Fred Hopkin
Encyclopedia
Frederick "Fred" Hopkin (23 September 1895 – 5 March 1970) was a football player for Darlington
, Manchester United
and Liverpool
.
, Yorkshire
, England
. The outside left
played for Darlington
and bitter rivals Manchester United
before he was signed for £
2,800 by Liverpool manager David Ashworth
in May 1921. He made his debut on 27 August 1921 at Roker Park
, but it was not the debut he would have envisaged as Sunderland beat Liverpool 3–0. Hopkin had to wait until 3 March 1923 for his debut goal. It came in the 49th minute of the game against Bolton Wanderers
at Anfield
, a game that the Reds won 3–0. The goal will always be remembered in Anfield folklore as it was followed by a fire in the Kemlyn Road stand.
Less than a year after he had joined, Hopkin and the rest of Liverpool were celebrating a League Championship
win as they won the title with 57 points 6 more than second placed Spurs
, 3 wins in the old 2 point system. He was, again, celebrating at the end of the following campaign (1922/23) as they clinched the title once more to claim back-to-back titles, this time they acquired 60 points beating Sunderland into second by the same 6 point margin..
With the likes of Harry Chambers
and Dick Forshaw
to aim for it didn't matter too much that Hopkin wasn't the most prolific in front of goal, but without the craft of players such as Hopkin both Chambers and Forshaw would have not have scored as many goals as they did and the Reds wouldn't have won the Championships they did.
Hopkin remained a regular starter for the club and quickly put together 360 appearances for Liverpool, it helped his cause that he stayed relatively injury free during his time at Anfield. In fact, he was an ever present during the first title winning season and missed just two of the 42 league matches in the second.
Another 'unusual' event occurred in Hopkin's career during his time at Old Trafford
; United were given a fine of £350, their crime was the scandal of paying Hopkin more than the maximum wage and for promising to give him a percentage of his transfer fee which was illegal. This showed how much United thought of Hopkin. How times have changed today Hopkin would probably be amongst the high earners, have a cut of any signing on fees and doing it legally.
Hopkin, although held in high esteem by both Man United and Liverpool, never gained international recognition, unusual considering the amount of goals he created in Liverpool's two championship winning seasons..
Hopkin was allowed to leave Liverpool in 1931, and he rejoined Darlington for a second spell, this after playing 360 times for the Reds, scoring just 12 goals.
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
, Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
.
Life and playing career
Hopkin was born in DewsburyDewsbury
Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
, 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The outside left
Outside forward
Outside forward is a position in association football which refers to a footballer who plays as an advanced forward on the right or left wing - as an outside right or outside left. Typically as part of a 2-3-5 formation or one of its variants...
played for Darlington
Darlington F.C.
Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...
and bitter rivals Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
before he was signed for £
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
2,800 by Liverpool manager David Ashworth
David Ashworth
David Ashworth was a former Irish football referee and manager, most notably managing Liverpool F.C. and Oldham Athletic....
in May 1921. He made his debut on 27 August 1921 at Roker Park
Roker Park
Roker Park was an English football stadium situated in Roker, Sunderland. The stadium was the home of the English football club Sunderland A.F.C. from 1897 to 1997 before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Near the end of the stadium's history, its capacity was around 22,500 with only a small...
, but it was not the debut he would have envisaged as Sunderland beat Liverpool 3–0. Hopkin had to wait until 3 March 1923 for his debut goal. It came in the 49th minute of the game against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
, a game that the Reds won 3–0. The goal will always be remembered in Anfield folklore as it was followed by a fire in the Kemlyn Road stand.
Less than a year after he had joined, Hopkin and the rest of Liverpool were celebrating a League Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
win as they won the title with 57 points 6 more than second placed Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, 3 wins in the old 2 point system. He was, again, celebrating at the end of the following campaign (1922/23) as they clinched the title once more to claim back-to-back titles, this time they acquired 60 points beating Sunderland into second by the same 6 point margin..
With the likes of Harry Chambers
Harry Chambers
Henry 'Harry' Chambers was an English international footballer who, most notably, played for Liverpool.-Life and playing career:...
and Dick Forshaw
Dick Forshaw
Richard 'Dick' Forshaw was a footballer who played, predominantly, for Liverpool and also Merseyside rivals Everton during the period between the First and Second World Wars.-Life and playing career:...
to aim for it didn't matter too much that Hopkin wasn't the most prolific in front of goal, but without the craft of players such as Hopkin both Chambers and Forshaw would have not have scored as many goals as they did and the Reds wouldn't have won the Championships they did.
Hopkin remained a regular starter for the club and quickly put together 360 appearances for Liverpool, it helped his cause that he stayed relatively injury free during his time at Anfield. In fact, he was an ever present during the first title winning season and missed just two of the 42 league matches in the second.
Another 'unusual' event occurred in Hopkin's career during his time at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
; United were given a fine of £350, their crime was the scandal of paying Hopkin more than the maximum wage and for promising to give him a percentage of his transfer fee which was illegal. This showed how much United thought of Hopkin. How times have changed today Hopkin would probably be amongst the high earners, have a cut of any signing on fees and doing it legally.
Hopkin, although held in high esteem by both Man United and Liverpool, never gained international recognition, unusual considering the amount of goals he created in Liverpool's two championship winning seasons..
Hopkin was allowed to leave Liverpool in 1931, and he rejoined Darlington for a second spell, this after playing 360 times for the Reds, scoring just 12 goals.
Career details
- Manchester United F.C. (1919 – 1921) 74 appearances, 8 goals
- Liverpool F.C. (1921 – 1931) 360 appearances, 12 goals
- Two Football League First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
(Level 1) championship winners medals (1922 and 1923)