Bertram Clewley Freeman (1 October 1885 – 11 August 1955) 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 ...
. He played as a
centre forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
for clubs
Woolwich Arsenal,
Everton,
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...
and
Wigan Borough
Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. It was a fifth attempt at establishing football in Wigan, their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and ...
. Freeman was one of the most prolific goal-scorers of his time, winning one
First Division and two
Second Division Golden Boots. He was also capped at the senior level for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
Career
Early days
Freeman was born in
Handsworth, Birmingham and attended Gower Street School in
Aston
Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre.
History
Aston ...
, where he started to make a name for himself as a prolific goal-scorer. He ended his schooldays with two games in which he scored seven and nine times respectively.
After moving to Gower Street Old Boys at the age of 16, he then moved on to Aston Manor where he was spotted by
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...
, for whom he signed professionally in April 1904. At 5 ft 8 in he was not the biggest of forwards and he failed to make an impact at
Villa Park
Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway statio ...
. As so he transferred to
Woolwich Arsenal in November 1905.
Woolwich Arsenal
Freeman scored on his Arsenal debut on 25 November 1905 away to
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 ...
, scoring Arsenal's only goal in a 3–1 defeat. He also scored a brace in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
win against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
that saw the club to the
semi-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
which they lost by 2–0 to
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...
. As so in
his first season he scored twelve goals in 21 games for the Gunners.
Arsenal finished in seventh place in the
1906–07 season, with Freeman scoring eight goals in twelve league games. Although Arsenal again reached the FA Cup semi-finals, Freeman made no appearances in cup matches that season. By this time he had competition for the centre-forward's role with
Peter Kyle
Peter Kyle (born 9 September 1970) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove since 2015.
A former charity sector ...
, restricting his appearances; the situation continued
the following season, with Freeman making a further 15 league appearances with four goals.
With Freeman unable to hold a regular place down, new manager
George Morrell, in an effort to alleviate the club's debts, allowed him to join
Everton in April 1908. In Freeman's biography in ''Arsenal Who's Who'', it is argued that this was "one of the great transfer blunders of those early years". In his three seasons at Arsenal, Freeman scored a total of 24 goals in 49 appearances in league and cup matches.
Everton
An Everton director had been sent to watch Freeman play for Arsenal in 1907, and on his return was asked by the board: "Did he score any goals?" The unnamed director apparently reported back: "He scored all four of them, but he did nothing else!"
Ernest Edwards, the ''
Liverpool Echo
The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...
'' journalist, who had christened
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
's home end The
Spion Kop, convinced the Blues that Freeman was worth taking a chance on and the 22-year-old signed for a fee of £350 in time to make his debut at the end of the
1907–08 season.
He made his debut in a goalless draw away to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
on 17 April 1908 and played in the remaining four games of the season, scoring once. He soon formed a useful partnership with his former Arsenal teammate
Tim Coleman
John George Coleman MM (26 October 1881 – 20 November 1940) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Kettering Town, Northampton Town, Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Tunbridge Wells Ran ...
, who had joined Everton a few weeks earlier. During
his first full season with Everton he scored 38 goals from 37 appearances, which made him the
First Division's top scorer.
With Coleman contributing a further 20 goals, Everton finished in the runners-up position, seven points behind the champions,
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...
. In the Autumn of 1908, between 10 October and 12 December, Freeman had a run of 10 successive goal-scoring appearances – during which he struck 17 times.
These included
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...
s against
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...
and
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. Freeman's total of 38 league goals broke
the record for the most Football League goals in a season previously held by
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
's
Sam Raybould (31 in
1902–03
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Musi ...
) and stood until broken by
Ted Harper's 43 goals in
1925–26.
Freeman won his first international cap for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
in the
1909 British Home Championship
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
match against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
on 15 March 1909. Freeman scored England's second goal in a 2–0 victory. He retained his place for the next international against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
on 3 April, which England also won 2–0 (both goals from
George Wall
George Wall (20 February 1885 – June 1962) was an English footballer.
Career
Born in Boldon Colliery, County Durham, Wall started his career with Boldon Royal Rovers and played for Whitburn and Jarrow before joining Barnsley in 1903. In ...
) as England claimed the championship title. He also played for the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
against the Irish League in 1909, scoring four goals.
In the
1909–10 season, Freeman was not able to score so freely with 22 league goals as Everton finished in mid-table. They did, however, have a good run in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
, with Freeman scoring four goals, including two against
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 Round Four, as Everton reached the
semi-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
where they were put out 3–0 by
Barnsley after a replay.
