Herbert Butterworth (September quarter 1902 – March quarter 1938) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He played nine matches in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and also assisted several non-league clubs. In 1929, he emigrated to Canada, but returned to England several years later.

Biography

Herbert Butterworth was born in 1902 in the village of

Higham, Lancashire Higham is a village in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, south of Pendle Hill. The civil parishes in England, civil parish is named Higham with West Close Booth. The village is north-east of Padiham and about south-west of Nelson ...

. During his early career as a footballer, he also worked as a weaver in various local factories. On 8 March 1929, he emigrated to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

on the liner ''Regina'' and later worked in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. Some time later, he returned to England and worked at the Trent Motors factory in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. Butterworth lived in Derby until his death in the early months of 1938, at the age of 35.

Career

Early career and Nelson

Butterworth started his career at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

but failed to break into the first team and joined his local club Higham in the Padiham & District Football League. In the 1922–23 season, he assisted the team to the league championship and in August 1923 he signed an amateur deal with local

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...

side

. Butterworth initially played exclusively in the reserve team, but in January 1925 he signed a professional contract with the club. He subsequently made his league debut on 7 February 1925 in the 4–1 win against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

at Seedhill. He kept his place in the team, playing in five consecutive league victories culminating in the 5–0 win over New Brighton on 7 March 1925, during which he was described by a local newspaper as "the best half-back on the field". His last appearance of the 1924–25 campaign came in the 1–2 defeat away at Lincoln City, after which he was replaced at left-half by new signing Ambrose Harris. Butterworth returned to reserve team action for the start of the 1925–26 season, and helped the second string to the championship of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 i ...

league and to the final of the Combination Cup. He made two first-team appearances for Nelson during the campaign, firstly deputising for Ernie Braidwood for the 4–1 victory over

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

on 13 February 1926. Butterworth played his last competitive match for the club in the 1–1 draw with New Brighton on 5 April 1926, filling in for the unavailable Harris. He left Nelson in the summer of 1926, having made a total of nine Football League appearances.

Non-league career

After being released by Nelson, Butterworth signed for Lancashire Combination side Colne Town in August 1926. He joined

Great Harwood Great Harwood is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, located north east of Blackburn and adjacent to the Ribble Valley. Great Harwood is part of the "Three Towns" conurbation along with the towns of Clayton-le-Moors and Ris ...

on a free transfer in December of the same year but could not prevent the team finishing bottom of the league for the second consecutive season. A move to Wellington Town of the Birmingham & District League followed in August 1927, and the club finished as runners-up in the division at the end of the 1927–28 campaign. Butterworth returned to Colne Town for the 1928–29 season and remained there until his emigration in March 1929. While working for the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trent Motors factory, he also played amateur football for the works teams.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butterworth, Herbert 1902 births 1938 deaths People from Higham, Lancashire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Colne Town F.C. players Great Harwood F.C. players Telford United F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Lancashire 20th-century English sportsmen