Allan Bottrill (1905 – 29 November 1929) 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 an outside forward. He played one match in the

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 ...

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 ...

in the 1925–26 season.

Biography

Allan Bottrill was born in early 1905 in the town of

Eston Eston is a former industrial town in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary area of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of Greater Eston, which includes the outlying settlements of Grangetown, North Yorkshire, Grangetown, Normanby, Redcar and Clevel ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. He was the fourth of seven children born to Walter and Edith Bottrill, and his elder brother

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) * Billy (surname), a surname (and list of people with the surname) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy ( ...

was also a professional footballer. After leaving the professional game, Allan Bottrill worked as a plater's assistant in a shipyard. He died from acute

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in his home in Eston on 29 November 1929, at the age of 24.

Career

Bossons started his playing career with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, for whom he signed as an amateur in August 1921 before turning professional two months later. During his four years with the club, he represented the reserve team on several occasions, but never made a

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

appearance. In January 1925, Bottrill transferred to Football League Third Division North outfit

, where his brother Billy was playing, on a free transfer. He initially played for the reserves in 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 ...

. He made his Football League debut for Nelson in the final match of the 1924–25 season, a 1–3 defeat to Durham City on 29 April 1925. In the game, Bottrill played alongside his brother for the only time in his career. Bottrill failed to make another competitive appearance for Nelson, and was released in the summer of 1926. He subsequently signed for

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

in October of the same year, but left the club at the end of the 1926–27 campaign, having failed to make any

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 ...

appearances. He did not find another professional club and moved into

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with South Bank East End in September 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottrill, Allan 1905 births 1929 deaths People from Eston English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Middlesbrough F.C. players Nelson F.C. players York City F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from North Yorkshire Deaths from pneumonia in England 20th-century English sportsmen South Bank East End F.C. players