Frank Moss (footballer, born 1895)

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Frank Moss
Personal information
Full name Frank Moss[1]
Date of birth 17 April 1895
Place of birth Aston, England
Date of death 15 September 1965(1965-09-15) (aged 70)[2]
Place of death Worcester, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3]
Position(s) Wing half
Youth career
Burlington Street
0000–1912 Aston Manor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1912–1914 Walsall
1914–1929 Aston Villa 255 (9)
1929 Cardiff City 9 (0)
1929–1930 Bromsgrove Rovers
Worcester City
International career
1921–1924 England 5 (0)
Football League XI 2 (0)
Managerial career
1929–1930 Bromsgrove Rovers (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Frank Moss (17 April 1895 – 15 September 1965) was an English professional footballer who made over 250 appearances as a wing half in the Football League for Aston Villa. He was capped by England at international level and represented the Football League XI.

Club career[edit]

After beginning his career in local Birmingham football,[4] Moss joined First Division club Aston Villa for a £250 fee in February 1914 and made two appearances late in the 1914–15 season,[2] but he had to wait until after the First World War before he could begin his professional career in earnest.[2] During the war, Moss guested for Bellis and Morcom, Aston Park Rangers, Smethwick Carriage Works and Bradford City.[5] He captained the club and was a part of the Villa teams which won the 1919–20 FA Cup and finished runners-up in 1923–24.[2][6] After a dispute over a testimonial and a ban from the FA, Moss departed Villa Park in January 1929, after making 255 appearances and scoring 9 goals for the club.[6][2] He finished the 1928–29 season with First Division club Cardiff City and left to join Birmingham Combination club Bromsgrove Rovers as player-manager for the 1929–30 season.[6][7] Moss finished his career with Worcester City.[6]

International career[edit]

Moss won five caps for England at international level and represented the Football League XI.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Moss attended Burlington Street School in Aston and as of 1911 was working as a canal boatman.[8] He later married and had four children, two of whom became footballers – Amos and Frank Jr.[6] In November 1915, 15 months after Britain's entry into the First World War, Moss enlisted as a private in the Lincolnshire Regiment.[2] He saw action during the Third Battle of Ypres and shrapnel wounds to his left knee saw him sent back to Britain to be a physical training instructor.[2] Moss ended the war with the rank of corporal.[9] A decade after being wounded in the war, Moss declined the shrapnel being removed from his knee at the same time as undergoing a knee cartilage operation relating to his football career.[8] The shrapnel remained in his knee until his death in 1965.[8] According to a 1939 register, Moss was the licensed victualler of a hostelry in Worcester.[6]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aston Villa 1914–15[2] First Division 2 0 0 0 2 0
1919–20[2] 16 0 2 0 18 0
1920–21[2] 32 1 4 0 36 1
1921–22[2] 35 3 6 0 41 3
1922–23[2] 32 2 1 0 33 2
1923–24[2] 34 0 4 0 38 0
1924–25[2] 19 2 3 0 22 2
1925–26[2] 31 0 4 0 35 0
1926–27[2] 35 1 1 0 36 1
1927–28[2] 17 0 3 0 20 0
1928–29[2] 2 0 0 0 2 0
Total 255 9 28 0 283 9
Cardiff City 1928–29[2] First Division 9 0 — 9 0
Career total 264 9 28 0 292 9

Honours[edit]

Aston Villa

References[edit]

  1. ^ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 (Third edition, with revisions ed.). Toton, Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 212. ISBN 9781905891610. OCLC 841581272.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Frank Moss Aston Villa". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  3. ^ Brum (22 August 1921). "First Division prospects. Aston Villa". Athletic News. Manchester. p. 5.
  4. ^ "Moss Frank Aston Villa 1923". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Moss, Frank (Senior) "Snowy"". Aston Villa Player Database. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "England Players – Frank Moss". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  7. ^ "1929–30 A Record Breaking Year". www.worcestercityfc.org. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Frank Moss – 20 People of the 20s". The National Archives. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Frank James Moss | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
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