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{{Short description|English footballer (1922–1996)}}
'''Cornelius 'Neil' Franklin''' (born [[January 24]], [[1922]], [[Shelton]], [[Stoke-On-Trent]], died [[February 9]], [[1996]]) was an English footballer.
{{distinguish|Neil Franklin (footballer, born 1969)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Neil Franklin
| image =
| full_name = Cornelius Franklin<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/>
| birth_date = 24 January 1922<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/>
| birth_place = [[Shelton, Staffordshire]], England<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City"/>
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1996|2|9|1922|1|24}}
| death_place = [[Stoke-on-Trent]], England
| position = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]]
| years1 = 1939–1950 | clubs1 = [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] | caps1 = 142 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1950 | clubs2 = [[Independiente Santa Fe]] | caps2 = 6 | goals2 = 1
| years3 = 1951–1956 | clubs3 = [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]] | caps3 = 95 | goals3 = 0
| years4 = 1956–1957 | clubs4 = [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]] | caps4 = 66 | goals4 = 4
| years5 = 1957–1958 | clubs5 = [[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport County]] | caps5 = 20 | goals5 = 0
| years6 = 1960–1961 | clubs6 = [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]] | caps6 = 13 | goals6 = 1
| totalcaps = 342
| totalgoals = 6
| nationalyears1 = 1946–1950
| nationalteam1 = [[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps1 = 26
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| manageryears1 = 1963–1964
| managerclubs1 = [[APOEL F.C.|APOEL]]
| manageryears2 = 1964–1968
| managerclubs2 = [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]]
}}


'''Cornelius''' "'''Neil'''" '''Franklin''' (24 January 1922&nbsp;– 9 February 1996) was an English footballer who played for [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]], [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]], [[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport County]] and [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] as well as the [[England national football team|England national team]].<ref name="The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City">{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=Tony|title=The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City|year=1994|publisher=Lion Press|isbn=0-9524151-0-0}}</ref><ref name="101 greats">{{cite book|title=Stoke City 101 Golden Greats|year=2002|publisher=Desert Islands Books|isbn=1-874287-55-4}}</ref>
Franklin turned professional in January 1939, and his career was just about to take off only to be put on hold by the suspension of League football for the [[Second World War]].


==Playing career==
During the war he made 186 appearances for Stoke City in friendly and regional fixtures as well as representing England in wartime internationals.


===Stoke City===
When peacetime soccer resumed he was generally regarded as the country's best centre-half, and went on to make 142 League and 20 FA Cup appearances for Stoke, as well as winning 27 full England caps. By 1950, however, he was ready to leave Stoke - he was unhappy with the £20 a week maximum wage limit imposed by the FA, and felt the local air was not condusive to healthy living, as the local pottery kilns continually belched out their smoke and fumes. He wanted to move his family away to a cleaner climate, but what no-one envisaged was that would mean not just another club, but another continent.
Franklin was born in [[Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent]] and emerged from [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]'s nursery club Stoke Old Boys.<ref name="101 greats"/> At 15 he won schoolboy international honours as a right half and signed professional forms with Stoke in January 1939. The outbreak of [[World War II]] soon gave opportunities to Stoke's apprentices and Franklin made his senior debut at the end of [[1940–41 Stoke City F.C. season|1939–40]], before volunteering with the [[Royal Air Force]] in February 1941.<ref name="101 greats"/> He converted to centre back due to the absence of [[Billy Mould]] and also took his place of captain.<ref name="101 greats"/> Franklin thrived in his new-found position and his positioning and tackling ability was described by the press as 'perfection'.<ref name="101 greats"/> Franklin helped remove the stereotype of centre backs as being just stoppers as he was very comfortable on the ball and earned his first [[England national football team|England]] cap in February 1945.<ref name="101 greats"/> His goalkeeper [[Dennis Herod]] was often left frustrated by Franklin's genius. "He was a great player, but so unpredictable. If he was under pressure he would shout to me ''Dennis, come on'' and I would come out expecting him to give me the ball. Nine times out of ten he would do a u-turn and trot off up the field. It was like playing in a minefield. He didn't believe he could have a bad game and was the only one who didn't suffer with nerves."<ref name="101 greats"/>


