Alfred William Matthews (28 April 1901 – 1985) 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 made nearly 300 appearances 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 ...

playing for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

and

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. He played as an

outside right 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 bei ...

Biography

Matthews was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and played local football before joining hometown club

. He made his debut in

in the 1921–22 season, but played only that one game for Bristol City before moving on to

the following season. He spent four years at Exeter as a regular first-team player before joining

, where he continued to play regularly for three seasons. Thereafter he remained with the club for a further four years, but appeared only infrequently, making a total of 147 appearances in all competitions, of which the last came in March 1933. He then played a few games for

and signed for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

but never appeared in the League. He died in 1985.

References

1901 births 1985 deaths Footballers from Bristol English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Bristol City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players English Football League players Date of death missing 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-forward-1900s-stub