Arthur Bell (footballer)

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Arthur Bell
Personal information
Date of birth November 1882
Place of birth Burnley, England
Date of death 22 April 1923 (aged 40)
Position(s)
Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1902–1909 Burnley 101 (28)
International career
1907–1908
England amateur
 3 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arthur A. Bell (November 1882 – 22 April 1923) was an English

Football League side Burnley in 1902. Over the next seven years, Bell made 101 league appearances and scored 28 goals for the Lancashire club.[1] During his career, he won three caps for the England national amateur football team. An architect by trade, Bell also played as an amateur cricketer for Burnley Cricket Club for 20 years, during which time he won five Lancashire League championships. He was selected to represent the Lancashire Second XI
on three occasions.

Biography

Bell was born in Burnley, Lancashire, in November 1882, one of three children born to Thomas and Elizabeth Bell. He was educated at the Burnley Grammar School. An amateur throughout his sporting career, he worked professionally as an architect and would often miss matches due to work commitments. In 1911, he was involved in the building of the new Brunshaw Road stand at the Turf Moor stadium in Burnley.[2] He died on 22 April 1923, at the age of 40.[3]

Football

As a youth, Bell played amateur football with Burnley Belvedere before joining

Leicester Fosse on 24 January 1903.[4] He was unable to break into the team for the first five months of the following season due to the form of fellow inside forward William Jackson, a new signing from Barrow. He made his first appearance of the campaign in the goalless draw away at Grimsby Town on 30 January 1904. Bell scored his first competitive goal for Burnley in the 2–0 win over Gainsborough Trinity three weeks later, and on 12 March he scored a late goal in the 1–3 loss away to Manchester United. In total, Bell played eleven league matches during the 1903–04 season and scored four goals.[5]

Bell was selected to play in the opening match of the 1904–05 season, a 1–4 home defeat to

Burslem Port Vale. During March 1906, he scored in the home wins over Leeds City and Chelsea.[7]

After missing the first three matches of the 1906–07 season due to cricketing commitments, Bell was chosen to replace McFarlane for the visit of Nottingham Forest on 15 September 1906. Two weeks later he scored twice in the 4–0 home win over Burton United, and went on to score three more goals in his next four appearances, including a late winner away at Leeds City. However, the victory was overshadowed by the news that Leeds forward Soldier Wilson had died after collapsing during the match. Bell went on to score a total of 12 goals in 1906–07, his highest return in a single season. His performances for Burnley led to a call-up from the England amateur team in April 1907, and he won his first cap in the 8–1 defeat of the Netherlands in The Hague, scoring two goals.[8] In the match, he played alongside full England internationals Harold Hardman and Vivian Woodward, who, like Bell, was a professional architect.[9] Bell was selected again for England against the same opposition on 21 December 1907, this time scoring a hat-trick in a 12–2 victory.[10] He was also part of Great Britain's squad for the football tournament at the 1908 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.[11]

Although he again missed the opening month of the following season, Bell quickly reclaimed his status as one of Burnley's first-choice players, starting 26 league matches during the campaign. He scored on his first appearance of the season in the 2–2 draw away at

Oldham Athletic on 14 November, and scored the winning goal in the 3–2 defeat of Barnsley on 5 December. Bell played his 101st and final league game for Burnley in the 0–1 loss at Derby County on 26 December 1908.[12] He retired from football shortly afterwards, stating that playing football in winter in addition to cricket during the summer, combined with managing an architecture practice, was too demanding.[13]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Burnley 1902–03 2 0 0 0 2 0
1903–04 11 4 0 0 11 4
1904–05 5 0 0 0 5 0
1905–06 19 3 1 0 20 3
1906–07 23 12 1 0 24 12
1907–08 26 7 1 1 27 8
1908–09 15 2 0 0 15 2
Total 101 28 3 1 104 29

International goals

England Amateurs score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bell goal.
List of international goals scored by Arthur Bell[14]
No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref
1 1 1 April 1907 De Diepput, The Hague, Netherlands  Netherlands
2–0
 8–1 Friendly
[15]
2
7–1
3 2 21 December 1907 Feethams, Darlington, England
4–0
 12–2
[16]
4
10–1
5
12–1

Cricket

Aside from football, Bell was also an accomplished amateur cricketer; he assisted

Minor Counties Championship draw with Staffordshire at Turf Moor, entering play as a substitute after Herbert Rhodes was injured while fielding.[20]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 1-899468-67-6
    .
  2. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 574
  3. ^ a b Simpson (2007), p. 159
  4. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 89
  5. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 93
  6. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 97
  7. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 101
  8. ^ "Holland v. England". The Times. No. 38296. Reuters. 2 April 1907. p. 9.
  9. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 107
  10. ^ "England v. Holland". The Times. No. 38523. Reuters. 23 December 1907. p. 9.
  11. ^ "Arthur Bell". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  12. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 112
  13. ^ Simpson (2007), p. 114
  14. ^ "England Matches - The Amateurs 1906-1939". englandfootballonline.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Netherlands v England, 01 April 1907". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  16. ^ "England v Netherlands, 21 December 1907". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  17. ^ "AA Bell". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  18. ^ "Arthur Bell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Player Oracle results for AA Bell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  20. ^ "Lancashire Second XI v Staffordshire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 January 2012.

Bibliography

  • Simpson, Ray (2007). The Clarets Chronicles: The Definitive History of Burnley Football Club.
    ISBN 978-0-9557468-0-2
    .

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Bell_(footballer)&oldid=1217355924"