Stoke narrowly missed out on their first league title in [[1946–47 Stoke City F.C. season|1946–47]] losing their must win match against [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] 2–1.<ref name="101 greats"/> Stoke manager [[Bob McGrory]] was becoming frustrated with his side's best players, and after selling [[Stanley Matthews]] to [[Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool]] and his gripe soon turned to Franklin. McGrory wanted him to play the ball earlier rather than keep possession and be more physical in his defensive work which led him to handing the captaincy back to Mould. McGrory's campaign against him eventually led Franklin to announcing his intentions to leave Stoke in the summer of 1949.<ref name="101 greats"/> A world record bid of £30,000 from [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]] was mooted but the Stoke directors rejected Franklin's request and he re-signed four games into the [[1949–50 Stoke City F.C. season|1949–50]] season. However, he won a large bet of £250 which gave him the confidence to make an astonishing announcement to the football world.<ref name="101 greats"/> He declined a place in the England squad for the [[1950 FIFA World Cup]] in Brazil, saying that his wife was due to give birth in the summer and he was to spend time playing in Colombia for [[Independiente Santa Fe]].<ref name="101 greats"/>
In the summer of 1950 Franklin broke his contract with [[Stoke City]] and left the country for Columbia, to play for [[Independiente Santa Fe]] of [[Bogota]]. He was on a £5,000 per year contract, with £35 win bonuses - a small fortune in the 1950's. However, Columbia was outside FIFA jurisdiction and their FA was considered a rebel authority. The situation was further aggravated when Franklin, who had just won his 27th consecutive England cap, declined to join the squad for the [[1950 World Cup]] finals in neighbouring [[Brazil]]. Political and social unrest in Colombia made it hard for Franklin and his family to settle, and they returned to England after just four weeks.


===Move to Colombia===
A one year suspension from league football followed and he never played for Stoke or England again, moving to [[Hull City]] in February 1951. It was a sickening end to a brilliant England career.
Santa Fe's president, Luis Robledo, had studied at Cambridge and believed that high quality football could put an end to the [[La Violencia|country's civil war]].<ref name="101 greats"/> Robledo also tempted Franklin's Stoke teammate [[George Mountford (footballer born 1921)|George Mountford]] to join him in [[Bogotá]]. The pair were paid £60 per week plus a huge £2,000 signing-on fee, more than four times the maximum wage in England. England manager [[Walter Winterbottom]] tried to persuade him not to go but he ignored his request and left for Santa Fe on 8 May 1950.<ref name="101 greats"/> In Colombia they joined up with [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]'s [[Charlie Mitten]]. Colombia had been expelled by [[FIFA]] for poaching players from around the world and the 'rebel' players were also banned by FIFA.<ref name="101 greats"/> On arriving in Colombia Franklin was full of bravado, saying that "We'll live finer than any footballers in the world." Despite a good start with Santa Fe, problems soon arose.<ref name="101 greats"/> A 6.30 pm curfew limited their ability to socialise, and his wife was struggling with the culture and unrest, so Franklin returned to England by August.<ref name="101 greats"/>


===Return to England===
After leaving Hull he had brief spells with [[Crewe Alexandra]], [[Stockport County]] and [[Mansfield Town]] and also tried management at [[Colchester United]]. He later ran a pub in [[Sandon]] and died in 1996 aged 74.
On his return to England Franklin faced the wrath of [[the Football Association]] and Stoke who suspended him indefinitely and then sold him to [[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]] in February 1951 for £22,500.<ref name="101 greats"/> Damaged knee ligaments restricted Franklin's movement and he failed to reach his former high standards. In February 1956 he joined [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]] and then ended his career with [[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport County]] and finally non-league [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]].<ref name="101 greats"/>


==Managerial career==
[[Billy Wright]], when selecting his Dream Team for the 50th Anniversary of the [[Footballer Of The Year]] award, had no hesitation in selecting Neil Franklin: "Neil was a superb stylist with an instinctive positional sense. His international career ended when he was suspended for becoming a mercenary in the outlawed Bogota league. If Neil had been satisfied with the maximum £20 he was earning at Stoke City, he would have played for England for at least another four years, and I often wonder what difference that would have made to my career."
In 1961 Franklin became player-manager at Wellington Town, Shropshire [renamed Telford United in 1969 after the new town Development], joining former England player, Johnny Hancocks.
He returned to Europe in 1963 and managed [[APOEL F.C.|APOEL]] in Cyprus where his time was cut short again due to [[Cyprus crisis of 1963–64|civil war]].<ref name="101 greats"/> He joined [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]] in 1964 and got the club promoted in [[1965–66 in English football|1965–66]], however relegation followed in [[1967–68 in English football|1967–68]] and he was sacked.<ref name="101 greats"/>


==Recognition==
[[Tom Finney]] also selected Neil Franklin for his Dream Team: "(Neil Franklin was) the best centre-half I ever played with or against. Just before the 1950 World Cup, he went off to play in [[Colombia]], thinking he was going to make a bit of money, but it didn't work out. When he came back, the FA were furious and clubs wouldn't touch him. He was still good enough to play for England, though. It was very sad."


