Fred Potter is a retired English

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...

 footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He was born in Cradley Heath

Cradley Heath

Cradley Heath is a town in the Black Country, located in Sandwell metropolitan borough, England. The name is usually pronounced "Craid-ley", not "Crad-ley", but in the Black Country accent, it may even sound like "Craig-ley Aith"...

 and played for his local side before signing for Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 in July 1959. Originally an inside forward

Inside forward

In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...

, he made his debut on Boxing Day

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

 1959 and made three appearances in total in the First Division

Football League First Division

The 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....

. Looking for first team football he signed for Doncaster Rovers

Doncaster Rovers F.C.

Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...

 in July 1962. He was a regular starter in the Fourth Division

Football League Fourth Division

The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

, making 124 league appearances.

In 1966 he moved down into non-league football with Burton Albion

Burton Albion F.C.

Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...

, winning the Player of the Year award for the 1969-70 season. John Charles

John Charles

William John Charles, CBE , commonly known as John Charles, was a Welsh international footballer best remembered for spells with Leeds United and Juventus. Rated by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Wales, he was equally adept at centre-forward or centre-back...

, then manager of Hereford United

Hereford United F.C.

Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

, signed Potter in September 1970. Potter made 33 league appearances in 1970-71, with a further 27 in various cup competitions. Potter was the goalkeeper in Hereford's FA Cup run of 1971-72, notably defeating Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 in the Third Round. While Ronnie Radford

Ronnie Radford

Ronnie Radford is a former English footballer who notably scored a memorable goal in the 1971-72 FA Cup for Hereford United during their famous 2-1 giant-killing of Newcastle United.-Career:...

 and Ricky George

Ricky George

Ricky George is a former English footballer, businessman and columnist. He is notable for scoring the winning goal for Hereford United in the famous 1971-72 FA Cup match against Newcastle United...

 wrote their names in the history books with their goals, Potter's 38 clean sheets that season saw him named Player of the Year.

Hereford were elected to the Football League for 1972-73 but Potter made only 9 league appearances as David Icke

David Icke

David Vaughan Icke is an English writer and public speaker, best known for his views on what he calls "who and what is really controlling the world." Describing himself as the most controversial speaker in the world, he has written 18 books explaining his position, and has attracted a substantial...

's performances in goal kept him out of the starting eleven. Icke was forced to retire with arthritis

Arthritis

Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

 in his knees, but Potter subsequently broke his leg on the opening day of the season. Now 33, he did not play for Hereford again.

Potter also worked in construction for George Wimpey

George Wimpey

George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...

, and was living in Kidderminster

Kidderminster

Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...

as of 2007.