Henry Albert "Bert" White (8 August 1895 – 27 November 1972) was an 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...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

er.

Playing career

White was born in Watford

Watford

Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...

, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, and first played for Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 as an amateur, before World War I

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...

 intervened. White served in the Royal Fusiliers while continuing to be on Brentford's books; after first-class football resumed in 1919 though, he joined newly-promoted 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...

, making his debut in Arsenal's very first match after their promotion back to 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....

, against 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...

 on 30 August 1919.

White soon made a name for himself as a reasonably prolific striker, and he was Arsenal's top scorer in 1919–20

1919-20 in English football

The 1919–1920 season was the 45th season of competitive football in England, and the first following the end of World War I.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition...

 with fifteen league goals, as the Gunners finished tenth in their first season back at the top; he impressed enough to play in a trial 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...

, although ultimately he never won a cap. After a quiet season in 1920–21

1920-21 in English football

The 1920–21 season was the 46th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League Third Division is introduced, expanding the League's operational radius south of Birmingham...

 (scoring just ten times), White scored nineteen goals the following season, making him again Arsenal's top scorer, even though the club's poor defence meant they only finished 17th. However, in 1922–23

1922-23 in English football

The 1922–23 season was the 48th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Liverpool retained the First Division title, but halfway through the season their manager David Ashworth left the club to take over at Oldham Athletic, who ended the season relegated.-Honours:Notes = Number in...

 he (and Arsenal) suffered a slump in form, and after being replaced by converted full back Bob Turnbull

Bob Turnbull

Robert Hamilton "Bob" Turnbull was a Scottish footballer.Turnbull was originally a soldier, serving in the Royal Corps of Signals, and joined Arsenal in 1921 as an amateur. He was originally a left back and made his debut on 27 December 1921 against Cardiff City at Ninian Park; Arsenal lost 3–4 in...

 midway through the season, he was sold to Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 in March 1923. In all he played 109 games for Arsenal, scoring 45 goals.

After leaving Arsenal, White embarked on a journeyman's career; as well as playing for Blackpool he went on to have spells at Fulham

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

, Walsall

Walsall F.C.

Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

 (twice), Nelson

Nelson F.C.

Nelson F.C. are an English football club, based in Nelson, Lancashire. They are currently members of the North West Counties Football League Division One, who played their home matches at Victoria Park, Lomeshaye Way. They are full members of the Lancashire County Football Association.-Early years:...

, Stafford Rangers

Stafford Rangers F.C.

Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...

 and Thames

Thames A.F.C.

Thames Association Football Club were an English football club from Custom House, east London , who briefly played in the Football League between 1930 and 1932.-Name:...

 before retiring in 1930. He was also a 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 of some note, playing eight matches for Warwickshire

Warwickshire County Cricket Club

Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...

in 1923. He died in 1972, aged 77.