Alex South (7 January 1931 – 17 January 2024) 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 defender. Born on 7 January 1931, South grew up in Whitehawk, East Brighton, attending the local primary and secondary schools. He was a talented boxer as a boy. He joined the

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

ground staff as a 15-year old and was part of the Whitehawk & Manor Farm Boys Club team that won the Sussex Minor (Youth) Cup the same season. He played for

Whitehawk Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was originall ...

in the 1947–48 season when they finished title winners of the Brighton & Hove District League Division 4,Whitehawk FC v Brighton & Hove Albion, match day programme, Sussex Senior Cup 4th round, 23 January 2018 before turning professional with the ''Seagulls''. South was signed by his former Albion manager Don Welsh at

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 ...

for £5,000 on 10 December 1954. He made his debut in an FA Cup third round replay at Anfield against Lincoln City on 10 January 1955, followed by six further league appearances. He scored his only goal for Liverpool in a 4–4 home draw with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on 2 April 1955. After his contract expired at Anfield, South joined

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replaced Halifax Town, who went i ...

, going on to make over 300 appearances before retiring in 1965. South died on 17 January 2024, at the age of 93. At the time of his death, he was Liverpool's second-oldest living player.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South, Alex 1931 births 2024 deaths English men's footballers Footballers from Brighton Men's association football defenders Whitehawk F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players English Football League players