Arthur Bellamy (5 April 1942 – 22 January 2014) was an English footballer who played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

for

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

and Chesterfield.

Biography

Arthur Bellamy was born on 5 April 1942 in the village of Blackhill,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. As a youngster, he supported

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He worked as an apprentice welder with the

Consett Iron Company The Consett Iron Company Ltd was an industrial business based in the Consett area of County Durham in the United Kingdom. The company owned coal mines and limestone quarries, and manufactured iron and steel. It was registered on 4 April 1864 a ...

before becoming a professional footballer. After his playing career ended, he lived in Burnley where he worked as a milkman and later owned a fish and chip shop. In 1979, he returned to Burnley F.C. as reserve team coach before being appointed assistant manager under Brian Miller in 1986. He then became youth coach under Frank Casper and later head groundsman at Turf Moor, before retiring in April 2007. Upon his retirement, he was presented a lifetime achievement award by Burnley manager

Steve Cotterill Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English coach and former player who is currently the manager of National League side Forest Green Rovers. Cotterill, a striker, had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albio ...

Football career

Bellamy was spotted at the age of 15 by Burnley scout

Jack Hixon John Hixon (7 February 1921 – 20 December 2009) was an English football talent scout. A familiar face at football games across the North East for decades, Hixon played a major part in furthering the careers of many footballers from the region. ...

while playing for the Consett Iron Company works team and was offered a trial at the club in 1958. He was offered a professional deal by Burnley manager

Harry Potts Harold Potts (22 October 1920 – 16 January 1996) was an English football player and manager. As a player he won promotion with both Burnley and Everton, and both from Second Division. As Burnley manager, he guided them to the First Division ...

in 1959 and spent the first three years of his career in the junior and reserve sides. He was part of the Burnley 'A' and reserve sides that won the Lancashire League and

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

respectively during the 1961–62 season. Bellamy scored on his first-team debut in the 5–2 victory over

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

on 26 March 1963.The Hall of Fame Number 26 – Arthur Bellamy
, Clarets Mad He made another 12 appearances during the remainder of the season, scoring once more. The 1963–64 campaign proved to be Bellamy's most prolific as he netted 8 goals in 17 league matches. He never established himself as a first-team regular during 10 seasons with Burnley, playing in around half the team's matches each year. His highest number of matches played in a season came in 1967–68 when he appeared in 38 league and cup games. In total, Bellamy amassed 250 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 29 goals. Bellamy transferred to Third Division outfit Chesterfield in July 1972 for a fee of £10,000 and made his league debut for the club on 12 August 1972 in the 4–1 home win against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. In contrast to his time with Burnley, Bellamy was a regular fixture in the Chesterfield side throughout his four seasons with the club. He went on to make 133 league appearances and score 12 league goals for Chesterfield before being released in the summer of 1976 and subsequently retiring from football. Bellamy died in Pendleside hospice near Burnley on the morning of 22 January 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellamy, Arthur 1942 births 2014 deaths Footballers from Consett Footballers from Burnley English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Burnley F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players English Football League players Burnley F.C. non-playing staff 20th-century English sportsmen