Tony Harper (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Frederick Harper[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 May 1925 | ||
| Place of birth | Oxford, England | ||
| Date of death | 28 June 1982 (aged 57)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Bullingdon, England | ||
| Position(s) | Wing half, inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Headington United | |||
| 1948–1955 | Brentford | 173 | (6) |
| 1955–1959 | Headington United | 116 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Anthony Frederick Harper (26 May 1925 – 28 June 1982) was an English football wing half or inside forward who made 173 appearances in the Football League for Brentford.
Club career
Headington United
Harper began his career at Spartan League hometown club Headington United and departed the club in March 1948.[1]
Brentford
Harper signed for Second Division club Brentford in March 1948.[1] He began his time with the Bees as an inside forward and made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Leicester City at Griffin Park on 15 September 1948.[3] Harper missed the entire 1949–50 season due to illness, but broke into the team in the 1950–51 season as a wing half and formed a celebrated half back line with Ron Greenwood and Jimmy Hill.[1][4] He made a career-high 41 appearances during the 1951–52 season and held his place until Ken Coote began to establish himself in the wing half position.[1][3] Harper played on until the 1954–55 season and dropped into the reserves in the latter stages of the campaign.[1] He departed Brentford in the summer of 1955 and made 188 appearances and scored seven goals in his seven years with the club.[1]
Return to Headington United
Harper returned to Headington United, then members of the Southern League, during the 1955 off-season.[1] He made over 137 further appearances before retiring in 1959.[5][6]
Personal life
After experiencing trouble commuting from his Oxford home to Brentford, Harper stayed in a club house in Hounslow with teammate Ted Gaskell and Gaskell's wife, before eventually moving into the house next door.[7]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1948–49[3] | Second Division | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 21 | 1 | |
| 1950–51[3] | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| 1951–52[3] | 37 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | |||
| 1952–53[3] | 36 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 39 | 3 | |||
| 1953–54[3] | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 1954–55[3] | Third Division South | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Total | 173 | 6 | 15 | 1 | — | 188 | 7 | |||
| Headington United | 1955–56[6] | Southern League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 1956–57[6] | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 38 | 3 | ||
| 1957–58[6] | 40 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 48 | 2 | ||
| 1958–59[6] | Southern League North West Division | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 23 | 1 | |
| 1959–60[6] | Southern League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 116 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 137 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 289 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 325 | 13 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearances in Southern League Cup
- ^ 3 appearances in Southern League Cup, 1 appearance in Southern League Inter-Zone
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 72. ISBN 978-0955294914.
- ^ "Tony Harper". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 380–383. ISBN 0951526200.
- ^ "Bill Axbey: the legend of Griffin Park dies, aged 102 (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)". Richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "Rage Online » Player". www.rageonline.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Rage Online » AdHoc". www.rageonline.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ Lane, David (2005). Cult Bees & Legends: Volume Two. Hampton Hill: Legends Publishing. p. 107. ASIN B00NPZL58S. ISBN 0954368282.