Alf Ball (footballer, born 1890)

Alfred Ball (1890 – 3 October 1952) was an English professional footballer who made 97 appearances in the Football League for Lincoln City. He played as an outside left. He also played for Midland League club Mansfield Town and for Ilkeston United of the Central Alliance.[3]

Alf Ball
Personal information
Full name Alfred Ball[1]
Date of birth 1890[1]
Place of birth Clowne, England
Date of death 3 October 1952 (aged 61–62)[1]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s) Outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Clowne Rising Star
Cresswell Athletic
1913–1921 Lincoln City[a] 97 (13)
Mansfield Town
Ilkeston United ?? (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career edit

Ball was born in Clowne, Derbyshire.[1] He made his debut for Football League Second Division club Lincoln City in November 1913, and the following season – the last before the Football League was suspended for the duration of the First World War – he missed only one game. He was ever-present in the first postwar season as Lincoln finished 21st in the Second Division and failed to gain re-election, and missed only one match as they won the Midland League title and returned to the Football League as founder members of the Third Division North. Ball did not return with them:[1] he remained in the Midland League, with Mansfield Town,[3] and by late 1922 was playing for Central Alliance club Ilkeston United.[4]

Ball died in 1952 aged about 62.[1]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Figures are for appearances and goals in the Football League only. The free-access sections of the Lincoln City FC Archive do not separate appearances by competition other than for the Football League.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Alf Ball". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Appearances per season are sourced via the Season Stats dropdown menu at the bottom right of this page. The site is partly subscription-based, but only free-access sections are used for reference. If pop-up login dialogue boxes appear, press the "Cancel" button to proceed.
  2. ^ "The coming of the big ball: the Second Division: Lincoln City". Athletic News. Manchester. 18 August 1913. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  4. ^ "1922/23". ilsonfootball. Duncan Payne. Retrieved 14 March 2013.