Thomas Henry "Tom" Handley (22 February 1886 – 4 August 1962), also known as Harry Handley, was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for Birmingham

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 and Bradford

Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.

Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...

. He played as a half back

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

.

Handley was born in the Cotteridge

Cotteridge

Cotteridge is an area of Birmingham, England and is part of the Bournville ward. It is located about 4.5 miles south of Birmingham city centre. Connected to both the Watford Road and the Pershore Road, Cotteridge is a local shopping area.- St Agnes Church :...

 district of Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, and played football for his works team, Kings Norton Metal Works, before joining Birmingham in 1907 as cover at half back

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

. He made his debut in the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 on Boxing Day

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

 1907, replacing the injured Walter Wigmore

Walter Wigmore

Walter Wigmore was an English professional footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League playing for Sheffield United, Gainsborough Trinity and Small Heath / Birmingham in a 17-year career...

 for a game away at Notts County

Notts County F.C.

Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

 which finished goalless. Though he did not play again that season, he finished the 1908–09 Second Division season as first-choice centre-half, but was then unexpectedly allowed to leave. He signed for fellow Second Division club Bradford

Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.

Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...

, where he spent two seasons.