[[Billy Wright (footballer born 1924)|Billy Wright]], when selecting his Dream Team for the 50th Anniversary of the [[Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year|Footballer of the Year]] award, had no hesitation in selecting Neil Franklin:
[[Category:1922 births|Franklin, Neil]]
:''Neil was a superb stylist with an instinctive positional sense. His international career ended when he was suspended for becoming a mercenary in the outlawed Bogotá league. If Neil had been satisfied with the maximum £20 he was earning at Stoke City, he would have played for England for at least another four years, and I often wonder what difference that would have made to my career.''
[[Category:1996 deaths|Franklin, Neil]]

[[Category:English footballers|Franklin, Neil]]
[[Stanley Matthews]] also rated Franklin:
:''Neil won everything in the air, tackled with superb timing and when the ball was at his feet possessed the nous to pass it with all the guile and intelligence of the most cerebral of inside-forwards. An erect physique belied tremendous mobility and breathtaking speed over four or five yards.''

[[Tom Finney]] also selected Neil Franklin for his Dream Team:
:''(Neil Franklin was) the best centre-half I ever played with or against. Just before the 1950 World Cup, he went off to play in [[Colombia]], thinking he was going to make a bit of money, but it didn't work out. When he came back, the FA were furious and clubs wouldn't touch him. He was still good enough to play for England, though. It was very sad.''

==Legacy==

In August 2019, the story of Neil Franklin's life and career was published in a book entitled ''England's Greatest Defender: The Untold Story of Neil Franklin'' by author Alfie Potts Harmer; the creator of the YouTube channel HITC Sevens and a fan of [[Hull City]], one of Franklin's former clubs.<ref name="England's Greatest Defender">{{cite book|last=Potts Harmer|first=Alfie|title=England's Greatest Defender|year=2019|publisher=Red Door Press|isbn=978-1910453797}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]
|[[1945–46 Stoke City F.C. season|1945–46]]
|–
|colspan="2"|–||8||0||8||0
|-
|[[1946–47 Stoke City F.C. season|1946–47]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|37||0||5||0||42||0
|-
|[[1947–48 Stoke City F.C. season|1947–48]]
|First Division
|35||0||2||0||37||0
|-
|[[1948–49 Stoke City F.C. season|1948–49]]
|First Division
|36||0||4||0||40||0
|-
|[[1949–50 Stoke City F.C. season|1949–50]]
|First Division
|34||0||1||0||35||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!142!!0!!20!!0!!162!!0
|-
|[[Club Santa Fe|Independiente Santa Fe]]
|1950–51
|[[Categoría Primera A]]
|6||1||0||0||6||1
|-
|rowspan="7"|[[Hull City A.F.C.|Hull City]]
|[[1950–51 in English football|1950–51]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|14||0||0||0||14||0
|-
|[[1951–52 in English football|1951–52]]
|Second Division
|13||0||0||0||13||0
|-
|[[1952–53 in English football|1952–53]]
|Second Division
|8||0||0||0||8||0
|-
|[[1953–54 in English football|1953–54]]
|Second Division
|15||0||1||0||16||0
|-
|[[1954–55 in English football|1954–55]]
|Second Division
|38||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|[[1955–56 in English football|1955–56]]
|Second Division
|7||0||0||0||7||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!95!!0!!1!!0!!96!!0
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]]
|[[1955–56 in English football|1955–56]]
|[[Football League Third Division North|Third Division North]]
|13||3||1||0||14||3
|-
|[[1956–57 in English football|1956–57]]
|Third Division North
|41||1||2||0||43||1
|-
|[[1957–58 in English football|1957–58]]
|Third Division North
|12||0||0||0||12||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!66!!4!!2!!0!!68!!4
|-
|[[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport County]]
|[[1957–58 in English football|1957–58]]
|Third Division North
||20||0||4||0||24||0
|-
|[[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]]
|[[1960–61 in English football|1960–61]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Cheshire League - 1960-61 |url=http://silkmenarchives.org.uk/season_stats/Cheshire_league/1960_61.html |website=Silkmen Archive}}</ref>
|[[Cheshire County League|Cheshire League]]
|13||1||0||0||13||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Career Total
!342!!6!!27!!0!!369!!6
|}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref>{{NFT player|20250|name=Franklin, Neil}}</ref>
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[England national football team|England]]
|1946||4||0
|-
|1947||8||0
|-
|1948||6||0
|-
|1949||7||0
|-
|1950||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!26!!0
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{NeilBrownPlayers|player1/neilfranklin}}
* [http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/HallOfFame/0,,10310~401835,00.html Neil Franklin profile] on Stoke City hall of fame
* [http://www.spartacus-educational.com/STOKEfranklinN.htm profile at Spartacus Educational]
* [http://ahalftimereport.com/2015/06/12/neilfranklin/ Neil Franklin: A Career Destroyed in Six Matches]

