Syd Bishop

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Sydney Macdonald Bishop (10 February 1900 in Stepney, London, UK – January 1949) was a footballer whose main position was right-sided half-back, although he was versatile enough to also play many games as an inside-forward. Syd Bishop began his days as a footballer playing for London Schools, as well as playing Air Force Football during the First World War. Syd continued his career at Crystal Palace, before moving on to Ilford.

Syd transferred to West Ham United in 1920 and was part of the West Ham team that won promotion to the First Division and also appeared in the famous White Horse Final, the first FA Cup final at the brand new Wembley Stadium, during the 1922-23 season.

He played for them until 1926, making 172 appearances and netting 10 goals. He became known affectionately by the fans of West Ham as Sticks.

Syd went on to play club football for Leicester City where he gained England international recognition, winning 4 caps, the first of them against Scotland on 2 April 1927. He also scored one goal for England in the 86th minute of a match against Luxembourg on 21 May 1927 which England won 5-2.

He moved to Chelsea in June 1928 for £4,500 and made over 100 appearances for the club before retiring in May 1933.