Walter Spratt

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Walter Spratt
Spratt in 1920.
Personal information
Full name Walter Spratt[1]
Date of birth (1889-04-14)14 April 1889[2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England[2]
Date of death 22 January 1945(1945-01-22) (aged 55)[3]
Place of death Southwark, England[3]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)
Full back
Youth career
Meadow Hall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1910–1911 Rotherham Town
1911–1915 Brentford 106 (1)
1915–1920 Manchester United 13 (0)
1915–1917 → Chelsea (guest) 44 (4)
→ Clapton Orient (guest)
1920–1921 Brentford 4 (0)
1921–1922 Sittingbourne
1922–? Elsecar Main
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Walter Spratt (14 April 1889 – 22 January 1945) was an English professional

Football League for Manchester United and Brentford. Born in Birmingham, he began his career with Rotherham Town and made guest appearances for Clapton Orient during the First World War. After leaving Brentford in 1921, he played for Sittingbourne for a year, before ending his career with Elsecar Main
.

Career

Early career

Spratt while with Brentford in 1911.

Born in Birmingham, Spratt began his career at Midland League club Rotherham Town in 1910,[4] joining from local club Meadow Hall.[1] A year later, he transferred to Southern League First Division club Brentford and made more than 100 appearances for the club before departing Griffin Park in early 1915.[4]

Manchester United

In February 1915, Spratt joined

Football League debut on 6 February, playing at right-back in a 1–0 defeat to Sunderland.[7] He made a total of 12 appearances during the 1914–15 season.[8]

Due to the onset of the

reserve team game in January 1920, before making final appearance for the club a month later in a 1–0 defeat at home to Arsenal on 28 February.[8]

Return to Brentford

Spratt returned to Brentford in May 1920,[12] for the club's maiden Football League season.[4] He made just four Third Division appearances, with his final game coming in a 2–0 defeat to West London rivals Queens Park Rangers on Christmas Day 1920.[13] Spratt departed Brentford at the end of the 1920–21 season and made 123 appearances (scoring one goal) during his two spells with Brentford.[4]

Sittingbourne

At the end of the 1920–21 season, Spratt moved to non-League club Sittingbourne and in 1922 he moved back to Yorkshire to end his career with Elsecar Main.[4][6]

Personal life

In 1906, Spratt served in the

HMS Boscawen III.[2] After the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the Royal Naval Reserve in February 1915 and later served in the Royal Naval Air Service (and subsequently the Royal Air Force) on communications bases at Crystal Palace and RNAS Kingsnorth.[2][14] While working as a despatcher for Mosers,[2] Spratt was one of 35 people killed in a V-2 rocket attack on Southwark, London, on 22 January 1945.[3]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brentford 1911–12[13] Southern League First Division 31 0 5 0 36 0
1912–13[13] Southern League First Division 30 1 2 0 32 1
1913–14[13] Southern League Second Division 30 0 3 0 33 0
1914–15[13] Southern League Second Division 15 0 3 0 18 0
Total 106 1 13 0 119 1
Manchester United 1914–15[8] First Division 12 0 — 12 0
1919–20[8] First Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 13 0 0 0 13 0
Brentford 1920–21[13] Third Division 4 0 0 0 4 0
Total 110 1 13 0 123 1
Career total 123 1 13 0 136 1

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1905891610
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e Bees Review: Brentford Official Matchday Programme vs Hull City. Milton Keynes: Regal Sports Press. 3 November 2015. p. 65.
  3. ^ a b c Davies, Paul. "Newton Heath and Manchester United players who died at war". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0955294914
    .
  5. ^ "Spratt Walter Brentford 1911". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-9514862-6-8
    .
  7. ^ "Walter Spratt". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Walter Spratt – Manchester United Player Profile & Stats". mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Match Results for season 1915 – 1916". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Match Results for season 1916 – 1917". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Match Results for season 1917 – 1918". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  12. ^ "The Football Association – Season 1920–21 – Summary Of Professional Registrations". Sky is Blue – The Chesterfield FC history resource. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  13. ^
    ISBN 0951526200
    .
  14. ^ "Walter Spratt | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
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