Moses Alexander Edmund Lane MM (17 February 1895 – 14 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 ...

who scored 55 goals from 72 appearances 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

. Lane was born in

Willenhall Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of ...

, Staffordshire. During 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 ...

he served in France and Italy and was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

. He began his football career in junior football in the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during it ...

area before joining

in April 1922. He made his debut in the First Division on 28 April 1923, in the penultimate game of the 1922–23 season, playing at

inside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in a 1–0 win at home to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

. He kept his place for the last game of the season, and for the first six games of the next, but the arrival of

Ernie Islip Ernest Islip (10 October 1892 – August 1941) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for several years in the First Division of the Football League, and won the FA Cup with Huddersfield Town. Biography Islip ...

and the form and fitness of

Johnny Crosbie John Crosbie (9 October 1895 – 1 February 1982) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward in the Scottish Football League for Ayr United and made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Birmingham. He ...

and

Joe Bradford Joseph Bradford (22 January 1901 – 6 September 1980) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Born in Peggs Green, near Coalville, Leicestershire, Bradford made nearly 450 appearances for Birmingham in all com ...

restricted his first-team opportunities. He spent the 1924–25 season with

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. He was unable to break into the league side, but did play one match for the Rams in the F.A. Cup. In 1925 he returned to

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 s ...

with successively

Wellington Town Telford United Football Club was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire. The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was a founder member of the Alliance Premier League (la ...

and

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City ...

. His performances for Worcester, for whom he scored 34 goals in all competitions in the 1926–27 season, earned him a return to

with

of 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 ...

. Lane repaid them with 36 goals in all competitions in his first season, One more season at Walsall brought his goals tally up to 51 league goals from 57 appearances, and he finished off his career back in non-league with

Brierley Hill Alliance Brierley Hill Alliance F.C. was an English association football club based in Brierley Hill in the West Midlands. Formed in 1887 from a merger of Brockmoor Harriers and Brockmoor Pickwicks, the club joined the Birmingham & District League in 18 ...

, Netherton and Dudley Town. Lane died in

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and ...

, Staffordshire, in 1949 at the age of 54.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Moses 1895 births 1949 deaths People from Willenhall Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Willenhall F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Brierley Hill Alliance F.C. players Dudley Town F.C. players English Football League players Recipients of the Military Medal Military personnel from the West Midlands (county) British military personnel of World War I