{{Football League 100 Legends}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards
|bg = gold
|fg = navy
|list1 =
{{Colchester United F.C. managers}}
{{APOEL FC managers}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Neil}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Shelton, Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's wartime international footballers]]
[[Category:Crewe Alexandra F.C. players]]
[[Category:Hull City A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Macclesfield Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Stockport County F.C. players]]
[[Category:Stoke City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Stoke-on-Trent]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force airmen]]
[[Category:Independiente Santa Fe footballers]]
[[Category:English expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia]]
[[Category:English expatriate sportspeople in Colombia]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:Colchester United F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Expatriate football managers in Cyprus]]
[[Category:English expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus]]
[[Category:APOEL FC managers]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:English Football League representative players]]
[[Category:Categoría Primera A players]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]]

Latest revision as of 17:00, 27 April 2024

Not to be confused with Neil Franklin (footballer, born 1969).

Neil Franklin
Personal information
Full name Cornelius Franklin[1]
Date of birth 24 January 1922[1]
Place of birth Shelton, Staffordshire, England[1]
Date of death 9 February 1996(1996-02-09) (aged 74)
Place of death Stoke-on-Trent, England
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1939–1950 Stoke City 142 (0)
1950 Independiente Santa Fe 6 (1)
1951–1956 Hull City 95 (0)
1956–1957 Crewe Alexandra 66 (4)
1957–1958 Stockport County 20 (0)
1960–1961 Macclesfield Town 13 (1)
Total 342 (6)
International career
1946–1950 England 26 (0)
Managerial career
1963–1964 APOEL
1964–1968 Colchester United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cornelius "Neil" Franklin (24 January 1922 – 9 February 1996) was an English footballer who played for Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Stockport County and Stoke City as well as the England national team.[1][2]

Playing career

[edit]

Stoke City

[edit]

Franklin was born in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent and emerged from Stoke City's nursery club Stoke Old Boys.[2] At 15 he won schoolboy international honours as a right half and signed professional forms with Stoke in January 1939. The outbreak of World War II soon gave opportunities to Stoke's apprentices and Franklin made his senior debut at the end of 1939–40, before volunteering with the Royal Air Force in February 1941.[2] He converted to centre back due to the absence of Billy Mould and also took his place of captain.[2] Franklin thrived in his new-found position and his positioning and tackling ability was described by the press as 'perfection'.[2] Franklin helped remove the stereotype of centre backs as being just stoppers as he was very comfortable on the ball and earned his first England cap in February 1945.[2] His goalkeeper Dennis Herod was often left frustrated by Franklin's genius. "He was a great player, but so unpredictable. If he was under pressure he would shout to me Dennis, come on and I would come out expecting him to give me the ball. Nine times out of ten he would do a u-turn and trot off up the field. It was like playing in a minefield. He didn't believe he could have a bad game and was the only one who didn't suffer with nerves."[2]

Stoke narrowly missed out on their first league title in 1946–47 losing their must win match against Sheffield United 2–1.[2] Stoke manager Bob McGrory was becoming frustrated with his side's best players, and after selling Stanley Matthews to Blackpool and his gripe soon turned to Franklin. McGrory wanted him to play the ball earlier rather than keep possession and be more physical in his defensive work which led him to handing the captaincy back to Mould. McGrory's campaign against him eventually led Franklin to announcing his intentions to leave Stoke in the summer of 1949.[2] A world record bid of £30,000 from Hull City was mooted but the Stoke directors rejected Franklin's request and he re-signed four games into the 1949–50 season. However, he won a large bet of £250 which gave him the confidence to make an astonishing announcement to the football world.[2] He declined a place in the England squad for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, saying that his wife was due to give birth in the summer and he was to spend time playing in Colombia for Independiente Santa Fe.[2]

Move to Colombia

[edit]

