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Tom Abley, Footballer 1903-1914 (avfc 1905-1907).

Yes, I had really feared it might turn out to be TB when I read that he had to leave Cardiff City, due to poor health. And yes, I am sure you are correct, that Emily Jane died of the same thing. I also suspect that their daughter, Keturah Emily, who died in 1926, may also have died of TB. And they were all so YOUNG.

It seems especially tough, given that in February 1910, in the bio from the 'Evening Express' that I have posted above, Tom is described as '...a young man...of athletic build and physique [who] stands 5ft 11in...being fast in speed...'. And he was also inevitably spending much of his time outside, in the air (though it was possibly not so fresh in those days). It does really highlight how virulent and unforgiving TB was, doesn't it?

Regards,

Jane
 
absolutely agree with you jane it was an awful disease...i lost 3 of my grandparents to TB so never got to meet them:(

lyn
 
Thanks for the clipping B on E, very interesting. At 5' 11 he must have been tall for the time.

Pedro may very well have it right. Not sure if teams were all fully professional or a mixture of amateurs and professionals, a bit like cricket.

You could check out other Cardiff players and see what they list their profession as. David McDougall who played for Cardiff seems to be listed as a footballer in 1911.

My Villa relative did play for the first team - George Tranter.
 
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