Samuel English (18 August 1908 – 12 April 1967) was a Northern Irish

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 several clubs during the 1930s, but is mainly remembered for his time with

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

. English also won two international caps for

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 ...

. His career was overshadowed by the death of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

goalkeeper John Thomson who died as a result of an accidental collision with English during an

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

game in 1931.

Early life

Samuel English was born in the hamlet of Crevolea in

Aghadowey Aghadowey () is a townland in east County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in Aghadowey civil parish, and is part of Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is close to the county boundary with County Antrim. Sport Aghadowey is a popular a ...

, Ireland. In 1924 his family moved to

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; ) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots language, Scots derivation of the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic meaning Big Field. ...

in Scotland, and for a time he worked at the

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...

Shipyard.

Club career

English began his career with

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

side

Yoker Athletic Yoker Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Clydebank near Glasgow. Yoker is an area of Glasgow adjacent to Clydebank, however Yoker's stadium lies just outside the Glasgow boundary. Nicknamed the ''Whe Ho'', the club wer ...

before joining

in July 1931. He holds the Rangers record for the most league goals scored in one season: 44 goals from 35 appearances in his debut season of 1931–32. English scored 53 goals in all competitions that season, including a five-goal haul against Morton, four goals against Queens Park and hat-tricks against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

Leith Athletic Leith Athletic Football Club is a association football, football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. They compete in the East of Scotland Football League, First Division. First team matches are played at Meadowbank Stadium. Th ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

and

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

. English won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. English was less prolific the following season, but still scored 11 goals in 30 league and cup matches, helping Rangers to win the

Scottish League Championship The Scottish League Championship is the domestic rugby union league system within Scotland. Operated by the Scottish Rugby Union, the championship was founded in 1973 as the first formalised national league system within any home nations country. ...

. English's career was overshadowed by an incident on 5 September 1931 where he was involved in a collision with John Thomson, the

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Thomson dived for the ball and his head collided with English's knee (not his boot, as sometimes claimed). Thomson suffered serious injuries to his skull and died in hospital a few hours later. The official enquiry found that the collision was an accident, and cleared English of any blame; a view which was fully supported by Thomson's family and all players from both teams who were on the field at the time. Nevertheless, English was deeply traumatised by what had happened to Thomson. Although he was cleared of malice in the Thomson incident, jeering by Scottish crowds caused his move to England. English signed 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 ...

in the summer of 1933 for a transfer fee of £8,000. He began the season in fine form and had scored 16 goals by the half-way stage. However he played less regularly as the season progressed, but still scored a further four goals to finish the season with 20 goals in 31 league and cup appearances. The following season saw English in and out of the team, and he could only score six goals in 19 games. In 1935 the recently appointed Queen of the South manager

George McLachlan George Hardie McLachlan (21 September 1901 – September 1964) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. He played for a number of amateur sides as a youth but began his professional career with Clyde in the Scottish Football League. ...

took English back north to Scotland for a spell at the

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

-based club. The move was not a success and English was given a free transfer to Hartlepools United in July 1936. He was to find that his reputation had preceded him, he often faced taunts regarding the death of Thomson, and he never fully recovered his playing form despite scoring 31 goals in 75 appearances for Hartlepools. Eventually he retired from football at the age of 28, and was quoted afterwards as describing his playing career after the Thomson accident as being "seven years of joyless sport."

International career

English won two full international caps in 1932 for

. He made his debut in a home game at

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

, Belfast on 17 September 1932, losing 4–0 to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. English won his second and last cap on 7 December 1932, in a 4–1 defeat away against

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 ...

with English scoring Ireland's goal.

Later life and legacy

After retiring from playing, English worked as a coach for Duntocher Hibs and Yoker Athletic before finding employment in a shipyard. English died in the Vale of Leven Hospital in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, at the age of 58 after battling

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

. In recognition of his prolific goal-scoring exploits during his two seasons at

, English was added to the club's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2009. Members of his family and Rangers supporters also commissioned silversmith Cara Murphy to produce a commemorative silver bowl containing 44 silver balls, each ball representing the 44 goals English scored in his record-setting first season at Ibrox. The ''Sam English Bowl'' was then presented to Rangers and is now awarded yearly to the club's top-scorer in a season. The first winner of the bowl was

Kris Boyd Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward, currently working as a sports pundit. As a player he was a forward. Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started h ...

in May 2009.

Honours

Rangers *

Scottish Division One The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...

: 1932–33 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rule ...

: 1931–32, 1932–33

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats

''Honour call for NI soccer star''
BBC News {{DEFAULTSORT:English, Sam 1908 births 1967 deaths Association footballers from County Londonderry Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Rangers F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United Kingdom Neurological disease deaths in Scotland Yoker Athletic F.C. players Men's association football forwards Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players English Football League players