Freddie Steele (footballer)

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Freddie Steele
Image:Freddie steele stokefootballer.jpg
Personal information
Full name Frederick Charles Steele
Date of birth 6 May 1916[1]
Place of birth    Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Date of death    April 23, 1976 (aged 59)
Playing position Centre forward
Youth clubs
1931-1933 Stoke City
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1933-1949
1949-1951
1951-1953		 Stoke City
Mansfield Town
Port Vale		 224 (140)[2]
053 0(39)
025 0(12)   
National team
1936-1937 England 006 00(8)[3]
Teams managed
1949-1951
1951-1953		 Mansfield Town
Port Vale

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Frederick Charles Steele (6 May 1916 - 23 April 1976) was a footballer who played as a centre forward for Stoke City and was a former England international. He also had spells at Mansfield Town and Port Vale as a player-manager, following his retirement from playing.[4]

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Stoke City

Freddie Steele was signed for Stoke City in 1931, aged 15, by manager Tom Mather. He carried out work in the club's offices, until he was old enough to turn professional. He signed pro papers in August 1933 and made his debut in December 1934. Nicknamed "Nobby" by fans,[2] Steele was a prolific goalscorer for Stoke, scoring 220 goals in 384 games during his tenure at the club.[4] This tally included 5 goals in a 10–3 win over West Bromwich Albion, which is a record league win for the club. Steele's 33 league goals in 1936-37 remains a club record to this date.[5] A knee injury sidelined him in 1937, which he struggled to recover from. He decided to retire in 1939, aged 23. However, he opted to return to the game, scoring 10 times in 5 matches upon his return. The outbreak of World War II then halted his progress, as the Football League was suspended.

During the war Steele still played, including a spell as a guest player at Arsenal. He returned in 1945-46, scoring 49 goals in 43 games during the course of the season. He left the club in 1949, due to persistent knee problems.[5]

[edit] International career

Steele was capped six times for England and scored in wins over Sweden and Finland. In the Sweden game, Steele scored a first half hat-trick in a 4–0 win.[6] He scored 8 goals for his country in total, however a knee injury sustained in 1937 meant that he did not play for his country again.[4]

[edit] Management career

Steele assumed a player-manager role at Mansfield Town, then later at Port Vale. At Port Vale, he achieved some success, winning the Football League Third Division and guiding the club to the semi-final stage of the FA Cup in 1953-54.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Freddie Steele. soccerbase.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
  2. ^ a b Rob Stanway. Victoria Ground Heroes - Freddie Steele. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
  3. ^ Freddie Steele. englandstats.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
  4. ^ a b c Freddie Steele. Stoke City. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
  5. ^ a b 1930-1940 Stan's The Man. Stoke City F.C.. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  6. ^ Sweden 0 - England 4. englandstats.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.


Awards
Preceded by
Raich Carter, Pat Glover
and Bobby Gurney		 First Division top scorer
1936–37		 Succeeded by
Tommy Lawton
v • d • e
Mansfield Town F.C. – Managers

Baynes (1922–25) • Davison (1926–28) • Hickling (1928–33) • Martin (1933–35) • Bell (1935) • Wightman (1936) • Parkes (1936–38) • Poole (1938–44) • Barke (1944–45) • Goodall (1945–49) • Steele (1949–51) • Jobey (1952–53) • Mercer (1953–55) • Mitten (1956–58) • Weaver (1958–60) • Carter (1960–63) • Cummings (1963–67) • Eggleston (1967–70) • Basford (1970–71) • Williams (1971–74) • Smith (1974–76) • Morris (1976–78) • Bingham (1978–79) • Jones (1979–81) • Boam (1981–83) • Greaves (1983–89) • Foster (1989–93) • King (1993–96) • Parkin (1996–99) • Dearden (1999–2002) • Watkiss (2002) • Curle (2002–04) • Palmer (2004–05) • Shirtliff (2005–06) • Holland (2006) • Dearden (2006–08) • Holland (2008–)
v • d • e
Port Vale F.C. – Managers

Gleaves (1896–05) • Clare (1905–11) • Walker (1911–12) • Myatt (1912–14) • Holford (1919–24) • Schofield (1924–30) • Morgan (1930–32) • Holford (1932–35) • Cresswell (1936–37) • Morgan (1937–38) • Frith (1945–46) • Hodgson (1946–51) • Powell (1951) • Steele (1951–57) • Low (1957–62) • Steele (1962–65) • Mudie (1965–67) • Matthews (1967–68) • Lee (1968–74) • Sproson (1974–77) • Harper (1977) • Smith (1977–78) • Butler (1978–79) • Bloor (1979) • McGrath (1979–83) • Rudge (1984–99) • Dearden (1999) • Grew (1999) • Horton (1999–2004) • Foyle (2004–07) • Glover (2007) • Sinnott (2007–)