So here we have a player who scored the only goal of the 1925 F.A. Cup Final, Fred Tunstall, thirty minutes into the match.
Despite that claim to fame very little seems to be recorded about him online. He was born in Darfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the 28th of May, 1897, though this is disputed by all cards that I have found - even ours. They all seem to go for "Wombwell", and card No.1 of "Adventure and Vanguard Football Photos" expands this to say he "Was born at Low Valley, Wombwell, a few miles from Sheffield, and after playing in district junior football was secured by Sheffield United."
We know that one of those local teams was Darfield St. George`s. This name suggests it was connected with the Church, possibly a means of entertaining small boys who may otherwise get themselves into trouble, or maybe an adjunct of Sunday School.
From there, he is said to have moved over to Scunthorpe and Lindsey United, but Gallaher`s "Famous Footballers" card 11/100 tells us that "He was playing for Scunthorpe United when the Bramall Lane authorities secured his transfer, and were so convinced of his ability that they at once installed him as Gillespie`s partner on the left wing on December 20th, 1920." Bramall Lane, of course, is Sheffield United, with whom he scored our fateful F.A. final goal. But was Scunthorpe and Lindsey the same as Scunthorpe United?
This quick appearance on the pitch is also commented about on our card, which says "Tunstall was playing in the ranks of Scunthorpe United when Sheffield United persuaded him to sign a registration form in December 1920. Tunstall did so, and the very next day turned out for his new side against the Spurs, thus jumping into the senior side right away"
This goal is actually recorded on the Gallaher`s "Famous Footballers" card, where it reads "Fred Tunstall, who had the supreme satisfaction of scoring the goal which won the Football Association Cup for Sheffield United in 1924-24 season".
Then there is a bit of confusion, for our card tells us that he was an International, for England, whilst the Gallaher`s "Famous Footballers" card tells us that "He was awarded his Scottish cap early in 1923". "Adventure and Vanguard Football Photos" does not mention a side, but does say that he "Has five `Caps` to his credit against the home countries, also against France".
He stayed with Sheffield United until the end of 1931, then moved to Halifax Town. But in 1937 he moved again to Boston United, a team he must have been very fond of as he left the playing field in 1940 but continued to manage them right through the Second World War, only leaving in 1948. By that time he was fifty-one years old. However, he must have missed it, as he returned as manager in 1952, for two years, and then in 1964 for one further year, aged sixty-seven. And he died, just five years later, still in Boston.
As far as general information, Gallaher`s "Famous Footballers" card tells us that he was "A strong, speedy winger, he centres and shoots superbly". Whilst "Adventure and Vanguard Football Photos" adds that he "Soon gained a name because of his brilliance on the wing, accurate centering, and powerful shooting", plus it tells us that he played as "Outside left", and also gives his size, as "Height 5-ft. 7 1/2- in. Weight 12st."
This card may say it was "Given with Triumph" but that was a boy`s paper from the Amalgamated Press stable, and it is so listed under their name in our original British Trade Index, where it is catalogued as :
FAMOUS FOOTER INTERNATIONALS. Md. Black. Nd. (24) Dated 25-9-26 to 11-12-26. (C) (T) ... AMC-5
The "(C)(T)" needs a bit of explaining; it means that this set was a split issue, some of the cards coming in "Triumph" (T) and some in another paper, "Champion".
This listing is not updated in any of the British Trade Indexes which followed, unlike some sets, where more information was discovered after the book went to press. However it does appear in our updated British Trade Index which superseded all the previous four, and it is listed therein as :
FAMOUS FOOTER INTERNATIONALS. (C) (T). 76 x 51. Black. Nd. (24) Dated 25-9-26 to 11-12-26. ... AMA-150
Here are two comparative lists.
The first list is by the number on the card, and it also makes a note of the fact that some of the names differ between that shown on the front and that shown on the back - starting with card 1, which has R. Pym on the front and Richard Pym on the reverse. Some cards are the same front and back, in which case there is only one name, not two separated by a forward slash.
