Tom Lyon

Life and career

Lyon was born in 1915 in Clydebank, which was then in Dunbartonshire. he signed for Division One club Motherwell. He played for Motherwell's "A" team in the Scottish Alliance, but not for the first team. At the end of the 1933–34 season, he successfully applied for reinstatement as a junior, and signed for Yoker Athletic.

Lyon's stay in the junior ranks was brief: he signed for Division One Albion Rovers in late September 1934, and went straight into the eleven to face Celtic. He scored 25 goals in 50 league matches between then and February 1936, He scored six goals from ten matches, The following season, Rovers themselves were on the point of relegation when they sold Lyon to Blackpool for £1200; the player did not want to leave, but agreed to do so when the club's financial problems were explained to him.

He appeared little for Blackpool, and moved on to Chesterfield in 1938; When competitive football was abandoned on the outbreak of war, Lyon returned to Scotland. He made a few appearances for Celtic (alongside his brother Willie who was a regular in the side) in the Scottish regional league before suffering a groin injury and returning to Chesterfield. He served in the Army during the war, and when the Football League resumed, remained with the club for two seasons before joining New Brighton for one season and then moving into non-league football with Prescot Cables.

Lyon died in Old Kilpatrick, West Dunbartonshire, in 1998 at the age of 83.