Albert Stubbins (17 July 1919 – 28 December 2002) was an English

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

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. His career was limited by the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. While playing for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, he won the League Championship in 1947. He was later included on the front cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

'' album.

Career

Born in

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

, Tyne and Wear, England, he spent his early years in the United States, returning to Wallsend, where he attended Carville School, in 1929. Stubbins first played for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

in 1937, appearing in official games 30 times and scoring six goals for the team. In wartime games (classified as friendlies) he scored 231 goals in just 188 appearances. In 1946 he was signed by

for a then club record of £12,500. Stubbins had also been approached by Liverpool's closest rivals, Everton, and he settled the decision with a toss of the coin. He made an immediate impact at the club: making his debut on 14 September 1946 in a league match at

Burnden Park Burnden Park was the home of England, English association football, football club Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers, who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup final replay, in 1946 it was the sc ...

he scored an 82nd-minute goal as the Reds left it late to claim a 3–1 victory over

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Following his move to Liverpool, Stubbins scored 28 goals (24 league goals) in the 1946–47 season (making him joint top scorer with

Jack Balmer John Balmer (6 February 1916 — 25 December 1984) was an English footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool. Life and playing career Born in West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, Balmer came from a family of footballers: Billy and Bob bo ...

) helping Liverpool to win the League Championship, their first in 24 years. Stubbins also scored 24 goals the following season. Although a contractual dispute in the 1948–49 season limited his appearances for the Merseyside club, he then helped Liverpool reach the 1950 FA Cup Final, the first time Liverpool had appeared at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

. However, they lost to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

by two goals to nil. On 18 October 1950, at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

, Stubbins netted five goals 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 ...

's 6–3 victory over the Irish League in an exhibition match. Injuries forced him to retire in 1953, having scored 83 goals in 178 appearances, or 1 every 2.1 games. Despite his club success, he played for the

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

only once, in an unofficial international against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1945, a game England lost 1–0.

Later life

Following his retirement, Stubbins entered a full-time career in sports journalism, although he briefly coached an American semi-professional side, the

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

in 1960. Stubbins later appeared on the front cover of

' ''

'' album, the only footballer to be depicted. He also has a Liverpool FC fan club named in his honour. He also featured as a minor character in Stephen Baxter's time-travelling novel ''

The Time Ships ''The Time Ships'' is a 1995 hard science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. A canonical sequel to the 1895 novella ''The Time Machine'' by H. G. Wells, it was officially authorized by the Wells estate to mark the centenary of the original's publ ...

''. He died in 2002, aged 83, after a short illness.

Career details

*Newcastle United (1938–39) – 27 appearances, 5 goals,

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

*Wartime guest games (1939–1946) – 188 appearances, 231 goals *Liverpool FC (1946–1953) – 178 appearances, 83 goals,

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

Championship winners medal (1947), FA Cup runners-up medal (1950)

Career statistics

References

External links

Official Liverpool FC website profile

Player profile at LFChistory.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbins, Albert 1919 births Footballers from Wallsend 2002 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Ashington A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players England men's wartime international footballers English sportswriters Sunderland A.F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players English Football League representative players