Frederick Walter Staniforth (23 November 1884 – 23 May 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 ...

who played as an outside right. He made over 200 appearances in

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 ...

in the years prior to 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 ...

Career

Fred Staniforth was born in

Kilnhurst Kilnhurst is a village in South Yorkshire, England, on the banks of the River Don and the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. It grew up around the coal mining, ceramics, glass, brick-making and locomotive industries; none of these in ...

near

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

to Elijah Farewell Staniforth, a miner, and Elizabeth (née Wilson). He played locally for Kilnhurst Town, Rotherham Main and Mexborough Town in Yorkshire. Harry Thickett signed Fred Staniforth in July 1906 from Mexborough Town for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Bristol City had just been promoted to the First Division as Second Division champions. Staniforth replaced Walter Bennett to make his First Division debut on the right wing in a 0–2 defeat at Everton on 6 October 1906. He scored his first goal in his fourth league appearance in a 3–2 win at Notts County. Staniforth made 24 appearances scoring 3 goals in 1906-07 as Bristol City achieved their highest ever League position finishing as First Division runners up to Newcastle United. In 1907-08 Staniforth continued as part of a regular forward line comprising Staniforth,

Billy Maxwell Billy Joe Maxwell (July 23, 1929 – September 20, 2021) was an American professional golfer. Maxwell was born in Abilene, Texas. He played college golf at North Texas State College and helped them win four consecutive NCAA Division I team ch ...

Sam Gilligan Samuel Anderson Gilligan (18 January 1882 – 17 June 1965) was a Scottish professional association football player in the years prior to the First World War who played as a forward. He made over 200 appearances in The Football League for Bristo ...

, Andy Burton and

Frank Hilton Frank Hilton (28 March 1882 - 28 July 1956) was an English professional association football player in the years prior to the First World War. He made over 110 appearances in The Football League and one appearance for the The Football League XI, ...

. He made 35 appearances scoring 4 goals in 1907-08 when the "Babes" finished in 10th place. The following season in 1908-09 the forward line was broken up as

Willis Rippon Willis Rippon (15 May 1886 – 16 March 1956) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward in the Football League for Bristol City, Grimsby Town and Woolwich Arsenal. He also had a notable spell in Scotland with Hami ...

and Bob Hardy came into the team. Staniforth made 34 appearances scoring 4 goals in the First Division as Bristol City finished in 8th place. He also played in all 10

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 ...

ties as Bristol City reached 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 ...

in 1909 for the first and only time. Bristol City slipped to 16th position in the First Division in 1909-10 when Staniforth shared right wing duties with Bob Hardy making 22 appearances scoring 3 goals. Staniforth made 19 appearances without scoring in 1910-11 when Bristol City finished 19th and were relegated to the Second Division. Staniforth lost his regular place on the right wing in October 1910 when City signed Willie Clark from Sunderland but returned for 6 games of the final run of 8 matches. After his playing career finished Fred Staniforth returned to Bristol and settled there until his death on 23 May 1955.

References

External links

LFC History profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staniforth, Fred 1884 births English footballers Rotherham Main F.C. players Mexborough Town F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players 1955 deaths Kilnhurst Colliery F.C. players Association football outside forwards FA Cup Final players