William Henry Fitchford (1892 – 13 April 1966) was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 footballer and cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er.

Playing career

Fitchford was an amateur with a good footballing brain, playing for Porthill St. Andrew's before he signed for Port Vale

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 in March 1914. After serving as a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he finally made his debut for the club on 23 November 1918, being the only scorer for Vale in a 4–1 defeat at Burnley

Burnley F.C.

Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

. He struggled to be given permission to miss work from his banking job to play in matches so was not played as often as he could have been. He did however, manage to score the only goal of the Staffordshire Senior Cup

Staffordshire Senior Cup

The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877-78. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed for by a mix of clubs from Staffordshire and the surrounding areas. Both...

 final against Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 on 15 May 1920. He also was a part of the side that shared the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup in 1922. He was released at the end of the 1922–23 season

1922–23 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1922–23 season was Port Vale's fourth consecutive season of football in the Football League. For the third successive the season the club finished just out of the relegation zones, and for the second successive season were unable to find a regular goalscorer following the sale of Bobby Blood...

, having played 98 games (69 in the football league) and scored 14 goals (8 in the football league). Fitchford went on to play for Glossop

Glossop North End A.F.C.

Glossop North End A.F.C. are an English football club based in Glossop, Derbyshire. Former members of the Football League, they are currently in the North West Counties League and are members of the Derbyshire County Football Association. They play their home matches at Surrey Street, which has a...

, Congleton Town

Congleton Town F.C.

Congleton Town F.C. is a football club based in Congleton, Cheshire, England. They currently play in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division and are full members of the Cheshire County Football Association...

, Stoke

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 and Northern Nomads

Northern Nomads F.C.

Northern Nomads F.C. was an English football club based in the Manchester area. Established around 1862, they were known as the "Nomads" or "Roaming Brigade" as they never possessed a home ground.-History:...

. He played Minor Counties Championship cricket for Staffordshire

Staffordshire County Cricket Club

Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...

 from 1922 to 1928.

Honours

with Port Vale

• Staffordshire Senior Cup
  Staffordshire Senior Cup
  The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877-78. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed for by a mix of clubs from Staffordshire and the surrounding areas. Both...
  
  winner: 1920
• North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup winner: 1922