Samuel Downing (19 January 1883 – 1974) was an English

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

er who played for a number of teams including

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

Career

Downing's career started at Willesden Town, but spent time at Willesden Green and Park Royal football clubs before being transferred to West Hampstead. He moved to Queens Park Rangers in 1903 where he scored a hat-trick on his debut against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

. Macey (2009): p. 216 He moved to Chelsea in April 1909, where he was part of the team that made it to the semi-final of the 1910–11

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 ...

and was promoted to the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...

in 1911–12 when they finished second in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. After retiring from professional football, he became a cricket coach.

Honours

;Chelsea *Football League Second Division second-place promotion – 1911–12

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Samuel 1883 births 1974 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Brent People from Willesden English men's footballers Willesden Town F.C. players West Hampstead F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders