The son of a Scottish international forward (also Tommy), and a cousin of former City favourite Jackie Sinclair, Tommy earned an Under-21 squad call-up shortly after breaking through as a nippy teenager striker at Elland Road. But he had to wait for his first Scottish cap at that level until after his £80,000 move to Boundary Park, where he made his mark playing wide on the left; especially enjoying the discomfiture of visiting defenders uncertain of how to deal with the combination of his pace and the 'plastic' home pitch.

With City he enjoyed (and occasionally suffered) the reception accorded many orthodox wingers, effectively polarising terrace opinion during his three-year Second Division stint. Certainly there were infuriating aspects to Tommy's game, with the ratio of useful to wasted crosses (often delivered head-down) coming on for most criticism. But the scampering flair of his flank play engendered high excitement levels on a fairly regular basis, and he certainly hit a decent quota of telling strikes, eventually becoming top scorer in his final Filbert Street season.

Indeed, his exploits by then had made him something of a cult hero to sections of the crowd, and his last home game, in the Play-off demolition of Cambridge, was a true virtuoso performance, worthy of attracting the sort of Premier League attention that soon led to his £650,000 move northwards. Boro, however, were relegated in 1993, and Tommy lost first-choice status soon afterwards; being freed in May 1995 after barely getting a chance to contribute to that year's championship effort under Bryan Robson. In the summer he joined Lennie Lawrence's growing contingent of ex-City players at Bradford.

Tommy Wright's five-goal haul from Full Member's Cup ties made him the club's leading scorer in that unloved competition, which City initially disdained to enter, but which provided a modicom of entertainment under its various Simod and Zenith Data Systems sponsorships, until the Premier League breakaway split its constituency and spelt its demise.

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