Frederick J. Worrall (8 September 1910 – 13 April 1979) was an English footballer born in Warrington, Lancashire, who played as an outside right in the Football League for Oldham Athletic, Portsmouth and Crewe Alexandra. He was capped twice for England, scoring on his debut against the Netherlands in Amsterdam in May 1935, before following it up with another goal in England's 3–1 win over Ireland in the British Championship in November 1936.[2][3] He was noted for his superstitious nature: when Portsmouth played in the 1939 FA Cup Final, he took his small horseshoe, put a sprig of white heather in each sock, tied a small white elephant to one of his garters and put a lucky sixpence in his boots, as well as putting on Pompey manager Jack Tinn's lucky spats. He set up the second goal in Portsmouth's 4–1 win, and left the club at the end of the Second World War.[4] He had continued to play for Portsmouth during the war, but also made seven appearances for Manchester United during the 1945–46 War League season, scoring twice.[5]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frederick J. Worrall | ||
| Date of birth | 8 September 1910 | ||
| Place of birth | Warrington, England | ||
| Date of death | 13 April 1979 (aged 68) | ||
| Place of death | Warrington, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.69 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Outside right | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Witton Albion | |||
| Nantwich | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1928 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| 1928–1931 | Oldham Athletic | 105 | (21) |
| 1931–1945 | Portsmouth | 313 | (68) |
| 1945 | → Manchester United (wartime) | 7 | (2) |
| 1946 | Crewe Alexandra | 6 | (1) |
| 1946 | Stockport County | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 431 | (92) | |
| International career | |||
| 1935–1936 | England | 2 | (2) |
| The Football League XI | 2 | (0) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
References
edit- ^ "Fred Worrall". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 289. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
- ^ "England Players - Fred Worrall". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ "Pompey hope for more luck in Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ Rollin, Jack (2005). Soccer at War: 1939–45. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7553-1431-X.
External links
edit- F. Worrall our Superstitious Wartime Guest at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 January 2004) - Seasiders.net
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