Dick Allman

Dick Allman
Personal information
Full name Messina Wilson Allman[1]
Date of birth (1883-04-05)5 April 1883[2]
Place of birth Burslem, England[1]
Date of death December 1943 (age 60)[2]
Place of death Croydon, England[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Burslem Park Boys
1901–1903 Burslem Higherhave
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1903–1905 Burslem Port Vale 35 (11)
1905–1907 Reading 61 (17)
1907 Portsmouth 1 (0)
1907–1908 Plymouth Argyle 19 (6)
1908 Stoke 0 (0)
1908 Liverpool 1 (0)
1908 Grantham 0 (0)
1909–1910 Wrexham 33 (15)
1910 Ton Pentre 0 (0)
1911–1912 Leicester Fosse 7 (3)
1912–1915 Croydon Common 79 (21)
1919–1920 Crystal Palace 0 (0)
1920 Maidstone United 0 (0)
Total 236 (73)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Messina Wilson Allman (5 April 1883 – December 1943) was an English footballer who played as a forward.

He turned professional with Burslem Port Vale in April 1903 before joining Reading in May 1905. Two years later, he signed with Portsmouth via Plymouth Argyle and helped the "Greens" to finish as Southern League runners-up in 1907–08. He joined Stoke in May 1908 before moving on to Liverpool two months later. He then had spells with Grantham, Wrexham, and Ton Pentre, scoring the winning goal for Wrexham in the 1910 Welsh Cup final. He joined Leicester Fosse in November 1911, before transferring to Croydon Common in June 1912. He helped Croydon to win the Southern League Division Two title in 1913–14. After a spell guesting for Arsenal during World War I, he ended his career after the war with non-playing spells with Crystal Palace and Maidstone United.

Career

Burslem Port Vale

Allman signed for Football League Second Division club Burslem Port Vale in April 1903, having previously played for local minor-league sides Burslem Park Boys and Burslem Higherhave.[3] He scored his first goal at the Athletic Ground on 16 January 1904, in a 2–2 draw with Burnley, and finished the 1903–04 campaign with three goals in nine appearances.[3] He hit eight goals in 29 games in 1904–05 to finish as the club's top scorer.[3]

Southern League

He transferred to Reading in May 1905. He scored ten goals in 25 Southern League games in 1905–06 and then seven goals in 36 games in 1906–07.[1] He then departed Elm Park, and started the 1907–08 season at Portsmouth, but moved on to Plymouth Argyle in December 1907 after finding his first-team opportunities at Fratton Park limited.[1] He scored six goals in 19 league games to help the "Greens" to finish as runners-up in the Southern League.[1]

Later career

Allman returned to Staffordshire in May 1908 to sign with Stoke, but never featured at the Victoria Ground, and so instead moved on to Liverpool two months later.[1] He played one First Division game for the "Reds", before he left Anfield.[1] He spent the 1909–10 season with Wrexham, scoring 15 goals in 33 Birmingham & District League fixtures.[4] This tally included hat-tricks against Telford United (15 January) and Burton United (23 October).[5] He also scored the winning goal for Wrexham over Chester in the 1910 Welsh Cup final.[1] He spent the next few years with non-League sides Grantham and Ton Pentre, before he joined Leicester Fosse in November 1911.[1] He scored three goals in seven Second Division games in 1911–12, before leaving Filbert Street for Croydon Common in June 1912.[1] He scored 18 goals in 43 games in 1912–13, before hitting 13 goals in 42 games in 1913–14 to help the club to the Division Two title.[1] He then hit three goals in 28 appearances in 1914–15, and was the last player to score a goal for Croydon Common.[1] He guested for Arsenal during World War I and served as a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery.[1][6] After the war he served Crystal Palace and Maidstone United as a reserve player.[1] He later worked as a tramway conductor in Croydon.[2]

Career statistics

Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Burslem Port Vale 1903–04[1] Second Division 8 3 1 0 9 3
1904–05[1] Second Division 27 8 0 0 27 8
Total 35 11 1 0 36 11
Reading 1905–06[1] Southern League First Division 25 10 1 0 26 10
1906–07[1] Southern League First Division 36 7 1 0 37 7
Total 61 17 2 0 63 17
Portsmouth 1907–08[1] Southern League First Division 1 0 — 1 0
Plymouth Argyle 1907–08[7] Southern League First Division 19 6 0 0 19 6
Liverpool 1908–09[8] First Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
Wrexham 1909–10[4] Birmingham & District League 33 15 1 0 34 15
Leicester Fosse 1911–12[9] Second Division 7 3 0 0 7 3
Croydon Common 1912–13[1] Southern League Second Division 24 8 4 2 28 10
1913–14[1] Southern League Second Division 29 10 1 0 30 10
1914–15[1] Southern League First Division 26 3 2 0 28 3
Total 79 21 7 2 86 23
Career total 236 73 11 2 247 75

Honours

Wrexham

Croydon Common

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Profile at Croydon Common
  2. ^ a b c "Liverpool career stats for Messina Allman - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". www.lfchistory.net. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 6. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  4. ^ a b "Dick Allman | Player Statistics | Wrexham (Wrexham AFC Archive)". www.wrexhamafcarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Hat-trick Heroes | Wrexham (Wrexham AFC Archive)". www.wrexhamafcarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Messina Wilson Allman | Service Record | Football and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b Scallan, Trevor. "GoS-DB Players". greensonscreen.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Dick Allman". 11v11.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Dick Allman | Leicester City career stats – FoxesTalk". FoxesTalk. Retrieved 27 November 2018.