Allenby C. Chilton (16 September 1918 – 15 June 1996) 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 ...

Playing career

Chilton started his career with

Seaham Colliery The Seaham Colliery was a coal mine in County Durham in the North of England. The mine suffered an underground explosion in 1880 which resulted in the deaths of upwards of 160 people, including surface workers and rescuers. Among the dead were 3 ...

before joining

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 ...

as an amateur in the summer of 1938, but he never played a senior game for the

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

club. Chilton transferred to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

soon after in November 1938 and made his first team debut against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

in September 1939. Chilton's early career was cut short by the Second World War although he made guest appearances for Airdrieonians,

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, Hartlepools United,

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 ...

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 ...

and

who he helped to win the War Cup South Final in 1944. He served in the Durham Light Infantry and saw active service in the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

also in 1944. Chilton established himself as a centre half in

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...

's first post-war team and helped United to triumph in the 1947–48 FA Cup and was a key member of the 1951–52 league championship winning team. He was made club captain during the 1953–54 season. Having missed just 13 games in nine seasons at United and with 175 consecutive appearances to his name, Chilton requested a rest from first team action in early 1955. He was replaced by Mark Jones, one of the rising

Busby Babes The "Busby Babes" were the group of footballers, recruited and trained by Manchester United chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of the ...

, and never returned to first team action.

Management career

Grimsby Town

He left the club in March 1955 to become player-manager with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

. He joined the Mariners late in the 1954–55 season and was unable to stop them having to apply for re-election, but the following season under his management they were champions of Division Three North – the only club ever to go from re-election to promotion in one season.

Wigan Athletic

Chilton continued as manager at Grimsby Town until April 1959 when he joined

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

as manager for one season during 1960–61.

Hartlepool United

Chilton joined Hartlepool United as a scout for the 1961–62 season and became manager during 1962–63.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilton, Allenby 1918 births 1996 deaths English men's footballers Liverpool F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. wartime guest players Middlesbrough F.C. wartime guest players Newcastle United F.C. wartime guest players Charlton Athletic F.C. wartime guest players Grimsby Town F.C. players English football managers England men's international footballers Grimsby Town F.C. managers Wigan Athletic F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers 1954 FIFA World Cup players English Football League players Footballers from Sunderland Durham Light Infantry soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) wartime guest players Cardiff City F.C. wartime guest players Men's association football central defenders 20th-century English sportsmen