Background
Tommy was only seven years old when his mother died. He was thus brought up by his father, by this stage playing for Falkirk at the end of his career.
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Tommy Gallacher
Edit ProfileCareer
At one point the thought of the priesthood was a possibility for Tommy. However, that was not to be and he joined amateur side Queen"s Park as a young man and played for them throughout World World War World War II He made five appearances in league matches for Queen"s Park when the league resumed in the 1946/47 season. Tommy moved to Dundee in 1947 to become a professional player.
That coincided with one of the greatest eras in the club’s history and the backbone of the legendary Dundee team that included names such as Bill Brown, Doug Cowie, Alfie Boyd, Bobby Flavell and Billy Steel.
Together with Cowie and Boyd in Dundee"s half-back line, Gallacher and Dundee missed out on the League Championship on the last day of the 1948/49 season to Rangers. Dundee became the first side to retain the League Cup.
Tommy was unlucky not to have been capped for Scotland. One appearance for the Scottish League against the English League at Newcastle in 1949 was his only international honour.
Gallacher was unfortunate that at the time there were an abundance of great Scottish right-halves - the likes of Bobby Evans of Celtic, Ian McColl of Rangers, Tommy Docherty of Preston North End and Jimmy Scoular of Newcastle United.
Gallacher"s impact on Dundee and Tayside was not just as a football player because after his retirement in 1956, he became one of the most respected journalists in the country working for the Courier. Not only did he follow both the Dundee teams through their ventures in Europe and at home, but he was also much respected in the peripheral areas of Street Johnstone, Raith Rovers and Forfar for the encouragement he gave to the smaller teams. He retired from this job in 1985.
The award is been granted biannually to late greats of the club
