Herbert Birchenough

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Herbert Birchenough
Birchenough in a Burslem Port Vale squad photo in 1898
Personal information
Full name Herbert Birchenough[1]
Date of birth (1874-09-21)21 September 1874[1]
Place of birth Haslington, England[1]
Date of death 28 February 1942(1942-02-28) (aged 67)[1]
Place of death Newcastle-under-Lyme, England[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Haslington
Crewe Hornets
Nantwich
Sandbach St.Mary's
Audley
1897–1900 Burslem Port Vale 61 (0)
1900–1902 Glossop 81 (0)
1902–1903 Manchester United 25 (0)
Crewe Alexandra
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Herbert Birchenough (21 September 1874 – 28 February 1942) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 167 league games in the Football League for Burslem Port Vale, Glossop, and Manchester United between 1898 and 1903. His son, Frank, was also a professional footballer who played in goal.

Career[edit]

Birchenough was born in Haslington, Cheshire, and played for non-League sides Haslington, Crewe Hornets, Nantwich, Sandbach St.Mary's, and Audley, before joining Burslem Port Vale in October 1897.[1] He kept a clean sheet on his debut, on 6 November 1897 in a 4–0 home win over Ilkeston Town.[1] He quickly established himself as the number 1 keeper and helped the team win the Staffordshire Senior Cup in 1898.[1] Vale moved from the Midland Football League into the Football League Second Division in 1898–99, and Birchenough's goalkeeping heroics in the FA Cup win over Sheffield United were a major part of the club's success in regaining their Football League status.[2] He was a virtual ever-present at the Athletic Ground.[1] After 24 league and cup appearances in 1899–1900 he was sold to Glossop in January 1900 for £250 to ease Vale's financial difficulties. The "Hillmen" finished bottom of the First Division in 1900, and finished fifth and eighth in the Second Division in the 1900–01 and 1901–02 seasons respectively. He then moved on to Manchester United, and kept goal in 25 league and five FA Cup games in the 1902–03 campaign,[3] after making his debut in a 1–0 win over Arsenal on 25 October.[4] He later played for Crewe Alexandra in the Birmingham & District League.

Family[edit]

His son, Frank Birchenough, followed in his footsteps as a goalkeeper and represented West Ham United and Burnley.[5]

Career statistics[edit]

Source:[6]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Burslem Port Vale 1898–99 Second Division 33 0 3 0 36 0
1899–1900 Second Division 18 0 3 0 21 0
Total 51 0 6 0 57 0
Glossop 1899–1900 First Division 13 0 0 0 13 0
1900–01 Second Division 34 0 1 0 35 0
1901–02 Second Division 33 0 2 0 35 0
1902–03 Second Division 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 81 0 3 0 84 0
Newton Heath 1902–03 Second Division 25 0 5 0 30 0

Honours[edit]

Burslem Port Vale

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 30. ISBN 0952915200.
  2. ^ "All time greatest F A cup giant killings". freewebs.com. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  3. ^ Profile at StretfordEnd.co.uk
  4. ^ "Profile". manchester-united-fans-site.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  5. ^ CHATWIN, MICHAEL (2020). ULTIMATE BOOK OF NANTWICH TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB. [S.l.]: EMPIRE. ISBN 978-0-9563068-2-1. OCLC 1199329275.
  6. ^ Herbert Birchenough at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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