Chelsea FC Profile: Tommy Priestley
Full Name: Thomas John McKee Priestley
Born: Saturday, 11th March 1911
Place of birth: Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland
Height: 5' 9"
Died: Sunday, 28th July 1985 (aged 74)
Place of death: Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland
Burial: Buried - 30 Jul 1985 - Lambeg Parish Church, Church Hill, Lambeg, Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Involvement with Chelsea:
Men's 1st Team Player from 1933 to 1934
Wore a rugby style skull cap to cover his premature balding. The Petr Cech of his time.
Playing Career:
Coleraine
Linfield
Chelsea (Jun 1933 to Jun 1934) - cost: £2,000
Shelbourne
Larne
Chelsea First-Team Career Summary
Competitive Debut: Saturday, 26th August 1933, Stoke City 1 - 0 Chelsea
Age on debut: 22 years 5 months 15 days
Last Competitive First-Team Appearance: Saturday, 3rd March 1934, Chelsea 3 - 0 Blackburn Rovers
See full chronological appearance listing HERE
Appearances
| Goals
|
* oth = other competitive matches such as Full Members Cup, Charity/Community Shield, Fifa World Club Cup.
Figures in ( ) are substitute appearances and are also included in the totals.
i.e. Tommy Priestley made 27 appearances for Chelsea, of which 0 were as a substitute.
Competitive Matches Played
| Comp | Date | Home | Away | Att | |||
| League | 26th Aug 1933 | Stoke City | 1 | 0 | Chelsea | 32,725 |  |
| League | 13th Sep 1933 | Chelsea | 2 | 3 | Huddersfield Town | 20,006 | |
| League | 16th Sep 1933 | Chelsea | 1 | 0 | Aston Villa | 44,679 |  |
| League | 23rd Sep 1933 | Leicester City | 1 | 1 | Chelsea | 21,164 |  |
| League | 30th Sep 1933 | Chelsea | 0 | 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 67,454 | |
| League | 7th Oct 1933 | Liverpool | 3 | 0 | Chelsea | 31,039 | |
| League | 21st Oct 1933 | Blackburn Rovers | 4 | 2 | Chelsea | 12,570 | |
| League | 28th Oct 1933 | Chelsea | 2 | 1 | Newcastle United | 26,657 | |
| League | 4th Nov 1933 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2 | 1 | Chelsea | 10,248 | |
| League | 11th Nov 1933 | Chelsea | 0 | 2 | Derby County | 24,422 | |
| League | 18th Nov 1933 | West Bromwich Albion | 3 | 1 | Chelsea | 12,325 | |
| League | 25th Nov 1933 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | Birmingham | 17,843 | |
| League | 2nd Dec 1933 | Everton | 2 | 1 | Chelsea | 15,584 |  |
| League | 9th Dec 1933 | Chelsea | 1 | 2 | Manchester City | 18,048 | |
| League | 16th Dec 1933 | Arsenal | 2 | 1 | Chelsea | 43,897 | |
| League | 23rd Dec 1933 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | Leeds United | 18,157 | |
| League | 26th Dec 1933 | Chelsea | 4 | 0 | Sunderland | 12,800 | |
| League | 30th Dec 1933 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | Stoke City | 24,487 | |
| League | 1st Jan 1934 | Sunderland | 0 | 0 | Chelsea | 12,820 | |
| League | 6th Jan 1934 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | 1 | Chelsea | 21,459 | |
| F.A. Cup | 13th Jan 1934 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | West Bromwich Albion | 51,451 | |
| F.A. Cup | 17th Jan 1934 | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 1 | Chelsea | 20,061 | |
| League | 20th Jan 1934 | Chelsea | 5 | 0 | Sheffield United | 31,287 | |
| F.A. Cup | 27th Jan 1934 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | Nottingham Forest | 53,269 | |
| F.A. Cup | 31st Jan 1934 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | 3 | Chelsea | 37,187 | |
| League | 7th Feb 1934 | Aston Villa | 2 | 0 | Chelsea | 15,688 | |
| League | 3rd Mar 1934 | Chelsea | 3 | 0 | Blackburn Rovers | 26,409 | |
Non-Competitive First-Team Appearances
| Non-Competitive First-Team Goals
|
Figures in ( ) are substitute appearances and are also included in the totals.
i.e. Tommy Priestley made 2 appearances for Chelsea, of which 0 were as a substitute.
Non-Competitive First-Team Matches Played
| Comp | Date | Home | Away | Att | |||
| Friendly | 12th Aug 1933 | Chelsea | 0 | 3 | Chelsea | 18,000 | |
| Friendly | 19th Aug 1933 | Chelsea | 2 | 3 | Chelsea | unknown | |
Non-First-Team Appearances
| Non-First-Team Goals
|
Figures in ( ) are substitute appearances and are also included in the totals.
i.e. Tommy Priestley made 1 appearances for Chelsea, of which 0 were as a substitute.
Non-First-Team Matches Played
| Comp | Date | Home | Away | Att | |||
| Reserve League | 1st Mar 1934 | Chelsea | 0 | 4 | Islington Corinthians | unknown | |
Chelsea Graves Society Info & External Research Links:
Tommy's surname was previously spelled Priestley, but his birth certificate states Priestly and this is born out by press cuttings too. His middle names were also previously erroneously listed as James Montgomery, though no recollection of where they originally came from. Corrected 10 Apr 2023.
Burial details including the gravestone has his surname spelled as Priestley so his name changed back in the database 1/5/2023
View CGS profile for Thomas John McKee Priestley on Ancestry
View CGS profile for Thomas John McKee Priestley on Find-A-Grave
View location on Zeemaps for Thomas John McKee PriestleyReturn to Player Directory.
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