Bush: William Thomas (Tom)

WW2 Guest: 1942-1943 (Leeds United War-time Guest Player Details)

Centre Half

Born: Hodnet, Shropshire: 22-02-1914

Debut: v Blackburn Rovers (a): 21-02-1942

Height & Weight: Unknown

Bush first played with Shrewsbury Amateurs before signing for his only League Club, Liverpool, in March 1933. He made his Liverpool debut on 30th December 1933 at Anfield in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, but only made one further appearance in that season. Indeed it was not until the 1937-38 season that he played regularly for the first team. He scored his first and only League goal at Sunderland on 17th December 1938 and, by the start of World War Two, he had played fifty-eight League games and had made three appearances in the aborted 1939-40 season, as well as playing eight games in the F.A. Cup. He scored once and played thirty-four times for Liverpool in the War-time tournaments and guested for Brighton and Hove Albion, Leeds United and Fulham. With Leeds he played Centre Half in the 0-1 defeat at Ewood Park against Blackburn Rovers, the 6-1 home victory over Doncaster Rovers and the 2-3 loss at Oakwell against Barnsley and also played at Right Half in the 3-2 win at Ayresome Park against Middlesbrough in the 1941-42 Football League Northern Section (Second Championship). He also played against Middlesbrough in the first two games of the following season. He was at Centre Half in a 0-1 loss at Elland Road and at Right Back in the 0-2 loss at Ayresome Park the following week. He did not score for any other team in War-time and with Brighton he played once in 1940-41 and twice in 1941-42 and he made twelve appearances for Fulham in 1942-43. When the Second World War ended he returned to Anfield, but only played a further three games before retiring, and played his last game in the 3-0 Easter Monday win over Preston North End at Anfield on 7th April 1947. After he retired as a player he was for many years in charge of bringing players through the youth system at Liverpool, preparing them for the Reserves, and then hopefully the first team. His proudest day was when Liverpool won the FA Cup in 1965, when no less than five members of his Junior team won medals: Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan, Tommy Smith, Tommy Lawrence and Gerry Byrne. He spent thirty-seven years at the club apart from his war service. He died in 1969.