Tom Mitchell was York City’s manager for over a decade when serving the club between 1937-50, and also holds a very special honour as a player.
Tom Mitchell was York City’s manager for over a decade when serving the club between 1937-50, and also holds a very special honour as a player.
He originated from the North-East and started playing as a junior with Tudhoe United before joining Spennymoor and then as a promising outside-left, Newcastle United.
After leaving St James’ Park he later moved on to Leeds United before ending up at York City for the 1931-32 season. Mitchell actually holds the honour of scoring the first-ever goal for York at Bootham Crescent, when a 2-2 draw with Stockport County marked the opening of the ground in August 1932. However, he was to retire temporarily from the game at the end of that season until returning to manage the club in March 1937 following the departure of Jock Collier.
Aside from wartime service with the RAF, Mitchell went on to fulfil that role until February 1950. Indeed he enjoyed a wonderful first full season when guiding the club to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1937-38. He particularly enjoyed the coaching aspect of the game and was a Football Association coach, which involved many summer visits to Scandinavia.
When finally retiring, Mitchell founded a family sports outfitters in York, but never lost his connection with the club and later became a director until ill-health eventually forced his departure. He died in November 1984 at the age of 85.
