Henry Chambers (17 November 1896 – 29 June 1949) was an England international

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 in

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

Life and playing career

Born in

Willington Quay Willington Quay is an area in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear in northern England. It is on the north bank of the River Tyne, facing Jarrow, and between Wallsend and North Shields. It is served by the Howdon Metro station in Howdo ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, England, Harry was a schoolboy international at age eleven when he attended Willington

Board School School boards were ''ad hoc'' public bodies in England and Wales that existed between 1870 and 1902, and established and administered Elementary school (England and Wales), elementary schools. Creation The Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & ...

.The account does not mention the school national team he played against, nor identify his death place. After school he played for North Shields Athletic, Kings Park (on loan), Belfast Distillery ( wartime guest) and

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

(wartime guest) before he was signed, from North Shields, for the Reds by manager Tom Watson in April 1915, just before the suspension of league football due to the outbreak of the

First World War 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 ...

. He enlisted in Irish

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment The

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Fo ...

, with whom he served until invalided out of the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1917. He had to wait 4 years to make his debut until 30 August 1919 in a

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 ...

match at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...

, a game Liverpool won 3–1 against

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

and in which Chambers opened his

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

goalscoring account. After scoring on his debut he went on to establish himself as the undisputed goal king of Anfield in the immediate post-war years. Topping the club's goalscoring charts for the next five seasons, his shooting prowess was instrumental in Liverpool winning back-to-back League Championships in 1922 and 1923, he scored 41 times in 72 appearances during this spell averaging a goal every games. In total he scored 151 goals in 338 appearances for Liverpool including a memorable

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 Wick ...

in a 5–1 win over Everton at Anfield in October 1922. The left-footer nicknamed 'Smiler' was selected by England on 8 occasions scoring 5 goals, his international debut came on 14 March 1921 in a 0-0 British Championship draw with

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, his first goal for his country came in a 2-0 friendly victory over

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

at the Oscar Bossaert Stadion,

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western p ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 21 May 1921, Chambers best game for his country came on 22 October 1921 in a British Championship match at

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. ...

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

, it was against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and he scored both goals in the 2–0 victory. Harry was allowed to leave and in April 1928, aged 32, he signed for

where the forward who scored a goal every games for the Reds was converted to a centre-half! Before he retired from the professional game he went on to be player-manager for Oakengates Town (1929-1933), at the same time as running a local

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

called The Stafford Arms,Article by Toby Neal. and represent

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

. Even after retiring Chambers, who was employed for the last ten years of his life at the factory of Messrs Sankey's in nearby Hadley, could not stay away from the game he loved and continued to play for Shropshire team Oakengates right up until his death at Shrewsbury in 1949 aged 52. He was buried at

Wombridge Wombridge (alternatively Wambridge) is a former parish in the Wellington Division of the List_of_hundreds_of_England#Shropshire, hundred of Bradford South in the Telford and Wrekin district of the county of Shropshire, England. It is east of Well ...

Parish Church near Oakengates.

Career details

*Liverpool F.C (1915–1928) † 338 appearances, 151 goals - Two First Division Championships winners medals (1922 and 1923) †Although Chambers signed in 1915 he was unable to make his debut until the opening day of the 1919/20 season due to 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 ...

of 1914/18. *England (1921–1923) 8 caps, 5 goals

References

External links

Player profile at LFChistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Harry 1896 births 1949 deaths English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Liverpool F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Oakengates Athletic F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players Footballers from Tyne and Wear British Army personnel of World War I Connaught Rangers soldiers People from Willington Quay Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Military personnel from Tyne and Wear Burials in Shropshire 20th-century English sportsmen Glentoran F.C. wartime guest players Lisburn Distillery F.C. wartime guest players