- R. Pym / Richard Pym (Bolton Wanderers and England) - "Champion" - 16-10-26
- J. Townrow / John Townrow (Clapton Orient and England) - "Triumph" - 13-11-26
- S. J. Wadsworth (Huddersfield Town and England) - "Triumph" - 23-10-26
- S. C. Puddefoot / Sid Puddefoot (Blackburn Rovers and England) - "Champion" - 20-11-26
- R.E. York (Aston Villa and England) - "Triumph" - 25-9-26
- G. H. Green / George Henry Green (Sheffield United and England) - "Champion" - 4-12-26
- F. Osborne / Frank Osborne (Spurs and England) - "Champion" - 2-10-26
- H. Chambers / Harry Chambers (Liverpool and England) - "Triumph" - 11-12-26
- J. Fowler (Swansea and Wales) - "Champion" - 30-10-26
- F. Titmuss / Frederick Titmuss (Plymouth Argyle and England) - "Triumph" - 27-11-26
- T. Farquharson (Cardiff City and Ireland) - "Triumph" - 6-11-26
- F. Tunstall / Fred Tunstall (Sheffield United and England) - "Triumph" - 9-10-26
- W. R. Robb / W. Robb (Glasgow Rangers and Scotland) - "Champion" - 13-11-26
- J. McMullan (Manchester City and Scotland) - "Champion" - 11-12-26
- W. Cresswell / Warneford Cresswell (Sunderland and England) - "Champion" - 6-11-26
- H. Gallacher / Hugh Gallacher (Newcastle United and Scotland) - "Champion" - 9-10-26
- F. Keenor / Fred Keenor (Cardiff City and Wales) - "Triumph" - 4-12-26
- J. Hutton / John Hutton (Aberdeen and Scotland) - "Triumph" - 20-11-26
- W. McStay (Celtic and Scotland) - "Champion" - 25-9-26
- W. Harper / William Harper (Arsenal and Scotland) - "Triumph" - 30-10-26
- M. Russell / Moses Russell (Plymouth Argyle and England) - "Triumph" - 16-10-26
- J. A. Mackie / John Alexander Mackie (Arsenal and Ireland) - "Champion" - 27-11-26
- A. L. Morton / Alan Morton (Glasgow Rangers and Scotland) - "Triumph" - 2-10-26
- H. Bedford / Harry Bedford (Derby County and England) - "Champion" - 23-10-26
The second list is sorted by order of issue, and uses the name on the front of the card simply because that is shorter in many cases. I have added a zero to make the dates line up better though. This has revealed that a card was issued in each of the papers every week, and what that really meant was that you would only get a complete set if you forked out of your meagre pocket money for two papers a week instead of your usual one, hence increasing the sales revenue to Amalgamated Press.
- 25-09-26 - "Champion" - W. McStay (Celtic and Scotland)
- 25-09-26 - "Triumph" - R.E. York (Aston Villa and England)
- 02-10-26 - "Champion" - F. Osborne (Spurs and England)
- 02-10-26 - "Triumph" - A. L. Morton (Glasgow Rangers and Scotland)
- 09-10-26 - "Champion" - H. Gallacher (Newcastle United and Scotland)
- 09-10-26 - "Triumph" - F. Tunstall (Sheffield United and England)
- 16-10-26 - "Champion" - R. Pym (Bolton Wanderers and England)
- 16-10-26 - "Triumph" - M. Russell (Plymouth Argyle and England)
- 23-10-26 - "Champion" - H. Bedford (Derby County and England)
- 23-10-26 - "Triumph" - S. J. Wadsworth (Huddersfield Town and England
- 30-10-26 - "Champion" - J. Fowler (Swansea and Wales)
- 30-10-26 - "Triumph" - W. Harper (Arsenal and Scotland)
- 06-11-26 - "Champion" - W. Cresswell (Sunderland and England)
- 06-11-26 - "Triumph" - T. Farquharson (Cardiff City and Ireland)
- 13-11-26 - "Champion" - W. R. Robb (Glasgow Rangers and Scotland)
- 13-11-26 - "Triumph" - J. Townrow (Clapton Orient and England)
- 20-11-26 - "Champion" - S. C. Puddefoot (Blackburn Rovers and England)
- 20-11-26 - "Triumph" - J. Hutton (Aberdeen and Scotland)
- 27-11-26 - "Champion" - J. A. Mackie (Arsenal and Ireland)
- 27-11-26 - "Triumph" - F. Titmuss (Plymouth Argyle and England)
- 04-12-26 - "Champion" - G. H. Green (Sheffield United and England)
- 04-12-26 - "Triumph" - F. Keenor (Cardiff City and Wales)
- 11-12-26 - "Champion" - J. McMullan (Manchester City and Scotland)
- 11-12-26 - "Triumph" - H. Chambers (Liverpool and England)