Edgar Bluff

Edgar Bluff
Personal information
Full name	Edgar Underwood Bluff
Date of birth	19 March 1882
Place of birth	Attercliffe, Sheffield, England
Date of death	May 1952 (aged 70)
Place of death	Northampton, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s)	Inside forward
Youth career
	Yorkshire Light Infantry
	First Army Corps
Senior career*
Years	Team
1904–1905	Southampton
1905–1907	Sheffield United
1907–1908	Birmingham
1908–19??	St Helens Town
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Edgar Underwood Bluff (19 March 1882 – May 1952) was an English professional association footballer who played as an inside forward for various clubs in the 1900s.

Playing career

Born in Attercliffe, Sheffield he joined the Yorkshire Light Infantry in March 1900, where he served for four years. In April 1904 Southern League champions Southampton were seeking a replacement for the ageing Harry Wood. Bluff was spotted playing for the First Army Corps and the "Saints" directors were so impressed that they paid for his discharge from the Army, in time for Southampton's summer tour of South America, during which they played teams representing Argentina (when he scored four goals) and Uruguay, winning 8–0 and 8–1 respectively.^[2]

He made his league debut on 24 September 1904 and soon formed an exciting partnership with Fred Harrison. According to Holley & Chalk, "his army discipline and training served him in good stead" and "he displayed a natural goal-scoring ability", his heading being "a strong feature of his game".^[1] In his first season at The Dell he was top scorer (with George Hedley) with ten league goals, plus a further three in the FA Cup.

His form earned him a call-up to the England international squad where he was first reserve for a match against Ireland in 1905.

In the summer of 1905 the Southern League introduced a wage limit which resulted in the transfer of several players, including Bluff who reluctantly moved back to Yorkshire to join Sheffield United. At Bramall Lane he was never quite able to re-capture the form he had shown in Southampton, although he did score eleven goals in 1906–07, helping United to finish fourth in the First Division. In December 1907 he moved on to Birmingham for six months, followed by a spell with St Helens Town.

He died in Northampton at the age of 70.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
^ "1901-1910 Matches". www.cantab.net. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
^ Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.

[ABC-1] Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.

[2] "1901-1910 Matches". www.cantab.net. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2008.

[3] Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.

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