Leeds United

Leeds United- 1920-21

Standing : Jim Baker, Dick Murrell (Trainer), Ernie Hart, Billy Down, Mark Barker (Director), Ralph Rodgerson, J. Hilton Crowther (President), Jimmy Walton.

Sitting : George Mason, Bert Duffield, Tommy Howarth, Merton Ellson, Basil Wood, Jimmy Frew.

United's president, Mr John Hilton Crowther was a prosperous woollen mill owner who had injected a fortune into Huddersfield Town in 1918.  Huddersfield struggled to attract support, and their ability to sustain League status was called into question. With the demise of Leeds City Hilton Crowther proposed a merger between Huddersfield town and the newly formed Leeds United.  Whilst welcomed in Leeds, this proposal, which was submitted to the Football League, caused outrage and protests in Huddersfield. The situation was resolved thus: The League gave Huddersfield Town  a month in which to pay Mr Crowther off (£25,000) in order to maintain their independence. If they failed to do so the merger would go ahead. Hilton Crowther settled for £17,500 and 12,500 Huddersfield Town shares.

Strangely, for the first 14 years of their existence Leeds United played in the same colours as Huddersfield Town.

Sergeant James Hamilton Speirs M.M.

Jimmy Speirs was an inside left who was born in Glasgow. He represented Scotland in 1 international (against Wales in 1908).  He played for Glasgow Rangers and Clyde before joining Bradford City in 1909.

The following season Speirs captained City when they won the FA Cup.

In 3 seasons at Valley Parade he made  96 first team appearances.

At Xmas 1912 Speirs joined Herbert Chapman's Leeds City. He made 78 first team appearances up until football was suspended in 1915. 

 Speirs enlisted voluntarily in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. He reached the rank of Sergeant and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery.

Jimmy Speirs was killed in action at the Battle of Passchendaele in August 1917. He was 31 years old. 

I got this photograph from a Bantams website which appears to be no longer online- apologies for not being able to give better credit.

Gone but not forgotten- Leeds City

Leeds City have the dubious distinction of being the only team to be booted out of the League whilst the season was in progress.
Formed in 1904 they were elected to the League in 1905- the League favoured applications from clubs based in non soccer areas (Yorkshire, aside from Sheffield, being very much a Northern Union region).

	League	FA Cup
1905-06	Div.2 6th	Q3
1906-07	Div.2 10th	R1
1907-08	Div.2 12th	R1
1908-09	Div.2 12th	R2
1909-10	Div.2 17th	R1
1910-11	Div.2 11th	R1
1911-12	Div.2 19th	R2
1912-13	Div.2 6th	R1
1913-14	Div.2 4th	R2
1914-15	Div.2 15th	R2
1919-20	Div.2 expelled

In  1912–13 Herbert Chapman became club secretary. His involvement with the club during the war years nearly deprived English Football of one of it's authentic geniuses.  

When club Directors refused to cooperate in an FA / Football League investigation into irregular payments Leeds City were expelled from the League and 5 club officials, including Chapman, were banned from football for life. The irregularities arose from the club's failure to follow the Football League's directive, set out in 1915, that players could only receive expenses for playing in the stop gap wartime competitions, In effect all players were amateurs for the duration- no one was supposed to make a living from the game. 

Here is one version of the events, gleaned from contemporary press reports:

Mr Connor, former chairman of the board of directors told the press (The Yorkshire Evening Post) that his syndicate (effectively the banned parties) had taken over the club in 1914, when, he said, the club was on the verge of collapse.

Mr Connor said that the club was then (October 1919) actually in credit.

Mr Connor states that when Herbert Chapman left the club to do his war work he recommended that his assistant (referred to by Mr Connor as Mr Chapman’s ‘personal employee’) Mr Cripps, should take on the financial management of the club. Mr Connor claims to have been opposed to this. After one season the club’s books were in such a chaotic condition that Mr Connor threatened to resign.

