Arthur Coates was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 for various clubs in the early years of the 20th century.

Football career

Coates was born in Wensleydale

Wensleydale

Wensleydale is the valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England.Wensleydale lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – one of only a few valleys in the Dales not currently named after its principal river , but the older name, "Yoredale", can still be seen...

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 but started his football career in the Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

 area, first with Salford United before joining Heywood United of the Lancashire Combination

Lancashire Combination

The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League...

.

In 1910, he was spotted by former England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 international Arthur Chadwick

Arthur Chadwick

Arthur Chadwick was a professional footballer whose playing career included spells at Portsmouth and Southampton, before going on to be manager at Exeter City, Reading and Southampton...

, then manager of Southern League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 team Exeter City

Exeter City F.C.

Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...

. After a season at Exeter, Coates moved along the south coast to join fellow Southern League team, Southampton

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 as a replacement for right-back Jack Eastham

Jack Eastham

John Bilborough "Jack" Eastham was an English footballer who spent most of his career with Blackburn Rovers and then Southampton playing as a full-back.-Blackburn Rovers:...

 who had just retired.

Coates made his debut for the "Saints" in the opening match of the 1912–13 season, a 2–2 draw with Northampton Town

Northampton Town F.C.

Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

. Nine matches into the season, he lost his place to the veteran Bert Lee

Bert Lee (footballer)

Ernest Albert "Bert" Lee was an English professional footballer who played in the 1902 FA Cup final for Southampton, and also made one appearance for England in 1904...

 but returned in December. Despite showing "early promise", his form faded as the season went on and in March he was dropped in favour of Richard Brooks

Richard Brooks (footballer)

Richard Brooks was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back for various clubs in the early years of the 20th century.-Football career:...

.

In the summer of 1913, Coates was released and returned to Lancashire to re-join Heywood United.