Joseph William Bache (8 February 1880 – 10 November 1960), was an English footballer who played 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 ...

. Joe Bache was a prolific centre forward for Aston Villa between 1900 and 1919. He played for 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 ...

national team seven times, and during that period scored four goals for his country, one in each of his first four appearances. He was one of Aston Villa's all-time greatest forwards, enjoying a successful career at the club, winning 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 ...

winners medal in both 1905 and 1913. He was also a vital part of the Villa team that won the League Championship in 1910. Bache appeared for the team 474 times and had scored a total of 185 goals at the end of his career. Bache joined the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War and went on to serve on the Western Front, where he rose to the rank of Lance-Corporal. Despite being involved in a number of actions, Bache survived the war and returned home after the 1918 armistice to resume his playing career. After spending 1919–20 in South Wales with Mid Rhondda, Bache made a brief comeback as player/coach for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

in 1920, playing five games, scoring once. His son,

David Bache David Ernest Bache (14 June 1925 – 26 November 1994) was a British automobile designer. For much of his career he worked with Rover. Early life Bache was born in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Aston Villa and England footballer Joe Bache who ...

became a famous car designer, producing many designs, mainly for Rover.

References

External links

Player profile
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Aston Villa Players DatabasePlayer Profile
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Football and the First World War
* Aston Villa F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players English footballers England international footballers Association football forwards Sportspeople from Stourbridge 1880 births 1960 deaths English Football League players Mid Rhondda F.C. players English Football League representative players Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers FA Cup Final players British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Worcestershire {{England-footy-forward-1880s-stub