Richard Charles Brittain (7 June 1887 – 31 July 1949) 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 for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

Football career

Brittain began his career at Portsmouth before moving to Northampton Town in 1906. He thrived under the management of

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English Association football, football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful manage ...

and was chosen to represent a

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

XI on five occasions. In 1911 he signed for

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 ...

side Tottenham Hotspur in an exchange deal involving

Walter Tull Walter Daniel John Tull (28 April 1888 – 25 March 1918) was an English professional footballer and British Army officer of Afro-Caribbean descent. He played as an inside forward and half back for Clapton, Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton ...

. Brittain played for 42 matches for the Lilywhites in all competitions between 1911 and 1913 However, he fell behind Fred Webster and

Tom Collins The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. This "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically served in a Collins glass over ice with a cherry garnish. A non-alcoholic "Collins mix" drink mi ...

and eventually grew frustrated after being overlooked further for

Bill Cartwright James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former coach. A center, he played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seat ...

when a first team place became available through injury and handed in a transfer request in November 1913. He returned to the Southern League, joining newly promoted First Division side

in 1913 for a club record fee of £1,000. His spell with the club was interrupted by the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but on the return of league football, Brittain was awarded the captaincy of the club and became their first captain in the Football League when they joined in 1920. He also led the club to two

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

titles in 1920 and 1922 and was selected twice in a Welsh League XI.

Honours

Cardiff City *

Winner: 1919–20, 1921–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brittain, Charlie 1887 births 1949 deaths Footballers from the Isle of Wight English men's footballers English Football League players Portsmouth F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Southern Football League players Men's association football fullbacks