Fred Blackburn (footballer)

Fred Blackburn
Personal information
Full name James Thomas Alfred Blackburn
Date of birth (1878-07-20)20 July 1878
Place of birth Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Date of death 13 March 1951(1951-03-13) (aged 72)
Place of death Ilford, England
Position(s) Outside-left, wing-half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Mellor
1897–1905 Blackburn Rovers 192 (25)
1905–1913 West Ham United 217 (24)
International career
1901–1904 England 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Thomas Alfred Blackburn (20 July 1878 – 13 March 1951), known as Fred Blackburn, was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers and in the Southern League for West Ham United.[1]

Blackburn played for his home-town club of Blackburn Rovers, playing as an outside-left, and featured for the team at the age of 17.[2]

He was capped three times for England, making his international debut at Crystal Palace against Scotland, in which he scored in a 2–2 draw.[3] He also represented the English League against the Scottish League and played in a North versus South fixture.[2]

He moved to West Ham United in the summer of 1905, along with Blackburn teammates Lionel Watson and Harry Hindle, and switched to wing-half while with the club. He was an ever-present during the 1909–10 season and totalled 237 Southern League appearances for the club, scoring 24 goals, before leaving in 1913.[2]

After retiring from the game, Blackburn joined the Merchant Navy, but later returned to football to coach Barking.[2]

His brother Arthur made a handful of appearances for Blackburn Rovers and for Southampton as a full-back.[4]

  1. ^ Marsh, Steve. "Syd King 1902 - 1932". theyflysohigh.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 29. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
  3. ^ "Fred Blackburn". englandfootballonline.com. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  4. ^ Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.