Walter Anthony (footballer)

Walter Anthony
Personal information
Full name Walter Anthony
Date of birth (1879-11-21)21 November 1879[1]
Place of birth Basford, England
Date of death 26 January 1950(1950-01-26) (aged 70)[1]
Place of death Basford,[1] England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Position(s) Outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Osmaston
Heanor Town
189?–190? Newstead Byron
190?–1904 Arnold
1904–1905 Nottingham Forest 6 (0)
1905–1908 Brighton & Hove Albion 80 (8)
1908–1915 Blackburn Rovers 149 (11)
1915–19?? Stalybridge Celtic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Walter Anthony (21 November 1879 – 26 January 1950) was an English professional footballer who made 155 Football League appearances playing as an outside forward for Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers,[2] with whom he won the 1911–12 Football League title and the 1912 FA Charity Shield. He also played in the Southern League for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Life and career

Anthony was born in Basford, Nottinghamshire.[2] He was the younger brother of George and Henry Anthony, who both played cricket for that county.[1] He began his football career at local level with clubs including Osmaston, Heanor Town,[2] Newstead Byron[3] and Arnold before signing for Football League First Division club Nottingham Forest in February 1904 for a fee reported as £25.[4]

He made six league appearances for Forest, but was reportedly not thought strong enough for top-class football, and moved on to Brighton & Hove Albion of the Southern League in May 1905. He worked on his physical conditioning at his new club, and became a regular at outside right in the first team with 13 goals from 119 appearances in all competitions over two and a half years. Described by club historian Tim Carder as "a tricky little ball-player, noted for the accuracy of his crosses with either foot", he attracted attention from bigger clubs.[1] After Brighton eliminated First Division Preston North End from the 1907–08 FA Cup after two replays,[5] Blackburn Rovers were convinced to sign Anthony and two teammates, Dick Wombwell and Joe Lumley, for "a substantial sum",[6] widely reported as £750.[7] The Football Association had recently imposed a rule forbidding more than £350 to be paid for any single player, and it was understood that Anthony was the primary target and Lumley and Wombwell were makeweights in the circumvention of that maximum.[8][9]

Anthony soon established himself at outside left in Blackburn's first team.[5] He made 149 league appearances,[2] was part of the 1911–12 Football League-winning side, and played in the Charity Shield, in which Blackburn beat Southern League champions Queens Park Rangers 2–1 in aid of the Titanic Disaster Fund.[10] He appeared only once in 1913–14[11] as Rovers again finished as champions. At the end of the season, the Football League gave Rovers permission to pay Anthony a lump sum in lieu of the benefit match for which he qualified after five years service.[12] He moved on in January 1915, to Stalybridge Celtic of the Lancashire Combination.[13]

Anthony served in the Army in the First World War, and then worked in the mines. He spent 18 years in the dispatch department of a Nottingham car parts supplier, working until two days before his death in Basford in January 1950 at the age of 70.[14]

Honours

Blackburn Rovers

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Carder, Tim; Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-9521337-1-1.
  2. ^ a b c d Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. ^ "Notts. and District League". Nottingham Evening Post. 11 January 1902. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Sporting Notes". Nottingham Evening Post. 20 February 1904. p. 6. Nottingham Forest have signed a promising young local forward in Walter Anthony, the outside left of the Arnold club. Anthony has been a most consistent performer in Notts. League football, and many good judges who have seen him play prophesy a great future for him. The Arnold club, we understand, have received a cheque for £25 in connection with the transfer.
  5. ^ a b "All time greatest F A cup giant killings Number 72: Brighton & Hove Albion 1–0 Preston North End". The Giant Killers. Steve Porter. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. ^ "New players for Blackburn Rovers". Sheffield Independent. 15 February 1908. p. 9.
  7. ^ "Brighton players for Blackburn". The Globe. London. 14 February 1908. p. 3.
  8. ^ TAM (19 February 1908). "From the field. The Southern raid on the Football League". Bognor Regis Observer. p. 3. I have indicated all along how the law relating to the limitation of transfer fees may be evaded, and we have not had to wait long for a demonstration. Here we have Blackburn Rovers paying Brighton and Hove £750 for three players—Anthony, Wombwell, and Lumley. I do not suppose that Blackburn Rovers wanted all three men. They probably wanted only Anthony, but they had to take the others—and pay the price.
  9. ^ Carder; Harris. Albion A–Z. p. 268. First Division Blackburn Rovers signed [Wombwell] along with Joe Lumley and their main target, Walter Anthony...
  10. ^ a b Russell, Steve (19 July 2012). "QPR v Blackburn Rovers – The 1912 Kinnaird Shield match in aid of the Titanic Disaster Fund". Independent R's. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  11. ^ "Football League Reviewed: Blackburn Rovers". Star Green 'Un. Sheffield. 9 May 1914. p. 2.
  12. ^ "League Management". Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough. 25 April 1914. p. 6.
  13. ^ "Football League meeting". Yorkshire Post. 12 January 1915. p. 10.
  14. ^ "Death of former Forest star". Nottingham Journal. 27 January 1950. p. 3.