Samuel Francis Raybould (11 June 1875 – 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 lea ...

. He played as a striker and is most renowned for his days playing for

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Life and playing career

Raybould was born in

Staveley, Derbyshire Staveley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, along the banks of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother (5 miles) northeast of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, (5 miles) west of Clowne, ...

and played for Poolsbrook United, Staveley Colliery and North Staveley before joining Chesterfield Town on trial. His trial wasn't successful, and he moved to Ilkeston Town from where he joined

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in 1894. Despite scoring twice in five games for Derby, Raybould returned to non-league football with Ilkeston Town, subsequently playing for Poolsbrook United, Ilkeston Town (for a third spell) and Bolsover Colliery before joining

New Brighton Tower New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

in 1899. He scored ten times in just 13 league games for New Brighton Tower and was signed by manager Tom Watson for

in January 1900. He made his debut on 13 January 1900 in a 2–0 win over W.B.A at

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 ...

and scored his first goal for the club a week later on 20 January in the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is an association football match between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, two clubs based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is the longest running top-flight local derby, derby in England, with its fi ...

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a game which saw Everton win 3–1. Originally an

outside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

, he switched to

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

at Liverpool and became a highly successful goalscorer. In the 1902–03 season Raybould set a new record of 31 league goals in a single league season. This record stood until 1931 when

Gordon Hodgson Gordon Hodgson (16 April 1904 – 14 June 1951) was a professional sportsman, born in Transvaal Colony, who is best known as a striker for Liverpool and as a fast bowler for Lancashire. He won two international caps for South Africa and three ...

broke it by scoring 36 goals. In 1903 he, along with John Glover and William Goldie were given a seven-month ban from football for agreeing to 'financial inducements' to sign for Southern League

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. Portsmouth tried to use lack of regulations of transfers between the leagues to their advantage, but their approach was judged illegal. Raybould was suspended for seven months for agreeing to sign for Pompey. He was also given a lifetime ban on ever signing for the south-coast side. Without Raybould Liverpool slumped from fifth place to relegation candidates. His ban lasted until 31 December 1903 but was selected for the first team straight away in January. Raybould scored four goals from 15 games but could not prevent the reds dropping into the Second Division. However, he helped Liverpool to the second division title, contributing 19 goals and went on to score a total of 130 goals in 226 appearances for Liverpool, and remained their record goalscorer for 37 years. As of 2022, he stands as the eleventh highest goalscorer in Liverpool's history, ninth by his league goals. His record of scoring 67 goals in his first 100 games for Liverpool stood until 2020 when he was overtaken by

Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right winger or Forward (association football), forward for club Liverpool F.C., L ...

. After leaving Liverpool in 1907, Raybould moved first to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

where he scored 12 goals in 28 appearances in his solitary season there. He ended his league career at Woolwich Arsenal. He made his Arsenal debut against Everton on 2 September 1908 and played 30 times for Arsenal that season, scoring seven goals. He left league football in 1909, joining non-league Chesterfield and subsequently playing for Sutton Town and Barlborough United. Raybould never gained international recognition but was selected 3 times to represent the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

against the

Scottish League 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 ...

Personal life

Raybould married Selima Wilkes on 24 December 1897, when he described himself as a miner. Raybould died in 1949.

Career statistics

Goals and Appearances by club, season and competition.

References

External links

Player profile at Liverpoolfc.tv

Player profile at LFChistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raybould, Sam 1875 births 1949 deaths Footballers from Staveley, Derbyshire English men's footballers Ilkeston Town F.C. (1880s) players Derby County F.C. players Bolsover Colliery F.C. players New Brighton Tower F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Ashfield United F.C. players English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers English Football League representative players Men's association football forwards