Steve Forde
Forde at West Ham United
Personal information
Full name Stephen Forde[1]
Date of birth (1914-08-29)29 August 1914
Place of birth South Kirkby, Yorkshire, England
Date of death c. July 1992 (aged 77–78)
Place of death South Kirkby, Yorkshire, England[nb 1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
South Kirkby Common Road
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1933 South Kirkby
1933 Sheffield Wednesday 0 (0)
1933–1937 Rotherham United 116 (1)
1937–1952 West Ham United 170 (1)
Managerial career
Penzance
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stephen Forde[nb 2] (29 August 1914 – 1992) was an English footballer who played as a full-back in the Football League for Rotherham United and West Ham United.[5][6]

Playing career

Forde began his career as a junior at right-back, captaining his school team,[7] and playing with South Kirkby Common Road,[8] before joining South Kirkby.[9] In January 1933 he joined Sheffield Wednesday,[6] who played Ford as a centre-half. After just two months at Wednesday he moved to Rotherham United,[8] where he only missed two first team matches in four seasons.[10]

In January 1937, West Ham United paid a record fee of around £3,000,[11] to beat many other clubs to the signing of Forde from Rotherham. He was initially recruited for the reserve team as a replacement for Bill Adams.[3] He became a regular for the Irons' second string as a full-back, where he formed a partnership with Alf Chalkley.[7] He made his first-team debut on 2 April 1938, a 1–3 loss against Tottenham Hotspur.[12][13]

Wartime football

During World War II Forde worked in a colliery whilst making guest appearances primarily for West Ham,[14] where he played in the 1940 Football League War Cup semi-final win against Fulham.[15] In 1943 he made guest appearances for Hartlepool United,[16] and also featured for Sunderland and Swindon Town.[7]

After the war, he returned to competitive football with West Ham – his return 7 years, 9 months and 19 days after his previous game remains as the second-longest period between first-team appearances, behind Reg Attwell.[17] He became a regular feature for West Ham and was an ever-present during the 1947–48 season.[12] He retired in 1951 having made 170 Second Division appearances for the club.[18]

Coaching career

After ending his League career in 1951, he spent time as manager of Western League team Penzance.[12]

Family

His younger brother, John, was also a footballer who played for Stoke City and Gainsborough Trinity.[19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Registered in Q3 1992 in the now-defunct registration district of Claro.[2]
  2. ↑ Many contemporary sources prior to Forde joining West Ham United give his surname as Ford. This spelling was used in West Ham's initial announcement of his signing,[3] and thereafter corrected.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Steve Forde". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  2. ↑ Marsh, Steve. "Steve FORDE ... (1938–1951)". theyflysohigh.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 West Ham United Reserves v Chelsea Reserves Official Programme. West Ham United F.C. 9 January 1937.
  4. ↑ West Ham United Reserves v Southend United Reserves Official Programme. West Ham United F.C. 20 February 1937.
  5. ↑ Joyce, Michael (2012) [2002]. Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-905891-61-0.
  6. 1 2 "Wednesday Sign A Centre Half". Sheffield Independent. 11 January 1933. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. 1 2 3 West Ham United v Luton Town Official Programme. West Ham United F.C. 25 December 1951.
  8. 1 2 "Rotherham United". Sheffield Independent. 16 March 1933. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "South Kirkby Colliery (Almost) Complete History". Matthew Thomas. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "Transfer Market". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 14 January 1937. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "Big Fee for Ford". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. 14 January 1937. p. 19 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. 1 2 3 Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 84. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
  13. ↑ "Steve Forde". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "West Ham in Thriller". Sports Argus. 25 May 1940. p. 1 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ↑ "Today's Football". Liverpool Daily Post. 1 June 1940. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ "Pools Team". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. 24 September 1943. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ↑ "Other Records". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Steve Forde". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  19. ↑ "Stoke Player Joins Trinity". Lincolnshire Echo. 29 July 1938. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.


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