Santa Fe's president, Luis Robledo, had studied at Cambridge and believed that high quality football could put an end to the country's civil war.[2] Robledo also tempted Franklin's Stoke teammate George Mountford to join him in Bogotá. The pair were paid £60 per week plus a huge £2,000 signing-on fee, more than four times the maximum wage in England. England manager Walter Winterbottom tried to persuade him not to go but he ignored his request and left for Santa Fe on 8 May 1950.[2] In Colombia they joined up with Manchester United's Charlie Mitten. Colombia had been expelled by FIFA for poaching players from around the world and the 'rebel' players were also banned by FIFA.[2] On arriving in Colombia Franklin was full of bravado, saying that "We'll live finer than any footballers in the world." Despite a good start with Santa Fe, problems soon arose.[2] A 6.30 pm curfew limited their ability to socialise, and his wife was struggling with the culture and unrest, so Franklin returned to England by August.[2]

Return to England

[edit]

On his return to England Franklin faced the wrath of the Football Association and Stoke who suspended him indefinitely and then sold him to Hull City in February 1951 for £22,500.[2] Damaged knee ligaments restricted Franklin's movement and he failed to reach his former high standards. In February 1956 he joined Crewe Alexandra and then ended his career with Stockport County and finally non-league Macclesfield Town.[2]

Managerial career

[edit]

In 1961 Franklin became player-manager at Wellington Town, Shropshire [renamed Telford United in 1969 after the new town Development], joining former England player, Johnny Hancocks. He returned to Europe in 1963 and managed APOEL in Cyprus where his time was cut short again due to civil war.[2] He joined Colchester United in 1964 and got the club promoted in 1965–66, however relegation followed in 1967–68 and he was sacked.[2]

Recognition

[edit]

Billy Wright, when selecting his Dream Team for the 50th Anniversary of the Footballer of the Year award, had no hesitation in selecting Neil Franklin:

Neil was a superb stylist with an instinctive positional sense. His international career ended when he was suspended for becoming a mercenary in the outlawed Bogotá league. If Neil had been satisfied with the maximum £20 he was earning at Stoke City, he would have played for England for at least another four years, and I often wonder what difference that would have made to my career.

Stanley Matthews also rated Franklin:

Neil won everything in the air, tackled with superb timing and when the ball was at his feet possessed the nous to pass it with all the guile and intelligence of the most cerebral of inside-forwards. An erect physique belied tremendous mobility and breathtaking speed over four or five yards.

Tom Finney also selected Neil Franklin for his Dream Team:

(Neil Franklin was) the best centre-half I ever played with or against. Just before the 1950 World Cup, he went off to play in Colombia, thinking he was going to make a bit of money, but it didn't work out. When he came back, the FA were furious and clubs wouldn't touch him. He was still good enough to play for England, though. It was very sad.

Legacy

[edit]

In August 2019, the story of Neil Franklin's life and career was published in a book entitled England's Greatest Defender: The Untold Story of Neil Franklin by author Alfie Potts Harmer; the creator of the YouTube channel HITC Sevens and a fan of Hull City, one of Franklin's former clubs.[3]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[4]
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1945–46 – – 8 0 8 0
1946–47 First Division 37 0 5 0 42 0
1947–48 First Division 35 0 2 0 37 0
1948–49 First Division 36 0 4 0 40 0
1949–50 First Division 34 0 1 0 35 0
Total 142 0 20 0 162 0
Independiente Santa Fe 1950–51 Categoría Primera A 6 1 0 0 6 1
Hull City 1950–51 Second Division 14 0 0 0 14 0
1951–52 Second Division 13 0 0 0 13 0
1952–53 Second Division 8 0 0 0 8 0
1953–54 Second Division 15 0 1 0 16 0
1954–55 Second Division 38 0 0 0 38 0
1955–56 Second Division 7 0 0 0 7 0
Total 95 0 1 0 96 0
Crewe Alexandra 1955–56 Third Division North 13 3 1 0 14 3
1956–57 Third Division North 41 1 2 0 43 1
1957–58 Third Division North 12 0 0 0 12 0
Total 66 4 2 0 68 4
Stockport County 1957–58 Third Division North 20 0 4 0 24 0
Macclesfield Town 1960–61[5] Cheshire League 13 1 0 0 13 1
Career Total 342 6 27 0 369 6

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year[6]
National team Year Apps Goals
England 1946 4 0
1947 8 0
1948 6 0
1949 7 0
1950 1 0
Total 26 0

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287-55-4.
  3. ^ Potts Harmer, Alfie (2019). England's Greatest Defender. Red Door Press. ISBN 978-1910453797.
  4. ^ Neil Franklin at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  5. ^ "Cheshire League - 1960-61". Silkmen Archive.
  6. ^ Franklin, Neil at National-Football-Teams.com
[edit]
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