at the club, he scored 21 league goals in the First Division to finish as the club's top goalscorer,

Following the outbreak of World War I, Thornley joined the Royal Field Artillery at the age of 32 and served as a gunner until he was transferred to the army reserve in April 1917. He was discharged from the army in December 1918. When competitive football resumed after the war, Thornley played for Hamilton Academical and Houghton before retiring.

Honours Manchester City Football League Second Division: 1909–10

Hamilton Academical

Lanarkshire Cup: 1919–20