Cecil Blakemore (8 December 1897 – September 1963) sometimes known as Cyril Blakemore, 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 lea ...

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 ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, most notably for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

and

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. He also played League football for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

Career

Early years

, Blakemore began his career as an amateur in

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

in his native West Midlands, playing for Heath Villa,

Redditch Redditch is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Worcestershire, England. It is located south of Birmingham, east of Bromsgrove, north-west of Alcester and north-east of Worcester. In 2021, the town had a population of ...

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

and Fairfield Villa. He had a spell with

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

during the 1921–22 season, but did not make a first team appearance.

Crystal Palace

Blakemore got his second chance at

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

football when he signed for

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

in December 1922. He had a slow start to life at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

, making just 24 appearances during the 1922–23 and 1923–24 seasons, though he managed five goals in his 12 appearances during 1923–24. Blakemore broke into the team during the 1924–25 season, making 24 appearances and scoring 12 goals in a disastrous season which saw the Eagles relegated 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 ...

. He was a near ever-present for two seasons in the Third Division South, scoring 36 goals as Palace pushed for promotion back to the Second Division. Blakemore departed Palace in May 1927, having made 141 appearances and scored 56 goals during five years with the club.

Bristol City

Blakemore moved back up to the Second Division to sign for

in May 1927. He failed to hold down a regular place in the team, but still managed 20 goals in 42 appearances before departing Ashton Gate in May 1929.

Brentford

Blakemore and Bristol City teammate Jackie Foster signed for Third Division South club

on 2 May 1929. He quickly established himself in the team, scoring 15 goals in 43 appearances during the 1929–30 season, a campaign in which the Bees set a record of 21 home wins. Blakemore made another 40 appearances the following year, scoring 13 goals, before leaving Brentford in May 1931. Blakemore scored 28 goals in 83 games during two seasons at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

Norwich City

Blakemore moved to Third Division South club

in August 1931. He made 70 appearances over the course of two seasons, as the Canaries pushed for promotion to the Second Division.

Swindon Town

At age 35, Blakemore was brought in by manager

Ted Vizard Edward Vizard (7 June 1889 – 25 December 1973) was a Welsh international Association football, footballer who became a manager. He spent almost all his playing career at Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers. Playing career Born in Cogan, V ...

to replace Third Division South club

's record goalscorer Harry Morris in June 1933. He scored eight goals in 27 appearances before being released at the end of the 1933–34 season.

Brierley Hill Alliance

Blakemore ended his career with a spell at Birmingham & District League club Brierley Hill Alliance.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakemore, Cecil 1897 births Footballers from Stourbridge English men's footballers Stourbridge F.C. players Redditch United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players Norwich City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players 1963 deaths Brierley Hill Alliance F.C. players Men's association football forwards 20th-century English sportsmen