Edward Albert Sandford (22 October 1910 – 13 May 1995) was an English

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 as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. During his professional career from 1930 to 1943 he represented

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, Morris Commercial and made one appearance for the

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

Early life

Sandford was born in Handsworth,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

at a tea room run by his father. Two of his uncles, Abe Jones and Billy Jones, were noted footballers.

Club career

As a youth he played football for Tantany Athletic, Overend Wesley, Birmingham Carriage Works and

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...

Highfield. In October 1929, while still an amateur, he joined

, the club that his uncle Abe Jones had represented between 1896 and 1901. Sandford turned professional in May 1930 and scored on his senior debut in November of the same year when Albion beat

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

3–2 in a Division Two match. During his first season, he was part of the Albion side that won promotion to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

and that also beat

2–1 in the 1931 FA Cup Final. Sandford scored for West Bromwich Albion in the 1935 FA Cup Final. He joined

for £1,500 in 1939, and scored once from five appearances in the 1938–39 Second Division, before finishing his career with Morris Commercial, retiring in May 1943.

International career

In November 1932 he won his only

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

, in a 0–0 draw with

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 ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. He was called up a number of other times as a reserve player.

Later life and death

Sandford returned to West Bromwich Albion in the late 1940s, serving as a coach and scout. After retiring from playing, he joined his father at the family-run tea room. In later life Sandford lived in

Great Barr Great Barr is a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as ...

, Birmingham. He died in

Sandwell General Hospital Sandwell General Hospital is an acute teaching hospital of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in West Bromwich, England and provides an extensive range of general and specialist hospital services. History The hospital start ...

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

, in May 1995 following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Personal life

Sandford married Lily Smith in 1937 at St James Church in Handsworth. He had a son, Russell, who played

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 ...

for

Moor Green Moor Green is a historic home located near Brentsville, Prince William County, Virginia. It dates to the early-19th century, and is a two-story, five-bay, Federal style brick residence, with a one-room, two-story ell. It has a standing seam m ...

while working as a teacher.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, Teddy 1910 births 1995 deaths English men's footballers Footballers from Handsworth, West Midlands England men's international footballers Men's association football inside forwards English Football League players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen