Thomas Usher 'Tommy' Pearson (6 March 1913 - 2 March 1999) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 and manager.

Playing career

Born in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Pearson played for Murrayfield Amateurs, and had a trial for Heart of Midlothian

Heart of Midlothian F.C.

Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...

, but signed professional terms with Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 in March 1933. He played over 200 games for Newcastle before and after the Second World War, scoring a total of 52 goals. Pearson was renowned as a skilful and entertaining left winger, although he won no major honours at St James' Park

St James' Park

St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...

He was capped twice for Scotland in 1947, giving him a possibly unique record, having guested for the English international side during a wartime international in Newcastle when outside left Eric Brook

Eric Brook

Eric Fred Brook was an English footballer who played in the outside left position. He is the all time record goalscorer for Manchester City in all competitions and was an England international. Brook was a muscular player with 'one of the fiercest shots in pre-war football' and was a good penalty...

 was injured before the game. Pearson was at the match as a spectator, but agreed to turn out for England.

In 1948, he was signed by Aberdeen

Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

 for £4,000, and quickly became a crowd favourite, renowned particularly for his 'double shuffle', which baffled opposing players and spectators alike. Pearson retired at the age of 40, and took up a career as a sports writer, often covering Aberdeen for the Scottish Daily Mail

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

.

Managerial career

In November 1959, Pearson was appointed manager of Aberdeen, in spite of his lack of coaching or managerial experience, and the six years he had spent outside the game, albeit as an observer. Unusually, his predecessor, Davie Shaw

Davie Shaw

David 'Davie' Shaw was a Scottish professional footballer, coach and manager.-Playing career:...

 stayed on at the club in his former capacity as coach. Pearson's time in office coincided with the departure or retirement of a number of key players, and long-term injuries to others, alleviated only briefly by the emergence of Charlie Cooke

Charlie Cooke (footballer)

Charles 'Charlie' Cooke is a former Scottish footballer. He was a talented and skilful winger who played for Aberdeen, Dundee, Chelsea and Crystal Palace before ending his career in the United States....

, soon on his way to Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. There were a sequence of Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

 exits to lower league teams, and in spite of a Summer Cup

Summer Cup

The Summer Cup is an AJC Group 3 Australian Thoroughbred horse race held at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney in December. The event is an open handicap run over a distance of 2400 metres. Total prize money for the race is A$125,000...

 final, ultimately lost to Hibs

Hibernian F.C.

Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

in 1964, Pearson's reign ended with his resignation on 13 February 1965.