8.1.13

Cohen Weenan Football Captains 1907-08 (46-60)

Note: All the teams featured in this selection spent the 1907-08 season in The Southern League and their finishing position is shown in brackets at the end of each entry. 





46 Jimmy 'Punch' McEwen- Norwich City. 35 year old full back McEwen was effectively player manager at Norwich. He had been an FA Cup winner with Bury in 1903 and would later work for Herbert Chapman at Arsenal.  (Southern League 15th). 

47 Bob Hawkes - Luton Town.  Winger Hawkes made 5 appearances for England and also played in the gold medal winning Great Britain (England amateurs) team at the 1908 Olympic Games. He made 349 appearances for Luton in a 19 year career. (18th). 

48 Alf Hitch- Watford. Centre half Hitch had First Division experience (Nottingham Forest) and joined Watford from Queens Park Rangers in 1906. (14th).



49 Albert Buick-Portsmouth.Scottish international center half who had enjoyed success with  Heart of Midlothian. A number of his former teammates joined him at Portsmouth. (9th).

50 Walter Bull-Tottenham Hotspur. Walter Bull had been offered the manager's job at Northampton Town for the 1907-08 season, but he had a change of heart, and his teammate Herbert Chapman took his place.  Tottenham were elected to football league the following season. (7th). 


51 Charlie Clark- Plymouth Argyle. Clark was an irregular at Everton when he moved to Argyle to play under Frank Brettell, another former Everton player. Clark made 272 first team appearances in his 6 seasons with Plymouth. (2nd).





52 Charlie Craig- Bradford Park Avenue. Craig joined Bradford AFC from Nottingham Forest. Geographically Bradford were an unlikely team to find in the Southern League. This was their only season, as they were elected to the football league the following season. (13th).

53 Frank Thorpe - Southampton. Centre half  Thorpe won the FA Cup with Bury in 1903.He joined The Saints in 1907. (11th).

54 Billy Yenson- Queens Park Rangers. Centre forward Yenson appeared in the 1904 FA Cup final for Bolton Wanderers. He started his career with West Ham United and returned there in 1908. (Winners).



55 Herbert Smith- Reading. Smith was a left back who made 4 appearances for England between 1903 and 1906. In 1908 he played for Great Britain (England amateurs) at the Olympic Games, winning a gold medal. (12th). 

56 Jack Smith - Bristol Rovers. Smith had played  First Division football with Wolverhampton Wanderers from 1903-06. He scored 38 goals in 104 league games for Wolves. 1907–1908 was his only season at Rovers, as his career continued with an assortment of Southern League clubs.
(6th).

57 Steve Smith - New Brompton. Smith was an outside left who had been capped once by England (1895) and played the majority of his football for Aston Villa, winning 5 First Division Championships and an FA Cup.
Being on the small side, he often suffered from the lungeous opponent, and while with the Villa received more than his share of hard knocks. Quiet and unassuming, he proved a most unselfish partner, and could always be relied upon to do his utmost. A modest winner and a good loser.
The Villa News and Record, 1906.
(20th -bottom).





58 General Stevenson-Milwall. Stevenson wasn't a General- that was his name! The full back had played for Liverpool and Barnsley before joining Millwall in 1903. In 7 years with the club he made 318 appearances. (3rd).

59 Sam Meredith - Leyton.  Sam Meredith was the older brother of the legendary Billy. He began at Chirk AAA and played for Stoke before moving to Leyton. He was capped 8 times for Wales. (19th).


60 George Parsonage-Brentford. Half-back Parsonage was banned for life by the  FA in 1909 for offhandedly demanding a £50 signing fee to move from Fulham to Chesterfield (the maximum allowed was  £10, and Parsonage maintained that he had been joking). (16th).