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Harry Burgess (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Harry Burgess was an English footballer who played at Inside-left for Stockport County
, Sheffield Wednesday
where he won the league championship
in 1929–30, and Chelsea
. He won four caps
for England
scoring four goals.
, Cheshire and played for Alderley Edge and Wilmslow Albion before appearing for Sandbach Ramblers in the Cheshire County League. In 1925 he signed for Stockport County making his debut on 13 March 1926 in the 4–0 defeat at Hull City
. He made two more appearances in the 1925–26 season in which County were relegated from the Second Division
. Harry finished the season on loan at Sandbach Ramblers but returned to Stockport ready for the 1926–27 season.
The Hatters were playing in Third Division (North)
for the second time but unlike 1921–22 they could not bounce back and finished sixth in a season that Burgess flourished. He hit his first professional goal in a 3–3 draw with Lincoln
at Edgeley Park
on 4 September 1926 and continued strongly finishing the season as County's leading marksman with an impressive 28 goals from 35 matches. The following season County finished third with Harry scoring a dozen and in 1928–29 he once again top scored for the Hatters with 31 goals. Burgess' prodigious scoring talent and dribbling skills had attracted a number of First Division
scouts to keep tabs on the 25-year-old and although Arsenal
and Newcastle United made attempts to sign him, the lure of First Division
champions The Wednesday was enough for him to move to Hillsborough
on 29 June 1929 for a fee of £3,500 which was a record fee paid for a Stockport Player.
Adding Harry to the team wasn't the only change The Wednesday made in the summer of 1929 with the 1929–30 season being the first with their new name Sheffield Wednesday. Burgess joined a great team of players under their manager Bob Brown
and he quickly showed his worth scoring on his debut at Aston Villa on 14 September 1929. Wednesday went on to retain the title with Burgess scoring 19 goals controversially losing an FA Cup Semi-final to Huddersfield to miss out on the opportunity to be the first team to win the double in the 20th Century.
At the start of the 1930–31 season the newly married Harry's form for Wednesday attracted the attention of the England selectors and he made his debut on 20 October 1930 against Northern Ireland at Bramall Lane alongside the great Dixie Dean
. He scored twice in a 5–1 England win, a match in which three other Wednesday players appeared Ernie Blenkinsop
, Alf Strange
and Tony Leach
. This is one of the two occasions to date that Wednesday have had four players in the England team. He made three further appearances for the Three Lions during the season scoring another two goals.
That season Wednesday were again challenging for the First Division title this time against Arsenal
under their great manager Herbert Chapman
. Wednesday and Arsenal
were first and second most of the season swapping positions regularly but three consecutive defeats put Wednesday out of the race and they disappointingly slipped to third in the end as the Gunners
won the First Division title for the first time in the clubs history, a title they would win five times in the Thirties.
Wednesday flew out of the blocks in the 1931–32 season but a slump at the start of 1932 left them as low as 10th position. It took a tremendous seven wins from the final ten matches of the season for them to finish third for the second successive season. In 1932–33 Wednesday were back in a title race, again with Arsenal
. Unfortunately injuries and suspensions tok their toll in the end and despite all their promise, the Owls again slipped to third.
Only five matches into the 1933–34 Wednesday lost their manager Bob Brown
whose wife had recently died, the clubs form took a slump and only managed to finish 11th but Harry was the clubs leading goalscorer. Half way through 1934–35 Harry, by now a fans' favourite, was transferred to Chelsea
much to the chagrin of the Wednesday faithful. Harry had scored 77 goals in 234 matches during five successful years in Sheffield
.
# Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1
1930-10-20
Bramall Lane
, Sheffield
, England
5–1
British Home Championship
2
1931-03-28
Hampden Park
, Glasgow, Scotland
0–2
British Home Championship
3
1931-05-14
Colombes
, Paris, France
2–5
Friendly match
4
1931-05-16
Oscar Bossaert Stadion, Brussels
, Belgium
4–1
Friendly match
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
, Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
where he won the league championship
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....
in 1929–30, and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
. He won four caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for 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...
scoring four goals.
Football career
Harry was born in Alderley EdgeAlderley Edge
Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,409....
, Cheshire and played for Alderley Edge and Wilmslow Albion before appearing for Sandbach Ramblers in the Cheshire County League. In 1925 he signed for Stockport County making his debut on 13 March 1926 in the 4–0 defeat at Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
. He made two more appearances in the 1925–26 season in which County were relegated from the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. Harry finished the season on loan at Sandbach Ramblers but returned to Stockport ready for the 1926–27 season.