The following season started poorly for Freeman, and by mid-November he had lost his place in the Everton team to
George Beare who had recently arrived from
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 ...
. Despite an outstanding goals return – 67 goals in 94 appearances – Freeman had always struggled to impress the hierarchy at Everton and he was allowed to leave in 1911, aged 26, as the Everton directors believed he was past his best,
with his final appearance coming against his former team,
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, on 11 March 1911.
Burnley
Freeman was recruited to
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...
for a fee of £800, by
John Haworth
John Haworth (8 May 1876 – 4 December 1924) was an English football manager. After playing amateur football as a youth, he was appointed manager of Accrington Stanley in 1897. He was in charge of the team for 13 years, leading them to two L ...
who had taken over the managerial reins at
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footbal ...
the previous September, having been one of the founders of
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete histor ...
. At the time, Burnley were experiencing severe financial difficulties and had spent ten years in
the Second Division. However, a good run in the FA Cup had helped to improve the club's finances and Haworth was able to persuade the directors to depart from their policy of only recruiting local players in an effort to alleviate the team's goal scoring problem.
He made his Burnley debut at home to
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...
on 15 April 1911.
The following season, he began to repay Haworth's faith in him as the goals came on a regular basis; a 2–1 victory over Wolves on 23 December saw Freeman score his twentieth goal of the season in only the nineteenth game, and he followed this with a hat-trick in a 4–0 defeat of
Glossop North End
Glossop North End Association Football Club is a football club in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, which compete in the . Their home ground is Surrey Street, which has a capacity of 1,301 (200 seated, 1,101 standing). The club play in blue, and ar ...
a week later. By the end of March, Freeman's goals had helped Burnley to the top of the table with a seven-point margin over third placed
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
with five games to play and promotion seemed secured. The absence, however, of winger
Dick Lindley contributed to the club only collecting three more points and Burnley missed out on promotion finishing two points behind second place
Chelsea.
For Freeman, however, there was the satisfaction of finishing as the league's top scorer with 32 goals from 33 appearances
and returning to the
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
side.
He was selected for all three matches in the
1912 British Home Championship, the first of which came against
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on 10 February 1912 in which Freeman scored England's fourth goal in a 6–1 victory (with a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...
from
Harold Fleming). He scored again in the next match, a 2–0 victory against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
on 11 March and retained his place for the final match against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
on 23 March which ended 1–1, thus enabling England and Scotland to share the title.
In
1912–13, Freeman at first struggled to maintain his form of the previous season, but in a run of ten straight League victories between November 1912 and January 1913 Freeman scored fifteen goals, representing an emphatic return to form. Haworth was by now building a team not just to gain promotion but to secure the club's place in the top division and, having already recruited
Tommy Boyle from
Barnsley the previous year to strengthen the defence, he signed winger
Eddie Mosscrop in September 1912, followed by the signing of three players from
Gainsborough Trinity in February (following an F.A. Cup tie between the two clubs), including goalkeeper
Ronnie Sewell
Walter Ronald Sewell (19 July 1890 – 4 February 1945) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Gainsborough Trinity, Burnley, Blackburn Rovers and England.
Life and career
Sewell was born in Middlesbrough. ...
. These players were to form the core of the Burnley side over the next few years and all were future
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
internationals. By mid-February, Burnley were top of the table and Freeman scored twice to defeat First Division
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
in the third round of the cup to set up a tie at local rivals
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
, where a single goal from Boyle saw them through to a
semi-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
against
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. A 0–0 draw on 29 March at
Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane is a football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United.
The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramall family of file and graver manufacturers. ...
preceded a replay at
St Andrew's which saw Burnley lose 3–2. The FA Cup run had distracted Burnley from the league, and they had slipped into second place. They were able to hold onto the runners-up position and Freeman was again the league's top scorer with 31 goals from 37 appearances
as Burnley eventually secured their return to the top flight after an absence of 13 years, finishing second in the table behind
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...
. The success of Freeman and Burnley led to calls for him to be selected again for England,
but these were ignored by the England selectors who opted for
George Elliott and then
Harry Hampton
Harry Hampton VC (14 December 1870 – 2 November 1922) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Details
Hampton was bo ...
at centre-forward, and Freeman's England career ended with three goals in five appearances of which four were won with one draw.
