Arthur Tilford (14 May 1903 – 1993) 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 ...

who played as a full-back for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s.

Football career

Tilford was born in

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

and, after playing for a local village side, he joined First Division

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in May 1924. He made only one First Division appearance for Nottingham Forest as they were relegated at the end of the 1923–24 season. In the following season, he made only seven appearances, generally at left-half, as stand-in for

Bob Wallace Bob or Bobby Wallace may refer to: *Bobby Wallace (American football) (born 1954), college football coach at the University of North Alabama *Bobby Wallace (baseball) (1873–1960), Baseball Hall of Fame member *Bobby Wallace (footballer) (1908–19 ...

. After two seasons at Forest, he was transferred to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

where he was moved to

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, replacing

George Bradshaw George Bradshaw (29 July 1800 – 6 September 1853) was an English cartographer, printer and publisher. He developed Bradshaw's Guide, a widely sold series of combined railway guides and timetables. Biography Bradshaw was born at Windsor B ...

. Tilford made a total of 55 appearances for Blackpool before being replaced in turn by Stan Ramsay. Tilford then dropped down to the

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

when he joined

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

in May 1929, where he spent three seasons, before joining

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

in February 1932. At the end of his first season with Fulham, they were promoted as champions to the Second Division. Tilford had established himself at left-back when the death of his young daughter in late 1932 caused a loss of form. Manager

Jimmy McIntyre James Alfred McIntyre (31 October 1881 – 1954) was an English footballer who became manager at Southampton, Coventry City and Fulham. Playing career McIntyre was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. He was a journeyman player of some repute ...

had just agreed to sign

Mike Keeping Alexander Edwin Michael Keeping (22 August 1902 – 28 March 1984) was an English footballer and manager. He coached Real Madrid CF from January 1948 to October 1950. His father was the Olympic medal winning cyclist Frederick Keeping. Playing ca ...

from

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

and suggested that Tilford should move to The Dell temporarily to help him recover from his loss. During his short spell with Southampton, Tilford continued to train at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against ...

and made only ten appearances for the "Saints". In the summer of 1933, Tilford re-signed with Fulham but by now Keeping had established himself at left-back and Tilford was unable to force himself back into the side. After only five more appearances, he moved to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

where he spent the 1934–35 season before retiring from professional football.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilford, Arthur 1903 births 1993 deaths People from Ilkeston Footballers from Derbyshire English men's footballers English Football League players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks