Albert Groves
Personal information
Full name Albert Groves
Date of birth January 1886[1]
Place of birth Newport, Wales[1]
Date of death 1960 (aged 73–74)[1]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre-half[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1908–1909 Aberdare Athletic
1909–1920 Wolverhampton Wanderers 200 (18)
1920–1924 Walsall 79 (15)
Willenhall
Total 279 (33)
Managerial career
1920–1921 Walsall (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Albert Groves (January 1886 – 1960) was a Welsh footballer and manager. A centre-half, he played for Aberdare Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Walsall, and Willenhall. He served Walsall as player-manager in the 1920–21 season.

Career

Born at Newport in January 1886, Groves began his career as a forward, playing for Aberdare Athletic.[2][3] He signed with Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1909.[1] He made his Second Division debut at Molineux on the last day of the 1909–10 season, in a 3–2 win over Manchester City.[1] Wanderers went on to finish ninth in 1910–11 and fifth in 1911–12, before Groves scored 10 league goals to help the club to a tenth-place finish in 1912–13.[1] Over time, he was converted into a centre half and the club went on to finish ninth in 1913–14 and fourth in 1914–15,[2] before World War I temporarily put a halt to the Football League.[1] During the war he guested for Port Vale in October 1916, scoring three goals in 23 games before moving on to Bury and Sunbeam Motor Works (Coventry).[4] Groves also guested for Stoke in 1915–16.[5] After returning to "Wolves" after the war, he helped the club to a 19th-place finish in 1919–20.[1] He was then appointed player-manager at Birmingham League club Walsall, before he was replaced by Joe Burchell.[1] He remained on at Fellows Park as player-secretary, and scored eight goals in 36 games in 1921–22, as the club became founder members of the Third Division North.[1] He continued to turn out for the "Saddlers" in 1922–23 and 1923–24, racking up 79 League, 12 FA Cup and 33 other senior appearances, scoring 15 goals.[1] A serious knee injury led Groves to end his playing days at Willenhall and after retiring from football he ran the Hope and Anchor public house in Willenhall.[2][1]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1909–10[6] Second Division 100010
1910–11[6] Second Division 38030410
1911–12[6] Second Division 37041411
1912–13[6] Second Division 3710203910
1913–14[6] Second Division 31331344
1914–15[7] Second Division 31120331
1919–20[6] Second Division 25430294
Total 2001817221720
Walsall 1921–22[6] Third Division North 36861429
1922–23[6] Third Division North 15320173
1923–24[6] Third Division North 28420304
Total 79151018916
Career total 2793327330636

Honours

Aberdare Athletic

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Profile". thewolvessite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Walsall | Club | Past Managers | PAST MANAGERS". Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Groves Albert Image 1 Walsall 1922". Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 121. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  5. ↑ Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Albert Groves at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  7. ↑ "Wolverhampton Wanderers Squad 1914/15". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.