Thomas "Tommy" Shanks was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 football

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...

er.

Shanks was born in Wexford

Wexford

Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...

 and started his playing career with local club Wexford FC before moving to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to play for Derby West End and then Derby County

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 in 1898. He spent three seasons at the Baseball Ground

Baseball Ground

The Baseball Ground was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby County Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 1997. It was commonly referred to as the "BBG".As the name suggests, the stadium was...

, playing 28 times and scoring five goals, but could not hold down a regular place. In October 1901 he moved to Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 of the Southern League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

, helping the Bees to promotion to Division One, before being signed by Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 Woolwich Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 in January 1903.

He made his Arsenal debut against Burslem Port Vale

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 on 10 January 1903, and went on to be a regular that season as an inside forward

Hole (football)

In association football, or soccer, the hole is generally referred to as the gap between a team's midfield players and its front strikers, particularly in a 4-4-2 formation resulting in a 4-4-1-1 formation. The gap might be filled through the employment of an attacking midfielder, or a deep lying...

, scoring five times. His performances for his club earned him the first of three caps for Ireland

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

, against Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 on 21 March 1903. Shanks' 1903-04

1903-04 in English football

The 1903–04 season was the 33rd season of competitive football in England.-Events:For the first time ever, a London team, Woolwich Arsenal, is promoted to the First Division and makes the League's reach nationwide...

 season was a record-breaking one; Shanks scored twenty-four goals that season (including four hat trick

Hat Trick

Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...

s) as Arsenal earned promotion to 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....

. He was the first Arsenal player ever to score more than twenty in a league season. However, a cash-strapped Arsenal sold him back to Brentford in the summer of 1904 and he never played for Arsenal in the top flight. In all he played 48 matches and scored 29 goals for the Woolwich Reds.

He played for another two seasons in the Southern League for Brentford before returning to League football with Leicester Fosse

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

 in 1906. In three seasons with Leicester he scored sixteen goals in 57 appearances, including the only goal in a 1-0 win over Stoke

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 in 1908, which earned them promotion to the First Division for the first time. In 1909 he moved back to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to play for Leyton

Leyton F.C.

Leyton Football Club are an English association football club based in Leyton, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. As of January 2011, they are not in a senior league, after withdrawing from the Isthmian League Division One North...

, and saw out his career at Clapton Orient

Leyton Orient F.C.

Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

 and York City

York City F.C.

York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...

.