Alfred Shelton (11 September 1865 – 24 July 1923) was an English international

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. ...

. His brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

was also a professional footballer. Born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, Shelton played for Notts Rangers,

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

and Ilkeston Town, and earned six caps for

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between 1889 and 1892.

Early career

Alf Shelton was one of three brothers – Harry and Charlie Shelton the others – who did so much for

football. Alf was educated at St. Nicholas School, which he left to join Notts Rangers. He signed in 1884. When the club collapsed in 1888 he, along with other members, threw in their lot with "The Magpies", the nickname for Notts County. He signed in August 1888. A wing half with exceptional stamina, he was a difficult player to get past. He also excelled in heading, often getting his head in the way of goal-bound shots. NOTE: The Dykes book claims that Alf Shelton left Notts Rangers and signed for Notts County because Notts Rangers collapsed. Wikipedia and Football Club History Database show that Notts Rangers played in the 1888–89 and 1889–90 FA Cup competitions and took part in the first season, 1889–90, of the Midland League.

1888–89 season

Alf Shelton, playing at wing–half, made his Notts County & League debut on 8 September 1888 at Anfield, the then home of Everton. Notts County lost to the home team 2–1. Alf Shelton appeared in 21 of the 22 League matches played by Notts County in season 1888–89. 21 appearances was the record for a Notts County player in season 1888–89. As a wing–half (21 appearances ) he played in a Notts County midfield that achieved big (three–League–goals–in–a–match–or–more) wins on two separate occasions.

1889 onwards

Alf Shelton appeared in both of Notts County' two FA Cup Finals and won six England caps, and in 1892 was offered the opportunity to captain the newly formed Liverpool club. Despite what constituted a most generous offer at the time (£250) per annum he was not tempted to leave the Magpies. He played for Notts County from 1888 to 1896 and then moved to League Division 2 club,

. He only stayed with Loughborough for the one season, 1896–1897. He signed for Ilkeston Town in July 1897. Ilkeston Town competed in the

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

and the FA Cup. One of their two best cup runs was in 1897-1898 when they reached the 5th Qualifying Round. It is not known whether Shelton played in that Cup run but he was on their books as a player.

End of career

Ilkeston Town folded in 1900 and it is assumed that is when Shelton retired as a player. In the same year he returned to Notts County as a Director on the Club' Board. He was on the County Board until 1910. He died in tragic circumstances on 24 July 1923. It is not recorded whether he worked at the

Royal Ordnance Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

, but he was on site and was killed when a crane collapsed onto him. In one source the factory is described as a

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

factory. The factory was opened by H. M. Government in 1916 as a Royal Ordnance Factory to manufacture shells for the Western Front. Cammell Laird built the factory and managed it on behalf of HM Government. In the year Shelton met his fatal accident the site had been bought outright by Cammell Laird and the site was used to make railway goods wagons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Alf 1865 births 1923 deaths English men's footballers England men's international footballers Notts Rangers F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Loughborough F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. (1880s) players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Nottingham Industrial accident deaths Accidental deaths in England