Herbert Watson
Personal information
Full name Herbert Leonard Watson[1]
Date of birth (1908-11-20)20 November 1908
Place of birth Springwell Village, England
Date of death 30 October 1939(1939-10-30) (aged 30)[2]
Place of death Isleworth, England[2]
Height 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1.77 m)[3]
Position(s) Right half
Youth career
Pelton Fell
1926–1929 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1929–1932 Middlesbrough 13 (1)
1932–1936 Brentford 109 (1)
1936–1937 Bristol Rovers 19 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Herbert Leonard Watson (20 November 1908 – 13 October 1939) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Middlesbrough, Brentford and Bristol Rovers. A right half, he is best remembered for his time with Brentford, for whom he made over 100 appearances.

Playing career

Middlesbrough

Watson began his career at non-League club Pelton Fell and joined Second Division club Middlesbrough in May 1926.[4] He made his debut in a 4–1 First Division victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Ayresome Park on 7 December 1929.[5] Watson made semi-regular appearances for the club through to the end of the 1929–30 season and scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 win over Birmingham City on 8 February 1930.[5] He made 13 appearances during the campaign.[5] Watson failed to make an appearance during the 1930–31 season and made his first appearance in nearly two years when he played in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa on 26 December 1931.[5] He made one further appearance during the 1931–32 season and departed Middlesbrough at the end of the campaign, having made just 15 appearances during his six years with the club.[5]

Brentford

Watson signed for Third Division South club Brentford in May 1932,[6] joining former Middlesbrough teammates Jack Holliday and Billy Scott at Griffin Park.[7] He led the club to promotion to the Second Division as captain in the 1932–33 season and to the First Division for the first time in the club's history in 1935.[6] After the signing of Dai Richards, Watson lost his place in the team and managed just 13 appearances in the First Division during the 1935–36 season (in which Brentford secured their highest-ever league placing of fifth).[8] He departed the club at the end of the campaign, having made 109 appearances and scored one goal during his four years with the club.[6]

Bristol Rovers

Watson and Brentford teammates James Raven and Les Sullivan dropped back down to the Third Division South to join Bristol Rovers during the 1936 off-season.[6] He made 19 appearances during the 1936–37 season before retiring from football.[7]

Personal life

After retiring from football, Watson ran a pub in Brentford.[3]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Middlesbrough 1929–30[5] First Division 11 1 2 0 13 1
1931–32[5] 2 0 0 0 2 0
Total 13 1 2 0 15 1
Brentford 1932–33[8] Third Division South 34 0 0 0 34 0
1933–34[8] Second Division 35 1 0 0 35 1
1934–35[8] 27 0 0 0 27 0
1935–36[8] First Division 13 0 0 0 13 0
Total 109 1 0 0 109 1
Bristol Rovers 1936–37[1] Third Division South 19 0 0 0 19 0
Career total 1412201432

Honours

Brentford

References

  1. 1 2 Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 303. ISBN 978-1905891610.
  2. 1 2 "Football League Players Index". Bristol Rovers Memorabilia. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 "V, W, X, Y and Z". The Bristol Rovers History Group. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday, 07 December 1929 – 11v11 match report". 11v11.com. 7 December 1929. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Herbert Watson". 11v11.com. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 166. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Chapman, Mark. "Boro Connections: Five players that shaped Brentford football Club's history". www.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 372–373. ISBN 0951526200.
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