Freddie Fox (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frederick Samuel Fox | ||
| Date of birth | 22 November 1898 | ||
| Place of birth | Swindon, England | ||
| Date of death | 15 May 1968 (aged 69) | ||
| Place of death | High Wycombe, England | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Swindon Town | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Abertillery | |||
| 1921-1922 | Preston North End | 3 | (0) |
| 1922-1925 | Gillingham[1] | 106 | (0) |
| 1925-1927 | Millwall | 28 | (0) |
| 1927-1928 | Halifax Town | 13 | (0) |
| 1928-1931 | Brentford | 74 | (0) |
| Truro City | |||
| National team | |||
| 1925 | England[2] | 1 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals) | |||
Frederick Samuel "Freddie" Fox (born Highworth, near Swindon, 22 November 1898, died High Wycombe, 15 May 1968) was an English football goalkeeper.
He played for several clubs, including Gillingham (where he played over 100 Football League matches) and Brentford during the 1920s and 1930s,[1] and also gained one cap for England.[3]
As a youngster he was on the books of Swindon Town before joining Abertillery. During the First World War he guested for Swindon Town in wartime matches. In the 1921-22 season he joined Preston North End and played three matches in the First Division, before joining Gillingham in 1922 where he played three seasons in the Third Division (South), making over 100 appearances.
In 1925 he was selected[2] to represent England against France, representing a rare case of a player being selected for England from the Third Division. There was some dispute as to which club Fox was playing for at the time of his appearance for England, with reference sources varying between Millwall and Gillingham. Fox was reputed to have signed papers for Millwall while on the boat travelling to the game, making him a Gillingham player when selected to play, but a Millwall player when taking the field. However, upon further research, his transfer to Millwall was logged by the Football League on 29 April 1925, nearly a month before the game took place. In the match itself, played on 21 May 1925, he had to leave the field in the 75th minute following a head injury sustained in a charge by goalscorer Jules Dewaquez, and was prevented from completing his sole appearance for England. Following an earlier withdrawal by goalscorer Vivian Gibbins, England finished with nine men, but managed to hang on to win the game 3-2.[4]
He remained with Millwall for two seasons, before joining Halifax Town for the 1927-28 season. He then signed for Brentford where he played in the Third Division South for the next three seasons, before playing out his career with Truro City.
Later in life, Fox served as a director at hometown club Swindon Town.[5]
References
- 1 2 Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 18. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
- 1 2 www.englandstats.com. "Player stats at Englandstats.com". Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- ↑ History. "Gillingham FC History". gillinghamfootballclub.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ↑ www.englandstats.com. "Match report on Englandstats.com". Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- ↑ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 58. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.