In
their first season back in the
First Division, neither Freeman nor Burnley were able to replicate their form of the previous season, but neither were the club ever in danger of relegation as they finished the League season in twelfth place with Freeman scoring 16 goals from 31 appearances, a strike rate of a goal every other game. In the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
, however, it was a different story as Freeman's two goals in the early rounds helped them reach a Fourth Round tie against
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. After a goalless first match, Burnley won the replay 2–1 to avenge their defeat in the previous season's semi-final. The semi-final saw them come up against
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...
; the first match was again goalless, and in the replay at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpo ...
,
Tommy Boyle scored the goal (a long-range effort past the Sheffield keeper) that put Burnley into the
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
for the first time in their history, where they were to meet
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
.
The
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
was played at the
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace Exhibition building w ...
on 25 April, in front of King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...
, who was the first reigning monarch to attend a Cup Final. The final itself was something of an anti-climax, after the drama of the early rounds. A fierce shot on 58 minutes by Freeman gave Burnley "a narrow victory in an otherwise undistinguished match in which two teams with low positions in the League slogged it out in midfield, neither set of forwards being capable of mounting a sustained attack". Despite the lack of quality in the final, Burnley deserved the plaudits having been the first team to overcome five First Division clubs to take the trophy.
Freeman started the
1914–15 season in prolific early season form as he scored ten goals in the first eleven league games. By the end of the year, however, Freeman's goalscoring touch had deserted him and manager
John Haworth
John Haworth (8 May 1876 – 4 December 1924) was an English football manager. After playing amateur football as a youth, he was appointed manager of Accrington Stanley in 1897. He was in charge of the team for 13 years, leading them to two L ...
even tried playing him the wing in an unsuccessful attempt to rekindle some kind of form. A late-season run of good results saw the Clarets claim a final position of fourth in the table in which only three points separated the top seven teams, with
Everton claiming the title.
By now, league football had been interrupted by the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
, but Freeman was to return to
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footbal ...
for two further seasons after the cessation of hostilities. Although only managing 12 goals in
the first post-war season, Freeman was still Burnley's top goal-scorer for the season, as Burnley finished as runners-up in the
First Division, nine points behind champions
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...
. On 21 February 1920,Freeman became the first Burnley player to score 100 League goals, in a 2–0 win at
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
. Freeman's final goal for Burnley came on 20 March in a 2–1 victory against
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
.
The following season, he played in the first three matches, all of which ended in defeats and he lost his place to
Joe Anderson. He then had to sit and watch as none of the next thirty games were lost and his league career at Burnley was over. As a result, he did not receive a Championship medal despite the contributions that he had made to Burnley's success in his time with the club. He made one final appearance as a replacement for Anderson in a 3–0 FA Cup defeat at
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...
on 19 February 1921, and he joined
Wigan Borough
Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. It was a fifth attempt at establishing football in Wigan, their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and ...
at the end of the season.
In his ten years with Burnley, he scored a total of 115 goals in 189 appearances, having helped the club achieve top flight promotion and win the only
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
in its history. Shortly before he left
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footbal ...
, a local newspaper published this tribute:
Later career
He spent the
1921–22 season in the
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 to ...
with
Wigan Borough
Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. It was a fifth attempt at establishing football in Wigan, their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and ...
where his 13 goals from 25 appearances made him the club's top scorer for the season.
He subsequently played for
Kettering Town
Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts ...
and
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...
before retiring from football.
Bert Freeman died in August 1955, aged 69. His brother,
Walter was also a footballer, playing for
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
and
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 ...
.
Career statistics
Honours
Everton
*
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...
runners-up:
1908–09
Burnley
*
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...
runners-up:
1912–13
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
winners:
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It also saw the first airline to provide schedule ...
*
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...
runners-up:
1919–20
England
*
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship
* sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp
* gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta
* cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...
winners:
1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* J ...
,
1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6
** German geophysicist Alfred ...
Individual
*
First Division Golden Boot:
1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* J ...
*
Second Division Golden Boot:
1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6
** German geophysicist Alfred ...
&
1913
Events January
* January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...
References
External links
Profile on www.englandstats.comProfile on www.englandfc.comArticle in Liverpool EchoBurnley profile Everton statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Bert
1885 births
1955 deaths
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
English footballers
England international footballers
Aston Villa F.C. players
Arsenal F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Kettering Town F.C. players
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players
Darwen F.C. players
Wigan Borough F.C. players
English Football League players
First Division/Premier League top scorers
Burnley F.C. wartime guest players
English Football League representative players
Footballers from Handsworth, West Midlands
Association football forwards
FA Cup Final players