Albert Duffield (3 March 1894 – 27 September 1981), commonly known as Bert Duffield, 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 ...

who played as a full-back.

Early life

Duffield was born in

Owston Ferry Owston Ferry is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the west bank of the River Trent, and north from Gainsborough. It had a total resident population of 1,128 in 2001 including Kelfield. This increased ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

on 3 March 1894.

Career

Between 1912 and 1914, Duffield played for

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gains ...

before serving as a bombardier in France during World War One. Following the end of the war, Duffield played for

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History ...

side Castleford Town before joining newly formed

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

in the summer of 1920. His debut for the club came on 28 August 1920 in Leeds United's first ever league match against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

. Duffield made 203 league appearances in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

and Second Divisions for Leeds United before leaving to join

Bradford (Park Avenue) Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former ho ...

in 1925. As of 2024, over 100 years after leaving Leeds United, Duffield still holds the club record for most appearances by an outfield player without scoring a goal. He retired for Bradford (Park Avenue) in June 1929 after 51 appearances.

Personal life

Following his retirement, he worked as a

greengrocer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the Unite ...

before running a

poultry farm Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion ch ...

in Rawcliffe. He died in Beeston in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

on 27 September 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffield, Bert 1894 births 1981 deaths English men's footballers People from the Borough of North Lincolnshire Footballers from Lincolnshire Men's association football fullbacks Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Castleford Town F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players English Football League players