Mr Cripps was replaced by an accountant and went back to the team selection role. However, the directors did not want Cripps to travel to away matches with the team, preferring instead to send one of their own number. This led to the players threatening to go on strike.

Relationships got very strained and the directors decided to fire Cripps, at which point he made accusations of financial impropriety against the club.

Cripps took legal action, claiming £400 but ending up with £50. He had to return any correspondence regarding the club to their solicitor and sign an undertaking not to make public any of the club’s affairs.

Charlie Copeland

Defender Charlie Copeland was the next key figure. He rejected the clubs pay offer of £3 10 s a week, and wrote to the directors saying that if they didn't pay him £6 a week he would blow the whistle regarding illegal payments. When his request was ignored and he was placed on the free transfer list, Copeland went to the FA.

The FA investigating committee requested access to the club’s documents, and the directors, knowing them to containing evidence of irregular payments to players, declined to cooperate.

Source: Interview with Mr Connor, Yorkshire Evening Post, 14.10.19

Scott

Belfast born Peerless Billy Scott played for Everton (1904-1912) and Leeds City (1912-14). He was an FA Cup winner in 1906. In first class English Football he kept 100 clean sheets in 315 games (289 for Everton)- 31.74%. He represented Ireland 25 times. Clean sheets: 5  W- 6, D- 3, L-16. He played for Liverpool during the 1914-18 war.

 Billy had a younger brother, 11 years his junior. Everton turned down Lish, who then went on to make 468 appearances for Liverpool in 2 spells (he returned to Ireland during the 1914-18 war) 137 clean sheets (29.27%). He won 2 league Championships with the Reds (1921/22, 1922/23)
For Ireland (1920-36)- 31 appearances . Cleansheets: 6. W-7, D-7, L- 17.
Scott won a number of honours in Ulster during the 1915-19 period and later managed Belfast Celtic with some success. 

Herbert Chapman stats

Arsenal Football Club is open to receive applications for the position of TEAM MANAGER. He must be experienced and possess the highest qualifications for the post, both as to ability and personal character. Gentlemen whose sole ability to build up a good side depends on the payment of heavy and exhorbitant [sic] transfer fees need not apply.
Athletic News. 11.05.25

Herbert Chapman was a genius. There was no one else in English Football with his vision. He was a modernizing force in the game, not just as a spectacle, but as a tactically sophisticated affair. The notion of space and movement as crucial factors in the outcome of the game. The notion of thinking. The notion of preparing, not just physically, but mentally, of having a plan, of having a better plan, of having the best plan. 

Season	Div.	Pos.	FA Cup
Northampton Town
169 games  49.7% win
1907-08	SL	8th	R1
1908-09	SL	winners	R1
1909-10	SL	4th	R2
1910-11	SL	2nd	R2
Leeds City
119 games 42.85 % win
1912-13	Div 2	6th	R1
1913-14	Div 2	4th	R2
1914-15	Div 2	15th	R2
The 8 games Leeds City played in 1919-20 are not included
Huddersfield Town
194 games 48.97% win
1921-22	Div 1	14th	winners
1922-23	Div 1	3rd	R3
1923-24	Div 1	winners	R3
1924-25	Div 1	winners	R1
Arsenal
403 games 49.88% win
1925-26	Div 1	2nd	R6
1926-27	Div 1	11th	Runners up
1927-28	Div 1	10th	Semi final
1928-29	Div 1	9th	R6
1929-30	Div 1	14th	winners
1930-31	Div 1	winners	R4
1931-32	Div 1	2nd	Runners up
1932-33	Div 1	winners	R3
1933-34*	Div 1	winners	R6
·         Mr Chapman died  6th  January 1934
Career
885 games 48.47% win

There are two kinds of visionary; those that dream of a whole new world, and those who dream of just one thing. Chapman's vision was of the greatest football team in the world. His genius was actually creating something close to that.
Bernard Joy