Bert Crossthwaite
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Herbert Crossthwaite | ||
Date of birth | 4 April 1887 | ||
Place of birth | Preston, England | ||
Date of death | 20 May 1944 | (aged 67)||
Place of death | Birmingham, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 9+3⁄4 in (1.77 m) | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
19??–1905 | Preston Post Office | ||
1905–1906 | Preston North End | 0 | (0) |
1906–1907 | Blackpool | 1 | (0) |
1907–1909 | Fulham | 2 | (0) |
1909–1910 | Exeter City | 41 | (0) |
1910–1914 | Birmingham | 49 | (0) |
1914–1915 | Stoke | 0 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Herbert Crossthwaite (4 April 1887 – 20 May 1944) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Blackpool, Fulham and Birmingham in the Football League and for Exeter City in the Southern League.
Sporting career
[edit]Crossthwaite played football for Preston Post Office before signing amateur forms with Football League First Division club Preston North End, but made no senior appearances for that club.[1][2] Having turned professional,[2] he did play one match in the Football League for their West Lancashire rivals Blackpool, in the Second Division away to Gainsborough Trinity on 29 September 1906.[3] Crossthwaite joined Fulham for a £15 fee ahead of the 1907–08 season,[4] and made two more Second Division appearances in the second half of that campaign, standing in for first-choice goalkeeper Leslie Skene on each occasion.[1][5] He was retained for 1908–09,[6] but took no further part in the first team,[1] and signed for Southern League club Exeter City in 1909.[7] He missed only one Southern League match in the 1909–10 season.[8]
He then moved to Birmingham, joined the police,[9] and was reinstated as an amateur.[2] He returned to football with Birmingham in 1911, for which he played 49 Second Division games, most of which came in a spell from October 1912 to New Year's Day 1914.[10][11] He later signed for Stoke, before retiring from the game in around 1915.[12]
After retiring as a player, he became a referee, and officiated in matches up to Football League level.[13] He was also a competent sprinter, despite being a heavy man,[14] and was for many years actively involved with the charity sports meetings organised by the Birmingham police.[2][13]
Personal life
[edit]Herbert Crossthwaite was born on 4 April 1887 in Preston, Lancashire,[12] to Thomas Crossthwaite, a general labourer, and his wife Esther, a cotton operative.[15] The 1901 United Kingdom Census records him as a postal telegraph messenger.[16] He married Agnes Carter in 1909, and the couple had two children, Ann and Herbert.[17]
Crossthwaite joined the Birmingham City Police in September 1910, giving his previous occupation as that of postman.[17] His police file describes him as 5 ft 9+3⁄4 in (1.77 m) tall, of dark complexion with dark brown hair and eyes.[17] He was promoted to sergeant in 1917 and to inspector in 1925,[17] spending much of his career serving in the Chief Constable's office, specialising in entertainment tax enforcement before such work was taken over by the Inland Revenue.[17] He was a recipient of the King's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935,[2] and retired from the police later that year having completed his 25 years' service.[17]
The 1939 Register finds him living with his family in the Erdington district of Birmingham and working part-time as a nightwatchman.[18] On 20 May 1944, at the age of 57, he collapsed and died in Erdington.[9][19]
A cousin, Harry Crossthwaite, played League football for Stockport County and Stoke.[12][10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Player search: Crossthwaite, H (Herbert)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "The Clubman's Diary: Inspector Crossthwaite". Birmingham Gazette. 4 July 1935. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 188.
- ^ "Fulham's transfer fees". Daily Mirror. London. 3 August 1907. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "no title". Daily Mirror. London. 7 February 1908. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Football signing on". Daily Mirror. London. 1 May 1908. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Field of Sport. Exeter City's signatures completed". Devon and Exeter Gazette. 19 July 1909. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Crossthwaite, Herbert". The Grecian Archive. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Death of ex-inspector Crossthwaite". Evening Despatch. Birmingham. 22 May 1944. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
- ^ Matthews (1995), pp. 158–160.
- ^ a b c Matthews 1995, p. 83.
- ^ a b "Death of former police officer". The Birmingham Mail. 22 May 1944. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Table talk. Inspector-goalkeeper". The Birmingham Mail. 27 May 1944. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1891 England Census for Herbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. RG12 3430/120 ED 10.
- ^ "1901 England Census for Harbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. RG13 3946/11 ED 22.
- ^ a b c d e f "West Midlands, England, Police Files and Ledgers, 1850–1950 for Herbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. 7825 Crossthwaite Herbert.
- ^ "1939 England and Wales Register for Herbert Crosthwaite". Ancestry.com. RG101/5487e QAEC.
- ^ "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995 for Herbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. 1944 Cable–Dziegielewski p. 228.
Sources
[edit]- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- 1887 births
- 1944 deaths
- Footballers from Preston, Lancashire
- English men's footballers
- Men's association football goalkeepers
- Preston North End F.C. players
- Blackpool F.C. players
- Fulham F.C. players
- Exeter City F.C. players
- Birmingham City F.C. players
- Stoke City F.C. players
- English Football League players
- Southern Football League players
- Birmingham City Police