Anthony Ingham (18 February 1925 – 21 April 2010) 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 ...

who played more than 500 games 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

as a defender for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. He holds the appearance record for QPR, having played 548 first-team games in senior competitions.

Career

During the Second World War Ingham served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. He also completed an electrical apprenticeship while playing part-time for Harrogate Town, where he made his debut in 1939/40 at the age of 14. He signed for

in the summer of 1947, and made his League debut for the club in October of the same year in a 3–2 defeat at

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 ...

. However he played only rarely for The Whites, and joined

in June 1950 for a fee of £5,000. He made his debut against

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in November 1950, and retired 13 years later having made a club record 548 appearances in all senior competitions, 514 in the League. After retiring as a player in May 1963, he held various positions with QPR and went on to become a director of the club. A function room at

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

is named in Ingham's honour.

Death

On 21 April 2010, Tony Ingham died of an illness at the age of 85.

References

1925 births 2010 deaths Footballers from Harrogate Royal Navy personnel of World War II Men's association football defenders English men's footballers Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen {{england-footy-defender-1920s-stub