Vic Metcalfe
Encyclopedia
Victor "Vic" Metcalfe was a professional
footballer who was born in Barrow-in-Furness
where his father played rugby league
for Barrow
. He was though a product of West Riding
schools football and joined Huddersfield Town from Ravensthorpe BC as an amateur in June 1940. He was immediately put into the first team, then playing in the Wartime League North-East Division. After service as a wireless operator in the RAF he signed as a professional in December 1945 and was a regular in the first team until leaving for Hull City
in June 1958. He had made a total of 459 first team appearances and scored 90 goals. He played a few times for Hull in their promotion season 1958–59 and retired on his 38th birthday in February 1960.
After a year out of football he returned to Huddersfield to coach for three years then moved to a similar post at Halifax Town
, at that time in the Third Division. In April 1966 he was promoted to manager and left there in November 1967 when Alan Ball, Sr was appointed.
He was a natural left-footed player and his position at outside left was essentially unchallenged during his twelve years of post-war football at Huddersfield, nine seasons in the First Division and three in the Second. He was known for his pace and shooting power (he was for a long time the team's penalty taker) and above all for the accuracy of his crosses from the wing. His partnership with centre forward Jimmy Glazzard accounted for a high proportion of Huddersfield's goals during that period. Most notable were the four crosses from which Glazzard scored in the 8–2 defeat of Everton in April 1953. Metcalfe himself scored in that match as did all the other members of the forward line.
In 1952–53 Huddersfield set a league record in that the entire defence (Wheeler; Staniforth
, Kelly; McGarry
, McEvoy
, Quested
) played unchanged throughout the season. Metcalfe also played, at outside left, in every match.
Representative honours for other wingers were hard to come by in the days of Stanley Matthews
and Tom Finney
, but Metcalfe won two caps for England against Portugal and against Argentina, both in May 1951; in both matches his club colleague Harold Hassall
played at inside-left. In 1948 and 1949 he played for the FA against the RAF (scoring twice) and twice against the Army. He played for the Football League twice, in 1950 and 1954.
After retirement he continued to live in Huddersfield and died in 2003, aged 81. The nostalgia section of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner
website has reports on a few of his matches.
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
footballer who was born in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
where his father played rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
for Barrow
Barrow Raiders
Barrow Raiders are an English professional rugby league team from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, who are coached by Dave Clark. Formed in 1875 as Barrow Football Club, the club is the oldest of the current professional sports teams in Cumbria....
. He was though a product of West Riding
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
schools football and joined Huddersfield Town from Ravensthorpe BC as an amateur in June 1940. He was immediately put into the first team, then playing in the Wartime League North-East Division. After service as a wireless operator in the RAF he signed as a professional in December 1945 and was a regular in the first team until leaving for 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...
in June 1958. He had made a total of 459 first team appearances and scored 90 goals. He played a few times for Hull in their promotion season 1958–59 and retired on his 38th birthday in February 1960.
After a year out of football he returned to Huddersfield to coach for three years then moved to a similar post at Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
, at that time in the Third Division. In April 1966 he was promoted to manager and left there in November 1967 when Alan Ball, Sr was appointed.
He was a natural left-footed player and his position at outside left was essentially unchallenged during his twelve years of post-war football at Huddersfield, nine seasons in the First Division and three in the Second. He was known for his pace and shooting power (he was for a long time the team's penalty taker) and above all for the accuracy of his crosses from the wing. His partnership with centre forward Jimmy Glazzard accounted for a high proportion of Huddersfield's goals during that period. Most notable were the four crosses from which Glazzard scored in the 8–2 defeat of Everton in April 1953. Metcalfe himself scored in that match as did all the other members of the forward line.
In 1952–53 Huddersfield set a league record in that the entire defence (Wheeler; Staniforth
Ron Staniforth
Ronald "Ron" Staniforth was a former English footballer, described as a tall, cultured full-back. His attacking excursions down the right wing sometimes caused concern to his team's supporters but probably more to his opponents....
, Kelly; McGarry
Bill McGarry
William Harry "Bill" McGarry was an English international football player and manager.A right-half as a player, he joined Port Vale following the end of World War II, and spent the next six years with the club. He then moved on to Huddersfield Town in 1951, where he would spend the next ten years...
, McEvoy
Don McEvoy
Donald William "Don" McEvoy was a professional footballer, who played principally for Huddersfield Town, his home-town club, and Sheffield Wednesday and latterly for Lincoln City and Barrow, who were then in the Fourth Division...
, Quested
Len Quested
Wilfred Leonard "Len" Quested is a former footballer. Quested played one match for England B and one unofficial international for Australia. He was born in Folkestone, England....
) played unchanged throughout the season. Metcalfe also played, at outside left, in every match.
Representative honours for other wingers were hard to come by in the days of Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
and Tom Finney
Tom Finney
Sir Thomas Finney, OBE is a former English footballer, famous for his loyalty to his league club, Preston North End, and for his performances in the English national side....
, but Metcalfe won two caps for England against Portugal and against Argentina, both in May 1951; in both matches his club colleague Harold Hassall
Harold Hassall
Harold William Hassall is a former professional footballer, who played as a forward for Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers in the 1940s and 1950s....
played at inside-left. In 1948 and 1949 he played for the FA against the RAF (scoring twice) and twice against the Army. He played for the Football League twice, in 1950 and 1954.
After retirement he continued to live in Huddersfield and died in 2003, aged 81. The nostalgia section of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Huddersfield Daily Examiner
The Huddersfield Daily Examiner is an English local daily evening newspaper covering Huddersfield and its surrounding areas. The first edition was published, as a weekly, on September 6, 1851, as the Huddersfield & Holmfirth Examiner and the newspaper has been published on a daily basis since...
website has reports on a few of his matches.