Sam Hollis

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Sam Hollis
Personal information
Full name Samuel W. Hollis
Date of birth c. 1866
Place of birth    Nottingham, England
Date of death    April 17, 1942
Place of death    Bristol, England
Teams managed
1894-1897
1897-1899
1899-1900
1901-1905
1911-1913
1913-1917		 Woolwich Arsenal (?)
Bristol City
Bedminster
Bristol City
Bristol City
Newport County


* Appearances (Goals)

Samuel W. Hollis (1866[citation needed] – April 17, 1942) was an English football trainer and manager.

Born in Nottingham, Hollis had comparatively little football experience, having previously worked for the Probate Office and the Post Office.[1] He joined Woolwich Arsenal in 1894; his role at the club is subject to dispute. While he is credited on the club's official website as being the club's first manager,[2] other historical sources claim he was only the club's trainer.[3] Many books, including the club's own official history, make no mention of Hollis and state that Thomas Mitchell was Arsenal's first manager,[4][5][6] and contemporary newspaper reports indicate that another official in particular, William "Bill" Parr instead took a lead role managing the team in the period Hollis was purportedly manager.[7]

In April 1897, Hollis was tempted away by newly-formed Bristol City, where he became manager; he ended up spending three separate spells with the Robins. His first ended in March 1899 when he left to become secretary-manager of Bedminster. Bedminster merged with Bristol City in 1900 and Hollis lost his job. However, in 1901, he returned to manage Bristol City. During this second and most successive spell, City finished as Southern League runners-up and were promoted to the Football League.

He left in March 1905, and managed a hotel between 1905 and 1911, having previously ran a pub between 1899 and 1909. He took over as Bristol City manager for the third time in January 1911, and oversaw the club's relegation from the First Division back to the Second. He left Ashton Gate in April 1913, and in July that year took over as manager of Southern League Newport County where he remained until 1917. After that, he left football management altogether, though he spent a number of years as chairman of Bristol City's shareholders.[1] He died in Bristol in April 1942.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Hayes, Dean (2007). Arsenal: The Football Facts. John Blake. ISBN 1844544338. 
  2. ^ Arsenal Managers. Arsenal.com.
  3. ^ Joy, Bernard (1952). Forward Arsenal!. Phoenix House, p.11. “Arsenal's trainer, Hollis, however, was true to the nineteeth century pattern.” 
  4. ^ Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin (2005). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn, p. 30. ISBN 0-600613-44-5. “A disastrous FA Cup defeat by non-League Millwall (2-4 away) on 16 January 1896 proved one turning point for the committee. They decided to appoint a secretary-manager, one T.B. Mitchell from Blackburn,...” 
  5. ^ Roper, Alan (2004). The Real Arsenal Story: In the Days of Gog. Wherry, p. 120. ISBN 0-9546259-1-9. “After their humiliating defeat the Arsenal FC directors decided to appoint their first professional manager, and the first to be signed as Thomas Brown Mitchell, a Scot.” 
  6. ^ Joy (1952). Forward Arsenal!, p. 12. “The first manager was T.B. Mitchell, from Blackburn Rovers and he was succeeded after a few months by G. Elcoat of Stockton.” 
  7. ^ "...the Woolwich Arsenal team under the management of Mr W Parr would leave Euston at 6.30pm and stay the night at Stoke, in preparation for the match at Burslem Port Vale". Kentish Mercury, c. January 1895, quoted in: Roper (2004). The Real Arsenal Story, p.116. 
Sporting positions
Preceded by
None		 Newport County A.F.C. manager
1913-1917		 Succeeded by
?
v • d • e
Bristol City F.C. – Managers

Hollis (1897–99) • Campbell (1899–1901) • Hollis (1901–05) • Thickett (1905–10) • Bacon (1910–11) • Hollis (1911–13) • Hedley (1913–15) • Hamilton (1915–19) • Palmer (1919–21) • Raisbeck (1921–29) • Bradshaw (1929–32) • Hewison (1932–49) • Wright (1949–50) • Beasley (1950–58) • Doherty (1958–60) • Ford (1960–67) • Dicks (1967–80) • Houghton (1980–82) • Hodgson (1982) • Cooper (1982–88) • Jordan (1988–90) • Lumsden (1990–92) • Smith (1992–93) • Osman (1993–94) • Jordan (1994–97) • Sweeney (1997) • Ward (1997–98) • Lennartsson (1998–99) • Pulis (1999–2000) • Fawthrop & Burnside (2000) • Rosenior (2000) • Wilson (2000–04) • Tinnion (2004–05) • Millen (2005) • Johnson (2005–)