The Hatters were playing in Third Division (North)
Football League Third Division North
The Third Division North of The Football League was a tier in the English association football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran parallel to Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to one or the other according to geographical position...
for the second time but unlike 1921–22 they could not bounce back and finished sixth in a season that Burgess flourished. He hit his first professional goal in a 3–3 draw with Lincoln
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
at Edgeley Park
Edgeley Park
Edgeley Park is an association football and rugby union stadium in Stockport, England. The stadium was initially built for the rugby league club Stockport in 1901, but by 1902, the rugby club was defunct and in the same year, Stockport County Football Club, who were looking for a bigger ground,...
on 4 September 1926 and continued strongly finishing the season as County's leading marksman with an impressive 28 goals from 35 matches. The following season County finished third with Harry scoring a dozen and in 1928–29 he once again top scored for the Hatters with 31 goals. Burgess' prodigious scoring talent and dribbling skills had attracted a number of 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....
scouts to keep tabs on the 25-year-old and although Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Newcastle United made attempts to sign him, the lure of 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....
champions The Wednesday was enough for him to move to Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
on 29 June 1929 for a fee of £3,500 which was a record fee paid for a Stockport Player.
Adding Harry to the team wasn't the only change The Wednesday made in the summer of 1929 with the 1929–30 season being the first with their new name Sheffield Wednesday. Burgess joined a great team of players under their manager Bob Brown
Robert Brown (football manager)
Robert Brown was an English association football player and manager in the early twentieth century.After an undistinguished career in semi-professional football in his native north-east England, Brown joined Sheffield Wednesday as a scout. In 1911 he joined Portsmouth as secretary, a job he held...
and he quickly showed his worth scoring on his debut at Aston Villa on 14 September 1929. Wednesday went on to retain the title with Burgess scoring 19 goals controversially losing an FA Cup Semi-final to Huddersfield to miss out on the opportunity to be the first team to win the double in the 20th Century.
At the start of the 1930–31 season the newly married Harry's form for Wednesday attracted the attention of the England selectors and he made his debut on 20 October 1930 against Northern Ireland at Bramall Lane alongside the great Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...
. He scored twice in a 5–1 England win, a match in which three other Wednesday players appeared Ernie Blenkinsop
Ernie Blenkinsop
Ernie Blenkinsop was an English footballer who played as a defender at left back. He spent the majority of his career at Sheffield Wednesday, where he won two Football League titles. He also attained 26 caps playing for England....
, Alf Strange
Alfred Strange
Alfred Henry Strange was an English former footballer who played most of his career as a half back with Sheffield Wednesday and made 20 appearances for England.-Club career:...
and Tony Leach
Tony Leach
Thomas "Tony" Leach was an English international footballer, who played as a centre half.-Career:Born in Rotherham, Leach played professionally for Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United, and earned two caps for England in 1930....
. This is one of the two occasions to date that Wednesday have had four players in the England team. He made three further appearances for the Three Lions during the season scoring another two goals.
That season Wednesday were again challenging for the First Division title this time against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
under their great manager Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th century English football, before his sudden death in 1934.As a player, Chapman played for...
. Wednesday and Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
were first and second most of the season swapping positions regularly but three consecutive defeats put Wednesday out of the race and they disappointingly slipped to third in the end as the Gunners
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
won the First Division title for the first time in the clubs history, a title they would win five times in the Thirties.
Wednesday flew out of the blocks in the 1931–32 season but a slump at the start of 1932 left them as low as 10th position. It took a tremendous seven wins from the final ten matches of the season for them to finish third for the second successive season. In 1932–33 Wednesday were back in a title race, again with Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
. Unfortunately injuries and suspensions tok their toll in the end and despite all their promise, the Owls again slipped to third.
Only five matches into the 1933–34 Wednesday lost their manager Bob Brown
Robert Brown (football manager)
Robert Brown was an English association football player and manager in the early twentieth century.After an undistinguished career in semi-professional football in his native north-east England, Brown joined Sheffield Wednesday as a scout. In 1911 he joined Portsmouth as secretary, a job he held...
whose wife had recently died, the clubs form took a slump and only managed to finish 11th but Harry was the clubs leading goalscorer. Half way through 1934–35 Harry, by now a fans' favourite, was transferred to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
much to the chagrin of the Wednesday faithful. Harry had scored 77 goals in 234 matches during five successful years in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
.
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stockport County Stockport County F.C. Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport... |
1925–26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1926–27 | 35 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 28 | |
| 1927–28 | 35 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 12 | |
| 1928–29 | 42 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 32 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the... |
1929–30 | 39 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 45 | 20 |
| 1930–31 | 40 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 16 | |
| 1931–32 | 37 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 41 | 11 | |
| 1932–33 | 38 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 8 | |
| 1933–34 | 38 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 43 | 13 | |
| 1934–35 | 23 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 9 | |
| Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
1934–35 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| 1935–36 | 31 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 12 | |
| 1936–37 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |
| 1937–38 | 36 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 7 | |
| 1938–39 | 36 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 42 | 11 | |
| Career totals | 472 | 175 | 38 | 12 | 510 | 187 | |
International statistics
>Bramall Lane
-Cricket at the Lane:Bramall Lane opened as a cricket ground in 1855, having been leased by Michael Ellison from the Duke of Norfolk at an annual rent of £70. The site was then away from the town's industrial area, and relatively free from smoke. It was built to host the matches of local cricket...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, Glasgow, Scotland
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
The Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir - stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France . Named in memory of French rugby player Yves du Manoir in 1928. Was the main stadium for the 1924 Summer Olympics and had a capacity of 45,000 at the time...
, Paris, France
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium