Walter Freeman (footballer)

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Walter Freeman
Personal information
Full name Walter Freeman[1]
Date of birth (1884-01-21)21 January 1884[1]
Place of birth Handsworth, England
Date of death 2 December 1971(1971-12-02) (aged 87)[2]
Place of death Birmingham,[3] England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[4]
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1904 Aston Manor
1904–1905 Lowestoft Town
1905–1906 Aston Villa 0 (0)
1906–1909 Fulham 57 (22)
1909–1911 Birmingham 37 (11)
1911–1914 Stalybridge Celtic
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Walter Freeman (21 January 1884 – 2 December 1971) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward or centre forward. He scored 21 goals from 58 appearances in the Football League playing for Fulham and Birmingham.[5][1] He was on the books of Aston Villa without appearing for their first team, and played non-league football for Lowestoft Town and Stalybridge Celtic.

Personal life[edit]

Freeman was born in 1884 in Handsworth, which was then in Staffordshire. His father, Thomas Holte Freeman, was a jeweller, and his mother, Sarah, was a draper. At the time of the 1891 census, he was the eighth of ten children living in the parental home.[6] The ninth, Bert, became a prolific goalscorer for Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Burnley and Wigan Borough,[7][8] and played five times for England.[9]

Before taking up football full-time, Freeman had trained and worked as an electrician, and described himself as such when he married Catherine Harriett Whiteman in 1907;[10] by the time of the 1911 Census, the couple had three children.[11] The 1939 Register finds Freeman still working as an electrician. He, his wife, and two daughters of working age were living in Moor Park Road, Northfield, Birmingham.[12] Freeman was still resident at that address when he died in December 1971 at the age of 87.[2]

Football career[edit]

Freeman attended Gower Street School in Aston, whose football team won the district schools' title in both of the two years that Freeman was a member.[4] He played youth football for Aston Manor – Aston Villa's nursery club[13] – before signing amateur forms for Lowestoft Town. While a Lowestoft player, he represented Suffolk County in a match against Norfolk. After trials with Aston Villa's reserve team, Freeman turned professional in February 1904 with the Football League First Division club,[14] where his brother Bert was already on the books. Freeman played for the reserves, but never broke through to the first team, and when Bert joined Woolwich Arsenal that November, Freeman followed him to London a few weeks later when he signed for Fulham of the Southern League.[15] He scored 10 goals from 28 matches to help Fulham win the 1906–07 Southern League title, after which they were elected to the Football League Second Division. Freeman made his Football League debut on the opening day of Fulham's first season at that level, and in the next match, a 1–0 win away to Derby County on 7 September 1907, he scored both his and Fulham's first ever Football League goal.[16][17] He played five matches in September, and did not return to the league side until January 1909, when a run of seven goals in six matches earned him a regular place in the team until the end of the season.[1]

Freeman began the 1909–10 season back in the reserves, scored a hat-trick against Arsenal Reserves in a South-Eastern League match,[18] and was then transferred to another Second Division club, Birmingham, against whom he had scored twice the previous season.[13][1][3] He missed only one match of what remained of Birmingham's 1909–10 season, initially playing at centre forward and then switched to inside right, and scored 10 goals, which was enough to make him the club's top scorer. They finished bottom of the table, and had to apply for re-election to the League.[19] With the arrival of forwards including Jack Kidd, Thomas Jones and the prolific Jack Hall, Freeman played little in 1910–11.[19]

Ahead of the 1911–12 season, Freeman joined Stalybridge Celtic, newly professional and admitted to the Lancashire Combination Second Division.[20] He helped them win that division, after which he and they spent two seasons in the Central League, although the second half of his 1913–14 season was affected by injury.[21]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fulham[16] 1905–06 Southern League Division One 8 2 0 0 8 2
1906–07 Southern League Division One 28 10 4 1 32 11
1907–08 Football League Second Division 5 2 0 0 5 2
1908–09 Football League Second Division 16 8 2 2 18 10
Total 57 22 6 3 63 25
Birmingham[19] 1909–10 Football League Second Division 33 10 1 0 34 10
1910–11 Football League Second Division 4 1 0 0 4 1
Total 37 11 1 0 38 11
Career total 94 33 7 3 101 36

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Player search: Freeman, W (Walter)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Wills and probate 1858–1996: Freeman 1972". UK Probate Service. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b Matthews (1995), p. 88.
  4. ^ a b "Lowestoft footballer for Aston Villa". Eastern Evening News. Norwich. 11 January 1905. p. 4.
  5. ^ Joyce (2004), p. 95.
  6. ^ "1891 England Census for Walter Freeman". RG12/2430 30 – via Ancestry.com.
  7. ^ Prentice, David (25 January 2008). "When he announced his retirement in 1921, Bert Freeman was described as 'one of the most remarkable players of the last 20 years'". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  8. ^ Joyce (2004), p. 94.
  9. ^ "Bert Freeman". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Walter Freeman". Birmingham, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1937: Birchfield, Holy Trinity 1904–1911. p. 116 – via Ancestry.com.
  11. ^ "1911 England Census for Walter Freeman". RG14/18662 – via Ancestry.com.
  12. ^ "1939 England and Wales Register for Walter Freeman". RG101/384/11 QCCP – via Ancestry.com.
  13. ^ a b "Walter Freeman". Athletic News. Manchester. 27 September 1909. p. 6.
  14. ^ "Men and matters". Evening Star. Ipswich. 11 February 1905. p. 2.
  15. ^ "Fulham. Another Freeman". Athletic News. Manchester. 12 February 1905. p. 6.
  16. ^ a b "Walter Freeman – Player Profile". Fulhamweb. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Early days". Fulham F.C. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Gleanings". Athletic News. Manchester. 6 September 1909. p. 5.
  19. ^ a b c Matthews (2010), pp. 264–267.
  20. ^ "Macclesfield v. Stalybridge Celtic". Macclesfield Courier and Herald. 16 September 1911. p. 9.
    "Friendlies". Ripley & Heanor News. 20 October 1911. p. 4. Stalybridge will select their eleven from the following: H. Maskery; Jackson, late Manchester City; ... Bunting, late Oldham Athletic; Evenson, late Plymouth Argyle; Johnston, late Southampton; Walker, late Sheffield United; Dunne, late Southampton; Freeman, late Birmingham; Smith, late Bury; Heppenstall, late Woolwich Arsenal
  21. ^ "Conquering the Celtic". Burnley Express. 23 April 1913. p. 6. Stalybridge Celtic were the visitors at Turf Moor on Saturday evening. ... The visitors included Walter Freeman, brother of the Burnley centre.
    "Stalybridge at full strength". Daily Citizen. Manchester. 29 January 1914. p. 6. Freeman, brother of the Burnley player, who has been absent since the Rochdale match, will resume at outside right
    "Stalybridge Celtic's plight". Manchester Courier. 4 February 1914. p. 6. Freeman, who broke down in the Manchester United match last week, will not be available to play.
    "Sports and pastimes". Manchester Evening News. 17 April 1914. p. 4. Walter Freeman, who was injured as far back as January 1, is expected to turn out

Sources[edit]

  • Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: Derby Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
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